Online divorce in New York

New York Residency Requirements to file for divorce

It is important to match state requirements for your case in order to get an approval by the court.

In the state of New York, the residency requirements are as follows:

1. Both of the divorcing spouses must reside in the state, and the marriage registration should take place in New York as well.

2. The spouses must have lived in the state for no less than two years.

3. If the couple got married in another state, they need to obtain official permission from the respective county for a divorce procedure in New York.

As compared to other states, the state of New York has stricter rules and laws for the termination of a marriage, so make sure to be prepared.

How to file documents for an Uncontested Divorce in New York

The moment you come to court, your case is registered. After you provide the court with all the necessary documents, the divorce process starts.

As a Petitioner, you should provide your spouse with all the required documents either via postal mail or email. If you are unaware of your spouse’s current location, you must inform the court representative of it. The court will then announce through the media such as the radio, TV, or newspaper of your missing spouse and schedule a court hearing.

You should also serve the court with all the important pieces of information such as common debts, division of property, child custody, and spousal support. Make sure that you provide the court with everything that is significant.

This is a document that settles all the problematic items of the divorce process between the spouses. It is usually signed and prepared by the County Clerk for the court hearing.

For the Final Judgement, both spouses must be present in the courtroom. If one of the spouses is not there, the judge may make the decision to prolong the procedure; everything depends on the case.

DIY Divorce in New York

This type of divorce is considered to be highly favored nowadays due to its relatively cheap cost. For this procedure, there is no need to hire an attorney as all matters are resolved personally.

If you are the Petitioner and initiator of the divorce procedure, it is your sole duty to provide your spouse with all the required documentation.

How much does an Uncontested Divorce cost in New York?

The State of New York stipulates an initial Index Number Fee of $210 for the divorce procedure. Any additional expenses can vary from $30 to $95 which includes a Judgment sign (the Request for Judicial Intervention and Note of Issue papers). The total cost can come out to be around $335.

And don’t forget the fees of hiring an attorney. It can cost up to $500/hour to hire an attorney in the state of New York and this price can double if you wish to hire one with rich experience. You can avoid many of these costs and save a lot of money if you prepare your documents online with us.

If you have any questions regarding how long the divorce process will take, we hate to tell you but that is strictly up to the individual decision of the Court. Nowadays, there are no general timelines for marriage termination as the Judge makes decisions depending on the case.

For an uncontested divorce, you should wait for 40 days from the moment you sign the Petition for a court hearing . In comparison, you need to wait approximately 120 days for a court hearing in a contested divorce.

How Long Does It Take to Get Divorced in New-York?

The approximate duration of the divorce procedure can vary depending on the case.

Uncontested divorce can take 7-8 months while a contested one may range up to 15-16 months. The waiting period for both depends on the peculiarities of the case.

We will now clarify the required documents you need to file with the court for an uncontested divorce.

How to serve your spouse in New York

You need to first deliver the required documents to your spouse in order to begin the divorce proceedings. You can send it either via postal mail or email.

You should try to provide your spouse with at least two copies of each document in case one gets lost. If you encounter any problems, the County Clerk will undoubtedly aid you in this process.

Documents Required to Get a Divorce in New York

• Notice Of Automatic Orders
• Notice of Guideline Maintenance
• Notice Concerning Continuation Of Health Care Coverage
• Summons with Notice (UD-1)
• Summons (UD-1a)
• Verified Complaint (UD-2)
• Affidavit of Service (UD-3)
• Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage (UD-4)
• Affirmation (Affidavit) of Regularity (UD-5)
• Affidavit of Plaintiff (UD-6)
• Affidavit of Defendant (UD-7)
• Annual Income Worksheet (UD-8(1))
• Maintenance Guidelines Worksheet (UD-8(2))
• Child Support Worksheet (UD-8(3))
• Support Collection Unit Information Sheet (UD-8a)
• Qualified Medical Child Support Order (UD-8b)
• Note of Issue (UD-9)
• Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law (UD-10)
• The Judgment of Divorce (UD-11)
• Part 130 Certification (UD-12)
• Request for Judicial Intervention (RJI) (UD-13)
• Addendum for the RJI (UCS-840M)
• Notice of Entry (UD-14)
• Affidavit of Service by Mail of JOD (Form UD-15)
• Affidavit in Support of Application to Proceed as a Poor Person
• Poor Person Order
• Affidavit of Service of Proposed Poor Person's Order
• Postcard Sample
• Certificate of Dissolution
• Notice of Settlement
• Spousal Support Only Income Withholding Order (LDSS-5038)
• Non-IV-D Income Withholding Order (LDSS-5037)
• Spousal Support Only Income Withholding Order (LDSS-5038)
• Income Withholding For Support: General Information and Instructions (LDSS-5039)
• NYS Case Registry Filing Form for use with Non-IV-D orders (except spousal only orders)
• UCS-111 Child Support Summary Form
• DRL 255 Addendum
• LDSS 4882 Application for Child Support Services

The court requires all these documents, but you personally don’t need all of them for your case.

We will now guide you on how to prepare all your documents online.

Online Divorce in New York

Online divorce refers to when you prepare all your documents and forms online without the aid of an attorney. It typically saves you money and can make the divorce process smoother. Steps of the online process include:

• Understanding the type of divorce you have
• Ordering the necessary documents online
• Paying the applicable fees for the prepared forms
• Waiting for the documents to be completed
• Taking the completed documents and filing them at court.

Rules for child support in New York

One of the main issues to resolve during the divorce process is child custody.

Both spouses have equal visitation rights along with financial responsibilities. Children should be raised and cared for by both parents until the age of 21.

Physical Custody includes two positions:

• Common custody where both parents take care of the children
• Individual custody where the children live with 1 parent in most cases and regularly visit the other one.

