New York divorce law lives mainly in the Domestic Relations Law, a chapter of state statutes that covers everything from grounds for divorce to property division to spousal support. Most people coming through the door at Roven Law Group have read a few articles online and walk in with a mix of accurate information, outdated rules, and stories about how a friend’s divorce went somewhere else. The actual New York framework is more orderly than the search results suggest, and understanding the basic structure helps before any decision gets made.
Here is what the law actually requires, in the order it tends to come up.
Residency Has to Be Established First
Before a New York court can hear a divorce, the residency rules in Domestic Relations Law Section 230 have to be satisfied. The cleanest path is when one or both spouses have lived in New York continuously for at least two years before filing. A one-year residency works if the parties were married in New York, lived in New York as a married couple, or the cause of action arose in New York. Filing without meeting one of these tests creates a jurisdictional problem that can throw out the entire case. The residency requirement is a threshold issue and is worth confirming before any paperwork is drafted.
Grounds for Divorce
Domestic Relations Law Section 170 lists the grounds. The no-fault ground under Section 170(7), added in 2010, is by far the most common. Either spouse can obtain a divorce by stating under oath that the marriage has been irretrievably broken for at least six months. The other spouse cannot block that statement.
The traditional fault grounds remain available for those who want to use them. They include cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment for one year or more, imprisonment for three or more consecutive years, adultery, and living apart pursuant to either a separation judgment or a written separation agreement for at least one year. Most New York divorces today use the no-fault ground because fault rarely changes the financial outcome and adds significant cost to the litigation.
Equitable Distribution of Property
New York is an equitable distribution state under Domestic Relations Law Section 236(B). Marital property is divided fairly between the spouses, which is not always equally. Marital property includes anything acquired by either spouse during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. Separate property includes anything one spouse owned before the marriage, gifts and inheritances received individually during the marriage, and personal injury compensation.
The court considers fourteen statutory factors when dividing property, including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s contributions as wage earner or homemaker, the income and assets of each party, tax consequences of any sale, and the need of a custodial parent to remain in the marital home. Marital fault is generally not a factor unless the conduct was so egregious that it would shock the conscience of the court, which is a narrow exception in practice.
Spousal Maintenance
Spousal maintenance, which other states sometimes call alimony, is governed by Domestic Relations Law Section 236(B)(6). New York uses a formula that produces a presumptive maintenance amount based on the parties’ incomes, with a separate formula depending on whether child support is also being paid. The court can adjust the presumptive amount up or down after considering statutory factors, including the duration of the marriage, the health of the parties, the need for further education or training, and the standard of living established during the marriage.
The duration of maintenance is also tied to the length of the marriage under an advisory schedule. Short marriages produce short maintenance awards. Marriages of fifteen years or more can produce maintenance lasting a substantial portion of the marriage’s length, though the court retains discretion in every case.
Child Custody and Child Support
Custody decisions are made under the standard of the best interests of the child, codified through case law and Domestic Relations Law Section 240. Courts consider the existing care arrangement, each parent’s ability to provide stability, the child’s wishes when age-appropriate, the relative health of the parents, and any history of domestic violence. New York no longer uses the language of “custody” and “visitation” in many cases, leaning instead toward “parenting time” allocations.
Child support is calculated under the Child Support Standards Act, which sets a percentage of combined parental income based on the number of children. The percentage is 17 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, 29 percent for three, 31 percent for four, and at least 35 percent for five or more, applied to combined parental income up to a statutory cap that is adjusted periodically. Income above the cap is subject to additional analysis under the statutory factors.
Counsel Fees
Domestic Relations Law Section 237 creates a presumption that the less-monied spouse is entitled to an interim award of counsel fees from the more-monied spouse. The provision is intended to keep one party from using superior resources to wear the other down. A successful application can shift a meaningful portion of legal fees long before the case is over.
How Roven Law Group Helps Clients Apply These Rules
The structure of New York divorce law is consistent across the state, but how it plays out depends on the facts of the marriage and the court where the case is filed. Roven Law Group walks clients through the residency analysis, the grounds, the financial framework, and the parenting issues at the start of the engagement, so the strategy is built around the statute rather than guesswork. The firm represents clients in matrimonial proceedings across Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Schedule a consultation to discuss how these rules apply to your situation.