Q. Do I have to live in New York to get a divorce here?
A. In order for you to file in New York State, one of the following must apply:

• You are both living in New York presently and the grounds occurred in New York

• If either you or your spouse have lived in New York for the last year or more (and one of the following):

  1. You were married in New York,  or  

  2. You and your spouse have lived in New York as husband and wife anytime during your marriage, or

  3. The grounds for divorce occurred in New York  

• Either you or your spouse have been living in New York for 2 years immediately preceding commencement of the divorce action                                

Q. What is an uncontested divorce?
A. There are two types of uncontested divorces. The first type is an "on consent" divorce. This is where your spouse signs an affidavit agreeing to the divorce. The second type is where your spouse refuses to sign an affidavit consenting to the divorce, but does not file any documents contesting the divorce after being served with a summons. This second type results in a default judgment of divorce.  It is also commonly referred to as a "one signature divorce."                                

Q. Will I have to go to Court?
A. When the divorce is on consent, you do not have to appear in Court. The divorce is granted by submission of papers.  Furthermore, you generally do not have to appear in Court for a one signature divorce when there are no issues involved such as children, property, etc.  If the only issues are custody, visitation and child support, and you already have a Family Court order in effect, you also do not generally have to appear in Court.  If there are open issues, such as custody, visitation, child support and distribution of property, the Court will require that you appear at a hearing.                                                                           

Q. What if I don't know where my spouse is?
A. It is still possible to obtain a divorce.  First, a diligent search must be conducted.  Frequently, spouses are found in this manner. However, if your spouse cannot be found, an order must then be obtained from the Court permitting publication of the summons in a newspaper. The summons is published once weekly for three consecutive weeks.  If your spouse does not file a response within 30 days, then he/she is in default and divorce papers can be filed as in a one signature divorce.  Typically, this type of divorce costs between $2,000 and $4,000 and should be handled by an attorney.  Please call us if you would like us to refer you to an attorney.                                          

Q. Can I get a divorce based on "irreconcilable differences"?
A. Irreconcilable differences are NOT GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE IN NEW YORK.  In order to obtain a divorce in New York, you must have one of the following grounds:

• Abandonment - your spouse has unjustifiably left you and has been continuously absent for more than one year;

• Lockout - your spouse has forced you out of the marital residence for more than one year;

• Constructive Abandonment - your spouse has refused to have sexual intercourse with you for more than one year despite your repeated requests and is physically able to have sexual intercourse;

• Cruel and inhuman treatment - your spouse has engaged in acts which render it unsafe or improper for you to continue living together;

• Confinement - you spouse has been confined to prison for three continuous years after the marriage took place;

• Adultery - your spouse has had sexual intercourse with another person.  In order to prove this, you must have a corroborating witness or physical evidence, very difficult to prove, usually not used in uncontested divorce;

• Legal separation for more than one year - this requires either a properly executed separation agreement filed with the County Clerk, or a Judgment of Separation.    

Q. How is child support determined?
A. Child support is based on a percentage of income pursuant to the Child Support Standards Act. The percentages are as follows:

• One child - 17%

• Two children - 25%

• Three children - 29%

• Four children - 31%

• Five or more children - 35%

Certain deductions from income are permitted, such as FICA and New York City or Yonkers taxes, and prior court ordered child support for children outside of the marriage. The Child Support Standards Chart must be consulted as lower income levels pay flat amounts of child support rather than percentages of income.

Q. What about a foreign divorce?  I see people advertising Dominican divorces, are they legal?
A. The following is from The New York Law Journal, Tuesday, March 6, 2001:

Divorce in Dominican Republic Is Sham; Second Marriage Is Bigamous, Void

IN 1982, plaintiff married her husband, who is now deceased. Defendant, decedent’s second wife, claimed that plaintiff and decedent were divorced by a decree of the Dominican Republic in 1985. Defendant stated that over seven years later, she and decedent were married in a civil ceremony in New York City. Plaintiff claimed that the Dominican divorce was not valid and that she did not even know of the possibility of its existence until 1999. After reviewing the facts of the case, a special referee found that the Dominican divorce was a sham. The referee speculated that both these marriages were marriages of convenience. The referee concluded that the marriage between defendant and decedent was bigamous and void and that neither laches nor estoppel were applicable doctrines. The referee stated that no steps taken by the parties, or failure to take such steps, could validate a marriage which was void ab initio.

• Smirnov v. Li, New York, Supreme Court, IA Part 20, Special Referee Lewis, M.

Q. If my spouse contests the divorce, can you represent me?
A. No. DivorceEASE^™ is a paralegal service whose function is limited to the preparation of divorce papers based on the information you provide to us. We are also a clerical service and will file your papers for you.   We are not permitted to give legal advice or to represent you as an attorney.   However, you may call us if you need us to refer you to an attorney.

Q. Do you prepare divorce papers for other states?
A. No. It is our belief that a paralegal service must be located in the state in which they prepare documents so as to be familiar with the local courts and keep abreast of the ever changing divorce laws and filing requirements within the state. New York State has 62 counties and each county has their own filing procedures.  DivorceEASE^™ is aware of this and has taken the appropriate steps to respond to these differences.

Q. I recently saw software at the computer store that said it prepared divorce papers which are valid in all 50 states. Can I take a chance with it?
A. We have yet to see any commercially available software or kit stating they are valid in all 50 states that are sufficient to obtain a divorce in New York. While the documents they provide are "valid" in New York, they are not complete and must be supplemented with a substantial number of mandatory documents.  

Q. I'm skeptical! Your price seems too low to be legitimate. How can I possibly get a divorce at the price you advertise?
A. DivorceEASE^™ uses a combination of several ultra-sophisticated computer programs to quickly and efficiently prepare a complete set of divorce papers based on the information you provided.  This enables us to keep our costs low while handling a large volume of clients. [To see what our clients are saying about us: Testimonials]                                      

Q. Others are advertising Divorce in 10 Days? Why don't you?
A. Your entire set of  divorce papers is prepared the day that your completed application arrives in our office.  The actual length of time until you are divorced will depend upon the court in which your papers are filed.  Do not be misled by those promising that they can get your divorce faster than anyone else.  It is entirely up to the court.  No one prepares papers faster than DivorceEASE^™. The average length of time that we have observed over the past 7 years is 6 to 12 weeks. The actual length of time for any given case depends on several factors, such as how long it takes for you and your spouse to sign your papers and pay the filing fees.  Also to be considered is the Court's backlog, which can vary depending on the time of year and the volume of cases filed.  In addition, the procedure for a one signature divorce does increase the length of time by approximately 2 months.

Q. We have a Separation Agreement that includes a clause saying there will be no child support.  My attorney says since we agree, we can opt out of child support. Is that true?
A. The following is a letter to the editor that was published in the New York Law Journal on June 23, 1999.
       "The decision in Priolo v. Sarisohn, (Supreme Court, Suffolk Co., NYLJ May 17) should be cause for concern among some attorneys practicing matrimonial and family law.  Although the court dismissed the malpractice action as barred by the statute of limitations, the dictum was that it is malpractice for an attorney not to advise a client that an agreement containing a 'mutual waiver' of child support is unenforceable.   It is noteworthy that the separation agreement in Priolo was executed in 1984, before the adoption of the Child Support Standards Act, which might have been expected to clear up this issue.  Nevertheless, I continue, even now, to encounter attorneys who request such waivers.  Perhaps the risk of malpractice liability will serve as a deterrent.    Robert E. Spitalnick   Great Neck, NY"