Is NYS No-Fault Divorce the Same as Uncontested Divorce?

Answer: No.

New York State has always had uncontested divorce.  An uncontested divorce is when you and your spouse agree upon the terms of your divorce.  The primary areas of dispute are the grounds, division of assets, maintenance and issues surrounding children like support, visitation and custody.  If you can agree upon these issues then you can get an uncontested divorce.

New York’s new no-fault divorce law only changes whether or not you will need to plead and prove fault grounds for a court to issue you a divorce.  In the past you had to accuse your spouse of adultery, abandonment, constructive abandonment (sexual abandonment) or cruel and inhuman treatment before a court would let you get divorced.  Now, with the new no-fault divorce law, you do not need to cast stones.  Now you can get a divorce if your marriage is not working anymore.

So, uncontested divorce is NOT the same as no-fault divorce.  No-fault simply means you don’t have to plead and prove fault.  You can have a contested or uncontested no-fault divorce.  You can have a fault based or no-fault based uncontested divorce.  They are not the same thing.

If you want to explore whether you qualify for a NY uncontested or no-fault divorce, please call (866) 830-2064 to schedule your free consultation.