Sometimes all the issues in a divorce can be completely resolved by agreement between the parties without any intervention by the courts. Often, in such cases one party may retain an attorney to represent them, and draw up the papers, while the other party may procede pro-se or retain an attorney to at least review the agreement before signing.

At the other extreme are divorces which are highly complicated and costly, involving years of litigation and possibly even a trial. These divorces usually involve lots of court appearances, acrimony, bitterness, and other behavior that should be avoided by the parties if at all possible.  

Many times however, a divorce falls somewhere in between and the parties, through their attorneys are able to negotiate a settlement where issues such as custody, visitation, child support, maintenance (alimony) and marital property division are resolved in a manner that is acceptable to both parties. In such cases, despite the matter being resolved with an agreement, the parties may have to make one or two appearances at court so that the judge and the attorneys are able to work out some of the more detailed aspects of the case.    

For many years New York was an outlier and did not provide a means for a no-fault divorce without the use of a written separation agreement. As of October, 2010 all that has changed and now a party can seek a divorce by alleging that the marital relationship has irretrievably broken down for a period of at least six (6) months.  

Of course, you may still obtain a divorce on fault grounds, and if the conduct alleged is serious enough it could affect the distribution of marital property.

There are many aspects to successfully negotiating or litigating a divorce, and the choice of fault grounds (including the "no fault" option) should not be made without first speaking with an attorney. 

Do you have questions or do you want to make an appointment to discuss divorce in Nassau County?

Call me at (516) 513-1300 or use our contact form.