The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the only court that handles divorce cases. In New York, you can file for divorce if you show a physical connection to the state, show legal grounds for requesting a divorce and having your spouse personally served.

You must go to the Supreme Court in the county where you live. Before a New York Court can grant a divorce, you need to prove that you and/or your spouse have lived in New York for a certain amount of time continuously. Legal grounds for divorce include irretrievable breakdown of the relationship, cruel/inhumane treatment, abandonment, continuous imprisonment lasting three years or longer, adultery and living apart with a legal separation agreement.

Issues that can be decided as part of your divorce include custody of children, visitation rights, paternity, child support, health insurance, maintenance (formerly known as alimony) and order of protection. If you choose to get a divorce with a separation agreement, both spouses need to be willing to discuss and agree on all of the import ant issues related to ending a marriage.

The issues involved will vary by personal circumstances but may include the division of property you accumulated during the marriage, who gets to keep the home you have been living in together, who will get custody of any children, whether the other spouse gets visitation rights, how much child support the parent without custody will provide, which of you will be paying which debts, spousal support and medical support/life insurance.

At By The People, we only handle uncontested divorce. If your divorce is uncontested CALL (631) 727-5705 for a free consultation.