New York No-Fault Divorce

Posted on April 19, 2012 by rgranat

New York No-Fault Divorce is based on “Irretrievable Breakdown” of the marriage.

NY no-fault divorce is here.

New York no-fault divorce is finally here.

New York is one of the last states to pass a no-fault divorce law.  As of August  15, 2010, New Yorkers have the option of filing for a no-fault divorce. New York no-fault divorce has arrived.

Before 2010, New York granted divorces only on a fault ground or you could enter into a New York Marital Separation Agreement, file it with the court, and the wait for one year, after which the parties could get a divorce.

New York still retains fault grounds for divorce. The fault grounds for  divorce in New York are:

  • Cruel and inhuman treatment
  • Abandonment for a continuous period of one year or more
  • Imprisonment for more than three years subsequent to the marriage
  • Adultery
  • Conversion of a separation judgment
  • Conversion of a written and acknowledged separation agreement after living separate and apart for more than one year

New York no-fault divorce is based on Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The new New York ground for no-fault divorce is called “Irretrievable Breakdown” of the marriage. This is the same as a “no-fault” divorce. “Irretrievable breakdown” is defined in the statute as:

  • The relationship between husband and wife has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months (DRL §170.7)

The new ground reduces the waiting period for a New York no-fault divorce to  six months.

If the parties agree on all of the issues, which can result from the execution of a Marital Separation Agreement, the parties have a “New York uncontested divorce”.  An uncontested divorce in New York can be granted if the defendant waives the right to answer, but the plaintiff must prove the allegations that the divorce is irretrievably broken by either affidavit or appearance at a hearing where testimony is given.

You have choices in filing your New York no fault divorce in terms of keeping your legal costs reasonable. If you enter into a Marital Separation Agreement your divorce becomes “uncontested” and the filing of the divorce is straight forward with a minimal amount of legal procedures. If you think you need a lawyer, you now can purchase legal forms bundled with legal advice from a virtual, on-line law firm. The legal fee is often less than if you were to go to a full service divorce attorney.

A network of virtual law firms

A network of virtual law firms

A list of virtual law firms in New York can be found here at www.mylawyer.com.

Another alternative is to purchase legal forms. Legalforms are available foor the New York court site for free. Click here for free legal forms from the NY Court Site. These forms are not interactive and either in Adobe  .PDF or MS Word format. They can be difficult and complex to complete.

For an alternative to the court site,  try our smart and interactive forms, which include help screens, and which you can complete within your web browser here . These forms are instantly available.

Our site also offers paralegal prepared legal forms, however your best value is to purchase the legal forms package only, as none of the legal document preparation web sites can give legal advice because they are not law firms. If you feel challenged by completing legal forms online, then consider our document preparation service, but be aware that what you get is the same product as our smart legal forms web service.

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Standardized Texas Divorce Forms being Considered by Texas Court

Posted on April 14, 2012 by rgranat

The Texas Supreme Court is considering publishing a set of standardized Texas divorce forms to help “pro se” litigants represent themselves in their own uncontested divorces. Texas is not alone in the volume of self-represented litigants in divorce and family law matters – a trend that is propelled by the high cost of legal fees. Texas is, however, behind other states in responding to the needs of “pro se” litigants. Other states such as Florida and Maryland have published standardized forms in family law actions for years.

The Texas Bar is opposed to the publication of these forms, but the Court is moving ahead with the project despite the Bar’s opposition. The Bar’s position is that every one needs to be represented by an attorney. This is the State Bar that famously opposed the publication of self-help law books and legal software on the theory that these publications some how constituted the practice of law. The Bar won a case against  Quicken Family Lawyer on this theory that legal software is the equivalent of the practice of law.

Subsequently the Texas legislature passed an exception to the definition of the practice of law in the State of Texas to make clear that the distribution of legal software does not constitute the practice of law. 

It is the organized bar’s opposition to programs that are designed to increase access to the legal system for people who cannot afford already high legal fees that gives the legal profession a bad name.

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Maryland Simplifies No-Fault Divorce Law – October 1, 2011

Posted on October 3, 2011 by rgranat

Maryland has simplified its no-fault divorce law as of October 1, 2011.  Previously spouses could get divorced by voluntary agreement after a 12 month separation. If the agreement was not voluntary, the waiting period has always been two years.  Now in Maryland, there is no requirement that the parties voluntarily agree to get a divorce at the end of the 12 month waiting period. The “voluntary” ground has been eliminated.  All that is required is separation for a 12 month period. You now can get a divorce based on a one year separation  in Maryland.

In order to qualify, you and your spouse must have lived apart from each other for at least
12 months without sexual intercourse with each other and there is no reasonable hope of getting back together.  This means that during the last twelve months, if you and your spouse lived together at all, or if you have had sexual intercourse with your spouse during that time, or if you spent even one night under the same roof, you cannot get an absolute divorce based on a 12-month separation. (For example, if you have been separated from your spouse for 12 months, but one night six (6) months ago you had sexual intercourse with your spouse, then you have only been separated for six (6) months.)

