Since October 2010, New York has been a no-fault divorce state.
New York became one of the last states in the country to allow divorcing spouses to sue on a true, no-fault divorce ground. Previously, couples had to allege that the other side committed cruel and inhuman treatment, actual or sexual abandonment against them. They could divorce if they could prove their spouse's continuous imprisonment for over 3 years. They could wait a year after negotiating and entering into a Separation Agreement and pursue a conversion divorce. Those with difficulty proving grounds worried that they wouldn't prevail at trial on the issue. The matrimonial clerks would bounce their papers and make them come to court. Some, offended by the grounds for divorce their spouse alleged in the complaint, insisted on filing a counterclaim on their own divorce grounds, making the divorce contested and more complex.
To use the new no-fault grounds under DRL 170(7), the spouse seeking the divorce simply alleges that the marriage has been irretrievably broken for six months, and is not likely to recover.
All that is required is that one of the spouses alleges an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. At least one court has held that it is pointless to have a trial to determine whether there has in fact been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, if one spouse has says that this is the case. To prevent an abuse of the no-fault divorce process, the courts require that the economic and custodial issues in the divorce be fully addressed or it will not grant the divorce.This change in the law allows spouses to move forward without airing their past grievances and fighting over grounds, and focus on important issues. As a result of the new law, the number of uncontested divorces brought in New York has significantly increased.