Length of the Process

A divorce can take anywhere between two months and a couple of years.

What Needs to be Decided

When a couple goes their separate ways, a number of issues have to be resolved, such as determining child custody, child support, and the need for spousal maintenance and property distribution.

Where We File for Divorce

Divorce can be obtained only through the courts. In New York State, Divorces are handled by the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

More on Length of the Divorce Process

As a rule, the longer the marriage lasted, the longer the divorce process. In addition, the presence of children under 18 or substantial assets lengthens and complicates a divorce. Often times, courts are not quick to dissolve a marriage, wanting to give the parties a chance to resolve their differences or to at least give them time to arrange their post-marriage situation. At this office, we emphasise avoiding the needless stress and extra expenses of a long divorce.

New York Residency Requirements

To obtain a divorce in New York State, the parties have to meet New York State residency requirements. Typically, it is sufficient that one of the parties has resided in the State for a minimum of two years. However, a one year residenty is sufficient if certain other conditions are met.

Grounds for Divorce

It is impossible to obtain a divorce in New York without either proving fault of one of the spouses or meeting separation requirements.

Irreconcilable differences are not a good enough reason for a New York Courts to issue a divorce. The courts require grounds for divorce, such as adultery, abandonment, cruel and inhuman treatment. Not surprisingly, the divorce process in New York State is famous across the country for being drawn out and complex. After all, the party who wants the divorce has to prove valid divorce grounds.

You may ask yourself, if two people no longer wish to share their lives, why should the state make it difficult for them to obtain that freedom? After all, don't many other states have a no-nonsense, fast and efficient "no-fault" divorce?

The answer is, there are valid reasons why New York's divorce law is so demanding. Most divorces involve property division, which requires some time. Couples also need time to sort out child custody and visitation issues. Apparently, New York legislature believes that a short divorce would not afford families the opportunity to settle their affairs.

Nevertheless, some feel that the time has come for New York to adopt a no-fault divorce, and that New York divorce law has not been seriously updated for a very long time, and is still "frozen" in the times when the people believed that for marriage to be taken seriously, it should not be easily dissolved.

Needless to say, some parties take advantage of fault-based divorce grounds to prolong the divorce.