For uncontested divorce forms in Maryland bundled with legal advice for a fixed fee, see: MDFAMILYLAWYER.COM

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Make Your Divorce Uncontested

Posted on September 29, 2011 by rgranat

Uncontested Divorce- Lets AgreeWe know from experience that many couples can handle their own, no-fault, uncontested divorce maintaining control over their divorce action. Since 1998, we have helped tens of thousands of couples do their own divorce through our Web site at Divorce Law Information Center.

The lowest cost way for you to get a divorce is to represent yourself in your own divorce action and to work with your spouse to make your divorce uncontested. If you need legal advice, you are better off purchasing legal advice by the question or session from a law firm that specializes in divorce and family matters.There are many law firms that now offer what is call “unbundled” or “limited” legal services over the Internet that will sell legal advice by the question. For a list of these law firms see the Law Firm Directory on MyLawyer.com. My own virtual law firm in Maryland, for example,  sells legal advice by the question or by the session at MDFAMILYLAWYER.COM

If there are only one or two issues that divide you and your spouse try to resolve these issues in mediation, which will cost you between $500.00 and $1,000. Once all of your issues are resolved you can enter into a Marital Separation Agreement which makes your divorce uncontested. Once your divorce becomes uncontested, it is simply a matter of processing the paperwork and participating in an uncontested divorce hearing which  usually lasts no more than an hour. In some states a hearing is not even  necessary.

To purchase state specific legal forms, go to a an automated legal forms web site like the Divorce Law Information Center, where you have a choice between purchasing either forms with specific instructions for a low price. ($39.00 for divorce forms). You have another choice which is to purchase legal forms which are “prepared” by a paralegal or legal technician. We offer this service as well from the Divorce Law Information Center, but the price is much higher because we know that consumers like to think that a paralegal adds something to the document preparation process. The reality is that the legal forms are identical and a paralegal cannot give you any legal advice. Thus your best value is either to purchase forms only, or you can often purchase legal forms bundled with legal advice from an attorney for the same price you would pay if you purchased a document preparation service. MyLawyer.com has a listing of law firms in many states that will offer uncontested divorce forms bundled with legal advice for under $300.00. This is your best value.

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New Maryland Child Support Law – October 1, 2010

Posted on June 8, 2011 by rgranat

In case you haven’t heard, Maryland has a new child support, which went into effect on October 1, 2010. The last revision was 22 years ago.  Here are some important provisions in the new law:

  • The new law applies to child support orders entered after Oct. 1, 2010.
  • The schedule of basic child support obligations will be adjusted upward to account for increases in the cost of living and inflation.
  • The schedule of basic child support obligations will be expanded to include parents with combined adjusted actual incomes of up to $15,000 per month (or $180,000 per year). This is a considerable increase from the current guidelines, which are only used when the parents have a combined adjusted actual income of up to $10,000 per month (or $120,000 per year).
  • The law presumes that the guidelines provide the correct amount of child support to be awarded.  That presumption may be rebutted with evidence demonstrating that the application of the guidelines in a particular case would be unjust or inappropriate.

In order to change a child support order, a party still has to show a “material change in circumstances.” That “material change” must be relevant to the level of support a child is actually receiving, and of sufficient magnitude to justify judicial modification of the support order.  Examples of a “material change in circumstances” may include, but are not limited to:

  • a significant increase or decrease in either parent’s income, usually at least a 35% change in income;
  • a significant increase in the child(ren)’s expenses, which relate to their financial, medical, psychological or educational needs; or
  • a significant change in the number of overnights per year that the child(ren) spend with each parent. If, after October 1, 2010, the court finds that modification is appropriate, then the modified order will be governed by the new guidelines.
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Welcome to the DivorceWiz Blog

Posted on May 18, 2011 by rgranat

Welcome to our blog on self-help divorce matters. Our goal is to help you represent yourself in an uncontested divorce. We will provide you with tips, information, and analysis on how you can secure a divorce without spending thousands of dollars on legal fees. We will also identify alternatives to the traditional way of getting a divorce, including identifying law firms that can help you with your divorce and which don’t charge a fortune.

About Me and DivorceLawInfo

This blog is authored by Richard Granat, an attorney based in Maryland, who is the publisher of this and other divorce web sites.  One of my passions is figuring out how to help people divorce peacefully and get on with their lives, without spending thousands of dollars on legal fees.  If you have children, the money is better spent on your children rather than on legal fees, if you can avoid it.

In the early days of the Internet, I  become intrigued by the potential of the Internet as a means to lower the cost of legal services and for demonstrating new ways to offer legal services.  In 1998,  I established Granat Legal Services, P.C.,  to demonstrate the concept of a law firm on the web, or a “virtual law firm”. A virtual law firm is one which offers legal services in domestic relations matters at a price that people of moderate and middle income can afford. At about the same time I also created the Divorce Law Information Center to provide automated legal forms to consumers directly to enable them to represent themselves. Since then our enterprise has grown to over 40 state specific legal form web sites, all of our which are managed by a separate company that is affiliated with my law firm.

Check back here often, or subscribe to this blog, to learn about the latest developments in pro se representation divorce and other family law matters; “unbundled legal services” ; new developments in divorce law among the various states; and new approaches to resolving your disputes during a “break-up” that enables you to get on with your lives with a minimum amount of heartbreak.

Breaking up is always hard to do, but we hope we can make this project a little bit easier for you.

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