Filing for Divorce In NY

How to file for divorce in the state of New York

The following information will provide you with a brief insight into the process of filing for divorce in New York State (NY) and the different options available for you - Filing for divorce on your own, through mediaion or with the help of collaborative attorneys. 

As a leading New York legal and divorce mediation practice we can help you fill out and submit the NY divorce forms quickly and affordably. 

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Uncontested Vs Contested Divorce

The first fork in your road to divorce, is to decide whether your divorce will be an uncontested or contested divorce.

Uncontested Divorce - 98% of all divorces filed in NY are uncontested divorces. That means that the spouses negotiated a settlement outside the court and submitted the signed divorce papers to the court.

If both you and your spouse agree that you want to get a divorce, and you believe that you can reach an agreement by yourselves, or with the help of mediators or attorneys, then you will have an uncontested divorce.

Contested divorce - means that the spouses could not reach an agreement and settle their differences outside the court and decided to bring their case in front of a judge. 

In this case, one of the spouses will be the "plaintiff" - the one who initiates the divorce and states the legal grounds for doing so - and the other will be the "defendant" - the one who has the option to either consent, or defend against the divorce in court.

In order to file for a contested divorce in New York, both you and your spouse will need to get attorneys who will present each of your sides in front of the judge. If you wish to file for a contested divorce in New York the first thing you should do is find a good divorce attorney.

Our advice - if you and your spouse can still communicate, even on a very basic level, try to get help and settle your divorce outside the court. Doing so will not only save you thousands of dollars, but it will also put you in charge of your future, as opposed to giving over control and decision-making to a stranger in black robes (a judge).

Remember - you can always choose to go the contested divorce route, but it is very hard to reverse the process of a contested divorce once it has started.

Filling for uncontested divorce in New York

If you wish to file for uncontested divorce in New York, you have the following options:

Prepare and Submit the divorce papers by yourself

If there are no issues between you - you have no children or property together - then you can download the NY uncontested divorce papers and submit them to the court by yourselves. While you are NOT required to have an attorney help you - it does take 3 trips to the court to get the filing done, and all of the papers have to be signed by you and your ex and be notarized, and then submitted to the court in the correct order.

As accredited divorce mediators in New York City, we can help you fill out and submit the divorce papers to ensure your divorce filing is as smooth, economical and problem-free as possible. 

Need help filling out the divorce forms?

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File for divorce with the help of a divorce mediator

If you have children, or shared property (savings, real estate, pension, or business) or shared debt - and you wish to reach an agreement that will be acceptable to both of you, an experienced mediator can facilitate your conversation, help you to resolve conflicts and guide you both through all of the issues, and exploring the options for moving forward. The benefits of using an experienced divorce mediator are many:

• relatively short (2-6 sessions is the average) process,
• economy in fees,
• a civilized process that will help you move on with your life, while honoring the good years and history that you shared in the past.
• better co-parenting relationship in the future. 
• higher rate of following through with agreements, because you both participated in coming up with the terms.

After you have reached an agreement regarding all terms (financial arrangements, child custody, child support, spousal support, etc.) then you simply submit the signed divorce papers, along with a divorce agreement, to the court for approval.

As a leading NY divorce mediation service, we can help you reach a divorce agreement in a civilized and economical manner.  

Feel free to contact us with any divorce mediation questions

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Work with two collaborative attorneys

who will sit with both of you during the negotiations, advise you, and help you negotiate a full settlement. In general, collaborative processes are longer and more costly than mediation - but they are a better option for people who (for whatever reasons) cannot mediate. (For example - people who can't negotiate for or represent themselves; are not able to listen to each other; don't feel safe sitting in the room together and talking honestly; or are not both willing to bring all the relevant financial information to the table.)

As an experience divorce mediation service, we believe that mediation offers the easiets, quickest and less traumatic way out of your marriage. 

To learn more about how divorce mediation can help you file for divorce in NY, we offer a free consultation where we will go over your situation and see if divorce mediation is right for you. 

To schedule a free consultation call us at 866-287-2847 or

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