What are the steps to obtain a divorce

Step 1: Grounds

You must first have grounds (a legally acceptable reason) to ask for a divorce. If you are filing for a divorce after separation, you must write a separation agreement. You both must sign the agreement in front of a notary and then file it with the County Clerk in the county where you live. Then, you must live apart, according to the terms of your agreement, for at least one year before filing for divorce. You may want to consult a lawyer before preparing and signing your separation agreement.

If you are filing for a fault-based divorce, then you do not need to write a separation agreement. You will need to file the appropriate forms explaining the grounds for divorce with the County Clerk.

Step 2: Fill out the forms

For an uncontested divorce, you will need the Uniform Uncontested Divorce Packet.There are also more instructions on the NY Courts page here:

www.nycourts.gov/litigants/divorce/index.shtml

Note that for all these forms you can ask the court to keep your address confidential, if you have been abused by your spouse. Be sure to ask the Clerk for help with this and do not put your address on any of these forms.

You will first have to fill out the forms "Summons with Notice" (Form UD-1), or a "Summons and Verified Complaint" (Forms UD-1a and UD-2).

The Summons is the form that begins your divorce action in Supreme Court and allows you to name yourself as "plaintiff" and your spouse as the "defendant." In the Complaint, you will state one or more grounds for divorce and ask for the specific things you need (property, custody, child support, etc.).

The choice between using a Summons with Notice and a Summons and Complaint is just a matter of how much detail you want to bring before the court. The Complaint will include more information.

Once you have filled the forms out, you will need to make two additional copies.

Step 3: File your Summons with the court

Bring your completed forms to the County Clerk's office to file them. You can file in the county where you or your spouse lives.

The Clerk's office will assign an index number to your case which you or the Clerk will need to put on your forms. You will also have to put the date you are filing.

You will have to pay $210 for the index number. However, if you cannot pay this fee, tell the Clerk that you need to fill out the forms for a "Poor Person's Waiver." If you qualify, you will not have to pay the fees.

Step 4: Service of Process

Your spouse must be 'served' with a copy of the Summons and the Complaint, if you filed one. You must do this within 120 days. This means that a person other than you, who is a NYS resident, age 18 or older, must personally give him the papers. The server may be a friend, family member, or professional process server. Summons may be served Mondays through Saturdays, but there is no service of process on Sundays.

If your spouse lives in another state, you will need to follow the rules of that state. Call the local sheriff to find out how to have the papers served in that state.

If you have children with your spouse, then you must also serve a copy of the Child Support Standards Chart on the Defendant. Ask the Clerk of Court for a copy of this chart.

You should also include the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7), which your spouse will have to sign and send back to you if he agrees to the divorce. You may fill out the form for him and just let him sign it, or you may want to include instructions on how to fill it out.

Step 5: Receive Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7)

If your spouse agrees to the divorce, he will need to sign the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7) and send it back to you. He has 40 days to do this.

• If your spouse will not complete and return the Affidavit of Defendant, then whoever served him with the papers must prepare an Affidavit of Service (Form UD-3), proving that your spouse received copies of the Summons. If you were married in a religious ceremony, then you must also fill out a copy of the Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage (Form UD-4) and someone other than you, over the age of 18, must send a copy of it to your spouse by mail.
  
• If your spouse files a Notice of Appearance, disagreeing with anything in the papers, then this is no longer an uncontested divorce. You may want to consult an attorney if this happens.

Step 6: Place your divorce case on the court calendar

If your spouse signed the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7), then you may place your case on the court calendar at anytime. If your spouse did not sign the forms, you must wait 40 days after serving him with the papers.

To place your case on the court calendar, you must file these forms with the County Clerk's Office:

• Summons with Notice (Form UD-1) OR Summons and Complaint (Forms UD-1a and UD-2)
  
• Affirmation (Affidavit) of Regularity (Form UD-5, requesting that your case be put on the calendar)
  
• Affidavit of Plaintiff (Form UD-6)
  
• Note of Issue (Form UD-9) (include three copies)
  
• Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law (Form UD-10)
  
• Judgment of Divorce (Form UD-11)
  
• Part 130 Certification (Form UD-12)
  
• Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7) (if your spouse signed and returned this to you)
  
• Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage
  
• Postcard
  
• UCS 113 – Divorce and Child Support Summary Form

If your spouse did not sign the Affidavit of Defendant (Form UD-7), then you must also file:

• Form UD-3 Affidavit of Service
  
• Form UD-4 Sworn Statement of Barriers to Remarriage, with Form UD-4a.

If there are children of the marriage, you will also have to file the forms related to child support (Forms UD-8, UD-8a, and UD-8b). If you want child support to be paid to someone other than the Child Support Collection Unit, you must also file the New York State Case Registry Form.

If you are filing in a court outside of New York City, then you must also file Request for Judicial Intervention (Form UD-13).

Unless you are also filing a Poor Person's Waiver, then you will be charged additional filing fees.

There are specific instructions for each form on the NY Courts webpage here:

www.courts.state.ny.us/litigants/divorce/ud_instructions.shtml

The County Clerk will then give all these papers to the judge. If the papers are approved, the judge will sign The Judgment of Divorce (Form UD-11).

Note: If you are asking for maintenance, custody, visitation, or distribution of property, the judge may require a hearing unless you have either a written agreement or prior court order. If you are asking for the home you shared during your marriage, you must assert that your spouse is not living there; otherwise a hearing may be ordered.