On October 12, 2010, New York became the 50th state to embrace no-fault divorce. The new ground for divorce in New York is that there has been an irreparable breakdown in the marriage for a period six months.Husbands and wives have been eagerly going to lawyers offices to take advantage of the new no-fault divorce law. Individuals who, in the past, did not have an appropriate ground to obtain a divorce no longer have to be concerned about this issue.
Although fault is no longer a significant matter in the state of New York, financial issues such as child support, spousal maintenance and issues involving custody, visitation and equitable distribution of property must be dealt with in a divorce.
The First Change in Grounds for Divorce since 1966
From 1787 until 1966, the sole ground for divorce in the state of New York was adultery. In 1966, the grounds of abandonment, cruel and inhuman treatment and living separate and apart under a written separation agreement were also added to the New York divorce law.
Simultaneously with the new law going into effect, New York also has new standardized criteria for the payment of temporary spousal maintenance. This new spousal maintenance law has been severely criticized by divorce lawyers as putting an unreasonable financial burden on the spouse with the greater income.
The point of the no-fault law is to avoid the necessity of grounds trials that sometimes put litigants’ dirty laundry before the court. The new law also requires the state Law Revision Committee to study the effectiveness of the new spousal maintenance law to determine if the court should take into consideration financial factors that might unfairly create a disadvantage for the non-monied spouse.
Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo
For more than 45 years, our law office has been handling all aspects of matrimonial and family law. We represent individuals regarding divorces, orders of protection, child custody and child visitation matters. We litigate matters involving child support and spousal maintenance, as well as support modification proceedings.
Should you find yourself needing legal help regarding a divorce or Family Court proceeding, call us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.
