Staten Island Uncontested Divorce Lawyer

Uncontested divorce for Staten Island residents

A divorce is uncontested when your spouse does not oppose it and the two of you have resolved the division of property, maintenance or its waiver, child support, counsel fees, and custody and parenting time, which must all be settled or decided before a no-fault judgment can be entered (DRL § 170(7)). Those terms go into a written settlement agreement, signed by both of you and acknowledged like a deed (DRL § 236(B)(3)). We prepare the agreement and the court papers for Staten Island residents, with consultations by phone or video.

The Richmond County Supreme Court

Staten Island divorces are filed in the Supreme Court, Richmond County, at 26 Central Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301. You can file there if you or your spouse lives on Staten Island, or if a minor child of the marriage does (CPLR 515). The Family Court on Staten Island hears custody and support cases but cannot grant a divorce.

If your spouse has moved to New Jersey

A spouse's move across the bridge does not by itself take the case out of New York. If you meet the residency rules in DRL § 230 (usually one year of continuous New York residence if you married here, lived here as a married couple or the grounds arose here, and otherwise two years), you can file on Staten Island. In an uncontested case, your spouse signs an Affirmation of Defendant (court form UD-7), which does not need a notary, and acknowledges the settlement agreement, which can be done before a New Jersey notary using a certificate in the form New York accepts for out-of-state acknowledgments (Real Property Law § 309-b), which we provide. If your spouse will not sign, the papers must be served, and a defendant served outside New York has 30 days to respond. Joel Yacoob is admitted in New York and New Jersey, which helps when property or a later case may be in New Jersey.

The house

For many couples the house is the main asset, and the agreement has to be specific. It can provide for a sale, with a listing date and a way to set the price; a buyout, with a deadline to refinance, because the agreement does not release the departing spouse from the mortgage; or a delayed sale, often until a child finishes school. Until then, it should say who lives there, who pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance and repairs, and how those payments are credited when the house is sold. The deed transfer itself is prepared and recorded separately.

Pensions and survivor benefits

The part of a pension earned during the marriage is marital property (Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 N.Y.2d 481 (1984)), whether the plan belongs to a city or state retirement system, a union or a private employer. If you agree to share a pension, the agreement should say how the marital portion is calculated, who prepares the domestic relations order the plan will require, and whether the other spouse keeps survivor benefits. For a disability pension, the part that compensates for personal injury is separate property (Dolan v. Dolan, 78 N.Y.2d 463 (1991)), so the agreement should identify which part is being shared.

Children and life insurance

With children, the agreement must cover custody, parenting time and child support, with the Child Support Standards Act recitals (DRL § 240(1-b)(h)) and provisions for health insurance (DRL § 255(2)). If one parent may move, including to New Jersey, the agreement can require notice and set a process; without one, a relocation dispute is decided under the Tropea standard. Agreements often require the paying spouse to keep life insurance to secure child support or maintenance, and a court has the same power (DRL § 236(B)(8)(a)).

The full step-by-step process, from the Summons With Notice to the Notice of Entry, is on our main uncontested divorce page and in our uncontested divorce guide.