In New York, individuals may pursue either no-fault or fault-based grounds for divorce. The grounds of fault that the courts recognize include cruel treatment of one spouse to the other, adultery, incarceration of one spouse for at least three years, and abandonment of one spouse by the other for at least a year. Of course, not all couples will have these serious issues existing between them. Therefore, many parties who decide to file for divorce will use the state's no-fault option to get it into the courts.

A no-fault divorce is one in which the parties cannot point to the actions of one to fully take the blame for the breakdown of their relationship. When a spouse is gone due to abandonment or incarceration, it is more obvious to note their transgressions against the other as reasonable grounds for letting the non-offender out of their legal relationship. In a no-fault divorce, the parties to the marriage may have simply decided that they would be better off apart and would like to end their marriage to pursue their own happiness.

In order to begin a no-fault divorce in New York, the parties to a marriage must live separate and apart for at least a year. That means that they must effectively end their interactions as a couple and live in separate spaces to solidify the breakdown of their marriage. A family law attorney can help their clients better understand the separation element of no-fault divorces.

New York residents must meet other standards in order to use the courts to end their marriages. It is important that a person has the best possible legal information before they begin the divorce process, and as such readers are reminded that this informational post is not to be read as legal advice or guidance.