No-fault divorce means that a couple need not prove any instances of wrongdoing or abuse in order to file for divorce in a court of law. Under the New York's recent "no-fault" law, couples will be able to terminate their marriages within a period of six months after declaring that their marriage is "irretrievably broken."

The no-fault divorce provision stands to reduce long, court battles over who's to blame when marriages fail. The end result should mean lower legal fees as well…right??? Well maybe not?

It doesn't mean divorce in New York is as easy as pushing a button. The court will grant a divorce on this ground once the ancillary issues of custody, support and equitable distribution are resolved by the parties, or by judgment of the court and here as always lies the rub! A no-fault divorce by no means necessitates a non-contested divorce. Please review my video about "no-fault" divorces on the lower right of this page. Having an attorney skilled in the negotiation of all areas of financial security, child support, maintenance, division of assets and so forth is fundamental to securing a beneficial result.

New regulations enacted at the same time as no-fault divorce (bill A.10984/S.8390), provide guidelines for temporary maintenance brings additional complexities with it. The formula, which sets guidelines to award temporary spousal maintenance based on the spouses' incomes, fails to address how to deal with household expenses such as mortgage and utility payments.

The intended purpose of the bill is to provide guidelines for courts when awarding temporary maintenance. The bill does not really make any changes to final awards for permanent maintenance. This means that, although the no-fault law makes divorce somewhat easy, all those small little details are still just as complicated.