Author: Law Offices of Susan A. Kassel
State legislatures across the United States began adopting no-fault divorce grounds in the 1970’s. No-fault divorces had the purpose of reducing hostilities by allowing consenting couples to end their relationships without holding the other spouse to blame. Courts allowed couples to declare an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or irreconcilable differences as the grounds for no-fault divorces.
Between 1970 and 1975 more than half of the country’s states had adopted some form of no-fault divorce. New York was the last state legislature to adopt no-fault divorce grounds when it passed the Divorce Reform Act of 2010.
The Divorce Reform Act, which became effective on October 12, 2010 reformed the divorce process by enacting the following changes:
- Couples in marriages that were “irretrievably broken” for at least six months and who settled all differences regarding their children, finances and property could file for a no-fault divorce
- Courts could require maintenance either permanently or for a fixed period of time
- Failure to state in an agreement that remarriage terminates maintenance would not bar termination of maintenance
- Disposition of property would take into consideration post-divorce living standards and loss of health insurance benefits
- Additional actions allowed obtaining maintenance or distributing property after a foreign judgment of divorce
- Factors were established for payment of attorneys’ and experts’ fees
If you are considering divorce, one of the first things you should discuss with your attorney is divorce grounds. An experienced Long Island divorce lawyer can explain the legalities involved and help you arrive at decisions that protect your rights and interests.