Grounds for Divorce in New York State

Divorces have “grounds” or reasons why the marriage is no longer sustainable. In New York, we have both fault-based and no-fault grounds for divorce. This means that you can either blame your spouse for the breakdown of the marriage, or you can simply state that your marriage has irretrievably broken down, a no-fault ground for divorce. Most people file for no-fault divorces in New York State. However, you do have the option of filing for divorce under fault-based grounds. In this article, the Rockland County divorce lawyers at the Law Office of Robert S. Sunshine will discuss the grounds for divorce in New York State.

Grounds for divorce in New York State 

Most individuals going through a divorce will use New York’s no-fault grounds to file their divorce. Nonetheless, there are several grounds that New York permits. These include:

• Abandonment – Abandonment occurs when a spouse has abandoned their partner for a year or more. There are two types of abandonment. The first involves the spouse physically leaving the home for more than one year. The other, constructive abandonment, refers to one spouse’s refusal to have sex with the other spouse for more than a year.

• Cruel and inhuman treatment – To divorce on the basis of this ground, the spouse must prove that cruel acts were committed within the last five years. The acts must cause the plaintiff’s physical and mental well-being to be in danger.

• Divorce after a legal separation agreement – You can also divorce on the grounds of legal separation. To do so, you must prove that you and your former spouse have lived apart from each other for one year.

• Divorce after a judgment of separation – This rarely-invoked ground describes a situation where the court draws up a judgment for one party to “owe” the other.

• Imprisonment – If one spouse has spent the last three or more years (in a row) in prison, the other spouse can file for divorce on the grounds of imprisonment.

• Infidelity – You can use adultery as a ground for divorce in New York State, but it’s deceptively difficult to prove. A spouse attempting to divorce under this ground should document everything and collect as much information as they can. To use this specific ground, the plaintiff has to prove to the court that their spouse was unfaithful during the marriage.

• Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage – The majority of divorce filings cite this ground as the reason why the marriage failed. This is considered a no-fault ground under which New York permits divorcees to file.

Talk to a Rockland County Divorce Lawyer Today 

The Rockland County family lawyers at the Law Office of Robert S. Sunshine represent the interests of New Yorkers who are looking to divorce. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps right away.