No Fault Divorce Does Not Require a Trial in New York

Since New York became the last state in the United States to pass a no fault ground for divorce, a question was raised by some lawyers and courts as to whether a trial was necessary to determine whether the marriage was irretrievably broken, as required by the new law. Some of the first cases to raise this question resulted in mixed answers by the trial courts. Some judges believed a trial was necessary, others did not. But a recent appellate division case has answered that question, and it is now clear that a trial will not be required…and was not intended by the legislature when they passed the new law. This is undoubtedly the correct result, since a no fault divorce ground was intended to eliminate trial in the divorce part, so the parties could concentrate on the financial issues which include maintenance (alimony), child support and a division of marital property.