DIY Divorce in New York | Things You Need to Know

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Getting a divorce is one of the most painful things that any couple may need to go through. The process, which involves breaking ties legally, can be both stressful and emotionally draining. Having a third person involved in the divorce process can sometimes be quite tricky, but it may be unavoidable for divorces without a mutual agreement.

If you are going for an uncontested divorce, the state of New York allows you to get the divorce yourself. You do not need to hire a lawyer, allowing you to lower the cost of divorce by avoiding the exorbitant lawyer fees.

However, if you want to apply for a divorce on your own, you need to know what you are doing. Many complicated matters must be addressed, and not having enough knowledge can cause you trouble and embarrassment. Therefore, you must know all the steps you need to take before filing for divorce in New York. Before we can talk about divorce papers, court visits, forms, and all the other tasks, let’s look at the divorce laws you must follow in New York.

Divorce Laws for the State of New York

You need to consider quite a few things before getting either a traditional or online divorce. Not knowing what you are getting into can cause problems, and in some cases, may result in illegal actions. Here are the primary laws that you must know before you start your divorce papers.

1. Residency: Couples getting a divorce in the state of New York must satisfy the residency rules. To be eligible to file for a divorce in New York, either you or your spouse must have lived in the state for at least one year.
2. Filing: Whether you are getting a divorce over the internet or in person, it should be done in the country where you and your spouse live. To initiate the process, you must purchase a Summons with Notice and an Index Number. Both these items are available at the county clerk’s office.
3. Reverting Name: Both you and your spouse are entitled to change your name to your original name when applying for a divorce. Separate applications are not necessary for this process.
4. Legal grounds: According to the New York state, a legal reason for divorce must be stated. This reason could include the following:
   1. At least one year of abandonment
   2. Adultery
   3. Inhumane treatment
   4. Living apart due to a written separation agreement or judgment
   5. Irretrievable breakdown of the couple’s relationship
5. Oath and Agreement: If an irreversible collapse of the couple’s relationship is provided as the grounds for divorce, then at least one partner needs to swear under oath verifying the reason. All aspects of the marriage will then need to be settled. This includes property division, child custody and visitation, alimony, and all other contentious matters.
6. Annulment: Getting an annulment is possible if any one of the following reasons is present:
   1. Underage marriage
   2. Bigamy
   3. Coerced marriage
   4. Physical inability
   5. Mentally unable to understand marriage
   6. Untreatable insanity for at least five years
7. Division of Property: New York state law dictates that all property be distributed between the spouses using equitable division. The final values that each gets may vary depending on several factors, including marriage duration, health condition of each spouse, ages, individual incomes, parental needs, future financial expectations for each party, and maintenance awards.
8. Spousal Support: If needed, the New York court has the right to award spousal support under some conditions. When making this decision, the factors considered include marriage duration, level of self-sufficiency of both parties, divorce/marriage situation, earning capacities, presence of children, property and income division, and some other factors.
9. Custodial Rights: The rights of keeping the child usually depend on the child’s best interests. The factors that the court considers include the child’s preference, the stability of each spouse, the ability to care for the child, the financial wellbeing of each parent, parental behavior, moral values of each parent, the effect of separating children from one another, and several other circumstantial factors.
10. Child Support: The system used by New York state for calculating child support is based on the Income Shares model. When calculating the value, the factors considered include the child’s mental and physical health, tax implications, the previous standard of living, each parent’s financial status, and the education needs of children and other parties both inside and outside the marriage.
11. Legal Separation: New York may allow parents to get legal separation if any of the following five circumstances have occurred in the marriage:
    1. Inhumane treatment
    2. Adultery
    3. Imprisonment for at least 3 years
    4. Lack of support
    5. Abandonment

DIY Divorce Process in the state of New York

Now that you know all the rules governing any divorce filed in New York, you can move on to the process you must follow. Make sure you do not skip anything to avoid facing any troubles when you apply for a divorce. Here are all the steps you must go through when opting for a DIY divorce.

1. Qualification: The first thing you must do is make sure that you are eligible for the legal divorce process in New York. The residency requirements mentioned above must be met fully. Not meeting this requirement will lead to your application getting discarded immediately.
2. No contests: You can only choose to go for a do it yourself version of divorce proceedings if it is uncontested. All matters of the divorce, including everything mentioned in the previous section, must be settled before applying for a divorce. There must be nothing that you are leaving to chance. The court will verify every part of the process before signing off, so ensure there are no unresolved issues. If your partner decides to contest anything or if you are unsure, do not choose the DIY route and let a lawyer handle the proceedings.
3. Grounds for divorce: Be extremely clear about the grounds for divorce that you choose in your application. It must be verifiable, and the process will require you to provide proof if needed. In the case of irretrievable breakdown, one of you must testify under oath for the court to accept it.
4. Forms: You can prepare your application for divorce online using the forms available on the court’s website. Some online divorce companies, one of which is Online Divorce New York, also provide divorce document preparation services. You can easily find them by searching for the top online divorce sites in your area.
5. County clerk visit: Both you and your spouse must complete the required forms and then submit them in the county that either of you resides. The county clerk’s office will ask you to purchase an index number that will cost $210. You will also need to buy a Note of Issue, which will cost another $125. To get notified from the clerk’s office regarding your final judgment, be sure to bring along a stamped postcard that you will address to yourself.
6. Signed judgment: You can pick up the judgment signed by the court from the county clerk’s office once you get notified. The typical timeframe for this process is about 60-90 days.
7. Notice of Entry: This is the last part of the process of getting a DIY divorce. After you receive your signed judgment, you will be required to send the judgment to your spouse along with a completed Notice of Entry form. Once you have delivered the form and judgment to your spouse, you will notify the court that you have completed this requirement as per the rules. After that, you will officially be considered divorced in the state of New York.

One thing that is extremely important for both partners to consider when getting divorced is health insurance. There are often some consequences to your health insurance coverage once you get divorced, and the court wants both parties to be aware of this change. Ensure you know what these changes might be and are ready to deal with them as required. Not having sufficient health insurance can lead to many other problems that you may want to avoid under all circumstances.

While you can prepare your application for divorce online in New York, a visit to the county clerk’s office is a must, so do keep that in mind. If you are confident about your ability to complete this whole process yourself without any issues, then the DIY process for getting a divorce is an excellent way to save money. However, if you think it may be too much for you to handle, you can always opt for one of the many divorce companies that operate in your area. They will make sure that you go through the whole process smoothly.