Friday, April 15, 2011

The New York No Fault Statute Encourages Couples to Pursue their Desire to Divorce

"No Fault" Divorce in New York makes it Psychologically Easier to Divorce

In the past, many couples were hesitant to divorce in New York even though they were ready and willing to divorce one another in a friendly manner. The reason for this was due to the fact that they were forced to assign "blame" on one another in order to meet the statutory requirements of "fault" previously required.

After last October, 2010, the New York Domestic Relations statute was amended in order to allow a divorce based upon the "irretrievable breakdown" of the marital relationship for the past six months under a new provision under Section 170 (7) of the Domestic Relations Law of the State of New York. Now, instead of accusing one party of physical or mental cruelty, abandonment, adultery or a refusal to engage in intimate, martial relations otherwise known as constructive abandonment, one party now simply has to allege that the couples no longer "gets along." 

Many couples truly interested in obtaining a divorce in the past simply delayed or even forgot about their desire to end the marriage since the very thought of making what in many instances was a falsie accusation against the other was a repugnant thought. Under the new amended statute, such false and unsubstantiated allegations has become a dinosaur relic of the past. New York has finally joined the rest of the country in enabling its residents to obtain a divorce from one another in a friendly, non-accusatory manner.

The new law has most definitely caused an "uptick" not in the number of people interested in obtaining an uncontested divorce in the New York State but rather in the number of people who are actually seeking out and obtaining final judgments of divorce. Professionals handling and processing divorce cases no longer have to perform the so-called "wink and the nod" when listening to their clients tell them how their spouse either, abandoned them (physically or sexually) committed adultery or behaved in a cruel and inhuman manner towards them. 

New York has not only joined the other 49 states in finally allowing its citizens to obtain a "no-Fault" divorce but it has truly entered the new millennium in allowing true democratic freedom and truth to prevail in the world of matrimonial law.

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