As for financial support, let’s take a realistic example:

You and your spouse decide to take individual custody of the children. You have a monthly income of $20,000 and your spouse has $30,000. Together, you guys have a joint monthly income of $50,000. The court will take these into account and determine the child support percentage such ass:

• 17% of the total income for a child
• 25% of the total income for two children
• 29% of the total income for three children
• 31% of the total parental income for four children
• Approximately  35% of the total income for five or more children

If you and your spouse agree on living separate lives without causing harm to your children, your divorce procedure will proceed much smoother.

Rules for spousal support in New York

When dealing with the peculiarities of spousal support, the Court takes into consideration certain factors such as:

• income levels of both spouses
• the marriage term
• where and with who the children will be living with
• current tax rate
• health state of both spouses

These issues are considered to be a crucial part of the divorce process and you can be rest-assured that they will be dealt with fairly.

Division of property in New York

The issue of property division during the divorce process is also taken into serious consideration. The Judge takes into account certain factors such as:

• Income levels of both spouses
• Time the couple had been together in the legal marriage
• Health state of both spouses
• Pension rate and health insurance
• Alimony payments
• Amount of material property of both spouses
• Future financial outlook of both spouses
• Interest rate of both spouses in common business if required
• Tax expenditures of both spouses

According to the New York legislation, the main goal of this is to make the division as equal as possible. Common debt is also divided fairly between the spouses based on factors such as the rate of the debt and the time the two had been together in the legal marriage. You are also required to prepare documents proving all possible information regarding the debt.

Divorce Mediation in New York

Divorce mediation is the process of negotiation divorce issues with the help of a third party. Each spouse will hire a lawyer separately to help mediate the divorce procedure.

The New York Family Code requires mediation when dealing with child custody issues. The court will not give you the Final Judgement until you complete the mediation process.

The mediation process is quite simple:

• Both spouses attend the first meeting with the mediator to discuss issues revolving child custody
• The mediator schedules another meeting time that is convenient for both spouses
• If both spouses come to an agreement, the mediator writes up and signs a document stating the terms and conditions of both spouses regarding the issue

How to divorce a missing spouse in New York

If your spouse goes missing during the divorce process, you should try everything in your power to locate them:

• Search for areas where your spouse might be
• Contact your spouse’s relatives and ask for their possible location
• Contact the local police department for help in searching for your missing spouse

After all your attempts and you still fail to locate your missing spouse, the Court will publish a missing person’s report in the newspaper. If your spouse is still not found, the court will schedule the Final Judgement with their absence.

Default Divorce in New York

Default divorce is a legal termination of a marriage. It takes place when one of the spouses refuses or fails to respond to a Divorce Petition.

Grounds for the Default Divorce

There are several grounds for a default divorce:

• The absence of a spouse for a term of at least 1 year
• Adultery
• Extraordinary violence or cruelty
• A deceitful contract
• The absence of non-negotiable duties
• Excessive drinking
• The Imprisonment of a spouse in a state or federal correctional institution at the same time of filling out the Petition
• Culture/Religious/Health issues
• A Criminal Conviction
• Financial backing
• Sexual issues

In the State of New York, the average cost for a default divorce is $20,000. This includes lawyers fees, cost of Sheriff service, and several other. However, if you use our online document preparation, you will be able to save more than half the cost of hiring an attorney!

Annulment of Marriage in New York

Annulment of marriage is a bit different from a divorce.

The grounds for an annulment are:

• One of the spouses was not 18 years of age at the time of marriage
• One of the spouses was mentally ill before the marriage registration
• One of the spouses is physically ill or disabled
• The marriage was an act of forgery

After the annulment, the spouses divide property and resolve child custody as fairly as possible. Family debts as well as the marriage are annulled by the court: the marriage ends as if it never existed.

Legal Separation in New York

Legal separation is quite common in the state of New York. It is when a married couple decides to live separately as if they were unmarried. They cannot, however, remarry until they go through a legal divorce procedure. All the issues such as property division and child custody are dealt in a similar matter to a normal divorce proceeding. You can reference these information above.

As for the children, both spouses have equal rights and responsibilities in visiting them and providing financial support. Ultimately, the Superior Court makes all the final decisions regarding the case.

Same-Sex Divorce in New York

Same-Sex Divorce is the termination of a marriage between two people of the same gender. They have the same issues to solve as traditional couples such as:

• Spousal support
• Property division
• Child custody
• Debt division

Same-Sex Divorce in New York does not differ from a normal divorce:. it allows same-gender couples to exercise similar rights to any other married couples. This gives same-sex couples the possibility to feel more confident and self-sufficient in their position.

Military Divorce in New York

Military divorce is also quite similar to a normal divorce: all the terms and conditions are the same. You need to serve your spouse in the military with the required documents either through the Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office You can also contact the military office, duty station, or the service commander. If something goes wrong or if you encounter any issues, you can always ask the Supreme Court for assistance.

How to divorce a spouse in jail

You should clarify with the Court Clerk regarding this procedure. You can send all the required documents through post or hand them to your spouse directly. The processing time and length of the divorce process is the same as any other.

Divorce filing fee

Court filing fees are in addition to the cost of using DivorceFiller.com. This cost may vary by county. Please check with your local courthouse to determine the exact amount.

How we can help

Providing you with accurately prepared documents for court is of our utmost importance. Dealing with your papers efficiently and accurately will help terminate your marriage with more ease. Trust us and we will help!

Liabilities to our clients

• Affordable price for your completed divorce forms
• Complete the process online at your convenience
• Excellent customer support
• No hidden fees
• Instructions review on-demand
• 100% Satisfaction Guarantee with Uncontested Divorce Forms
• All forms meet your state and county requirements