A marital separation agreement, also known as a property agreement, is a written contract that divides your property, determines your rights, and resolves issues such as maintenance and custody. A marital separation agreement can be made before or after the divorce, even if you and your spouse still live together. The husband and wife acknowledge that each entered into this Agreement in good faith, without coercion or undue influence. Everyone understands their right to seek independent legal advice with respect to this Agreement, and everyone has had the opportunity to seek independent legal advice before signing this Agreement. This allows you to negotiate and execute your MSA and then file for divorce once the waiting period has elapsed. Allocation of property (§ 236 Part B (5)) – The distribution of property between the spouses in a divorce decree is determined by a number of factors to ensure that both parties receive their fair share of the property. This is called a fair distribution law. Voluntary separation from New York through no fault of their own requires the parties to execute (sign) an MSA and then live separately for at least a year before the actual divorce documents can be filed. When negotiating your agreement, you should be guided by how a court is likely to divide your property, award custody and child support, and deal with other issues. Support (§ 236 Part B (6)) – The court takes into account the amount of support (referred to in New York as “post-divorce support”) that the high-income spouse (payer) must pay to the low-income spouse (beneficiary) after a divorce decree: To initiate the uncontested divorce proceedings, the applicant must complete the subpoena form and a verified complaint and send it to the clerk. In some counties, the clerk may ask you to create an additional form in which they assign the unique index number to the case.
Residency (§ 230) – At least one spouse must reside in New York State for one (1) year before filing for divorce. However, if the couple was not married in the state or did not live together as husband and wife in the state, one of the spouses must reside in the state for at least two (2) years before filing for divorce. In the case of an uncontested divorce, the court almost always approves the agreement of the parties if it is generally fair and the court is satisfied that the agreement was reached by both spouses without fraud or coercion. Often, the court wants to review the financial affidavits attached to the agreement to determine their fairness. If you have decided to divorce your spouse, return all necessary documents to the New York State Supreme Court, keeping in mind that one of the plaintiffs must have resided in New York for at least one year. If your marriage was registered outside the state, the requirements are stricter, so you or your spouse must live in the state for at least two years before legal proceedings are initiated. This rule is mandatory to follow, otherwise your submissions will not be accepted. When it comes to spousal support, also known as alimony or alimony after divorce, the court considers many factors for the calculation. These include age and health characteristics, financial opportunities, the particularities of child support, tax consequences, self-preservation and others. The spouse with a greater degree of financial independence pays support to the other. Filing an uncontested divorce in New York State will be faster and cheaper than a contested divorce, but there are still many forms to complete and complete a number of steps before a divorce can be completed.
To commence an uncontested divorce case, a spouse (called an “applicant”) must complete a subpoena with notice (Form UD-1) OR a subpoena (Form UD-1a) and a verified complaint (Form UD-2). These forms must be submitted to the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the district where one of the spouses resides (see Residency Rules). It is possible that the employee will also provide the applicant with an index number application form (example: Suffolk County). A fee of $210 is charged for the filing of all forms, and the clerk assigns an index number to the case. The irremediable reason for a no-fault divorce from New York requires the parties to declare under oath to the court that they have had a breakdown of the conjugal relationship for a period of six (6) months at the time the divorce action is filed. If the parties do not have questions that would require an MSA, the documents indicate that the parties have agreed on all issues. An MSA is required for divorce proceedings involving minor children, as details of alimony, custody and visitation must be submitted to the court. It is not always easy to separate the conjugal relationship with your spouse. A good alternative to such a measure is legal separation. The steps to follow the guidelines of this process are no different from those of divorce. However, it can better meet your needs and help you rethink your common problems of staying separate.
Once the subpoena and complaint have been filed, the plaintiff must inform the other party (the defendant) of the commencement of the proceedings and provide the appropriate documents. You must serve the defendant with the subpoena, an affidavit from the defendant, and other important communications about aspects of the divorce such as maintenance and health insurance. In addition, if the spouses have children, child support documents must also be submitted. In a divorce case, the party who does not file the file automatically becomes the defendant for the purposes of the proceedings […].