New York Divorce Report - New York's Divorce and Family Law Blog

New York now has no-fault divorce.  While signing the legislation into law,  the governor noted: Finally, New York has brought its divorce laws into the 21st century. . .  These bills fix a broken process that produced extended and contentious litigation, poisoned feelings between the parties and harmed the interests of those persons -- too often women -- who did not have sufficient financial wherewithal to protect their legal right. New Yorkers  can now divorce provided that their marriage has irretrievably broken down for six months or more.   New York was the last state to allow no fault divorce. Simultaneous... More

In view of news reports of the hopeful passage by the New York legislature of a “no fault” divorce law, I have been repeatedly asked, “what is no fault divorce” and “why is this no fault divorce so important. A no fault divorce essentially allows a couple to dissolve a marriage without assigning fault; typically the parties would only have to allege that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and there is no likelihood of reconciliation. The present law in New York, (the only state that does not have provision for a no fault divorce) requires one of the parties... More

In yet another odd case, a husband who was attacked by his wife with a three foot samurai sword,was not entitled to a divorce based upon his wife’s cruel and inhuman treatment. Although the Court found that the wife would have killed the husband, but for his daughter’s intervention, the Court in the case S.K. v. I.K. found that: . . . at no time did the husband testify that the alleged cruel and inhuman treatment of him by the wife so endangered his physical or mental well being as to render it unsafe or improper for him to cohabit... More

Last week, the New York Times ran a blistering editorial about New York’s antiquated divorce law. New York remains the only state in the nation that does not have a no-fault or an irreconcilable differences grounds for divorce. In New York, someone seeking a divorce has to prove that their spouse is guilty of marital fault, that is their spouse committed adultery, treated them in a way that is cruel and inhuman, abandoned them or has been imprisoned. A divorce is also available if the parties have been legally separated for one year. The absence of a no fault divorce... More

The absence of no fault divorce in New York has many unintended and unfortunate consequences. Perhaps the single most disturbing consequence is that divorce courts are forced to accept as true, testimony known to be false. That is, as one trial judge, recently pointed out, “it forces judges and special referees who preside over these cases to in effect turn a blind eye — or at least a myopic one — to what is technically perjury.” In the case of Andrew T. v. Yanna T, the husband was granted an uncontested divorce from his wife on the ground of constructive... More

Despite overwhelming support to adopt a no-fault or irreconcilable grounds for divorce, New York remains the only state in which a party must allege and prove marital fault in order to obtain a divorce. By far, the most common fault based ground for divorce in New York is constructive abandonment. In the recent case of Mehl v. Mehl, the Appellate Division defined the elements of this ground for divorce. It is well settled that to establish a cause of action for a divorce on the ground of constructive abandonment, the spouse who claims to have been constructively abandoned must prove... More

The Divorce Blog highlights the raging debate over “No-Fault” divorce; is no-fault divorce good or bad idea?   As I discussed before, New York is the only state without a no-fault grounds for divorce and proposals for it  are again before the state legislature. Quoting a Newsday feature, the article voices the concern that no fault divorce is somehow “dangerous to women and children.” No-fault divorce allows couples to end a marriage without assessing blame.   Neither spouse has to prove or accuse the other of marital fault.   Likewise, no-fault divorce prevents one spouse from seeking to take advantage of the other in... More

Over a year ago, New Jersey recognized irreconcilable differences as grounds for divorce. So, what can New York lawmakers, who have been struggling to enact a no-fault grounds for divorce, learn from New Jersey’s experience? According to the New Jersey Lawyer, “The law stands as a classic case of a proposal lingering for years in the state legislature based on opposition from religious groups and, when finally enacted, is actually heaped with praise.” In the absence of a no-fault or irreconcilable differences ground for divorce, the parties need allege and prove marital fault. Prior to the enactment of New Jersey’s... More

A husband was justified in abandoning his wife after she admitted having an adulterous relationship. When the wife sought a divorce after her husband left her, her abandonment claim was dismissed. The New York Legal Update provides the details of the case of Kaplan v. Kaplan: In that case, during a marital counseling session, the wife admitted to a long term extramarital affair. Thereafter, the husband moved out of the marital residence. More than one year later, the plaintiff-wife commenced the action for divorce, after 17 years of marriage, on the grounds of abandonment and cruel and inhuman treatment. The... More

A number of the presidential candidates are divorced. Fred Thompson, John McCain and Rudy Guliani are all divorced. Should the reasons for their divorces be fodder for their qualifications as President? For instance, there has been discussion on the blogosphere about Fred Thompson’s divorce based upon “cruel and inhuman” treatment. Does this mean the Thompson was a wife-beater or a victim of domestic violence?  Not necessarily. As one commenter pointed out in The Atlantic: Cruel and inhuman treatment" (or something similar) is a common legal cause of action in the divorce law of many states. In states without no-fault divorce,... More

Divorce is not only rampant in America. Crossroads Arabia reports that divorce is so prevalent in Saudi Arabia that divorce lawyers are turning away new clients. Sixty-two per cent of marriages in the western region in Saudi Arabia end in divorce, with a large percentage of those being less than 25 years of age. The number of young divorcees is increasing. Some are getting divorced after one or two years of married life. Coming across a 20-something divorcee is not strange anymore. Khaled Abu Rashid, a Saudi lawyer, said that with a huge number of divorce cases, law firms in... More