Divorcing in New York is not Simple

New York State is not one of the states that allows a no-fault divorce. In other words, to obtain a divorce in the state of New York, there must be proven grounds for the dissolution. If the non-filing party has not committed any act that would constitute grounds for divorce, the person desiring the divorce will not be able to obtain it.

Some of the grounds for divorce in New York are as follows:

Incarceration: meaning the confinement of the defendant in prison for a period of three or more consecutive years after the marriage.

Adultery: meaning the commission of a voluntary act of sexual or deviant sexual intercourse by the plaintiff with a person other than the spouse.

Abandonment: meaning the desertion of the plaintiff by the defendant for one or more years. Abandonment usually is physical, where one spouse moves out of marital residence and literally deserts the family. There is also constructive abandonment also known as constructive sexual abandonment. This ground is often used when both parties want to divorce as quickly as possible.

Cruel and inhuman treatment: meaning conduct by the non-filing party that endangers the physical or mental well-being of the plaintiff to make it unsafe or inhabitable for the plaintiff to cohabit with the defendant.

New York State is a state that encourages marriage. They make it very difficult to obtain a divorce unless both parties want the divorce. Just to the north in Connecticut, they allow no-fault divorces. In Connecticut, the two parties typically sign a stipulation stating that irreconcilable differences have led to the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage. They simply wait out a short time period, and are able to obtain the dissolution of marriage. Quite a contrast to the laws in the state of New York, which is a border state to Connecticut. In New York, if one of the parties who does not want to divorce has done absolutely nothing to provide grounds for the divorce, the person wanting the divorce will not be able to obtain it. The majority of states are not like New York and that they do allow for no-fault divorce. The legislature and the state congresses are geared towards doing the will of the people. The people of the United States have shown that they do not want to be held into a marriage against their will. The court system also does not want to be bogged down in hearings and contested issues regarding fault. That is why the majority of states in the United States are in fact no-fault states. New York, however, is not one of those states and there must be fault for sufficient grounds to obtain a successful dissolution action.