DRL 170(7): Irretrievable Breakdown Divorce in NY

A no-fault divorce in New York is granted under Domestic Relations Law 170(7) when one spouse states under oath that the marriage has been broken down irretrievably for at least six months.¹ No proof of adultery, cruelty, or abandonment is needed. The sworn statement goes into the plaintiff’s affirmation filed with the court, and the six-month period has to have already passed when the case is started.

What Counts as Irretrievable Breakdown

The standard has two moving parts and nothing more: the breakdown has lasted at least six months, and one spouse swears to it. Only one. The other spouse has no veto. A defendant who insists the marriage can still be saved cannot defeat the ground on that basis, because the test rests on the plaintiff’s own assessment of the relationship. In practice, once those two conditions are met, the irretrievable breakdown ground itself is essentially uncontestable.

That is not the same thing as a quick divorce. The ground only answers why the marriage is ending. A judge still cannot sign the final judgment until every financial and parenting issue is resolved, and that is where most contested cases actually live.

Residency Before You Can File

DRL 230 sets out five jurisdictional bases, and you only need one of them to hold.²

The parties were married in New York and either spouse has lived in the state continuously for at least one year before filing.
The parties lived in New York as spouses and either has been a continuous resident for at least one year before filing.
The cause of the breakdown occurred in New York and either spouse has been a continuous resident for at least one year.
The cause occurred in New York and both spouses are residents when the action is filed.
Either spouse has lived in New York continuously for at least two years before filing, regardless of where the marriage happened or where it fell apart.

For couples who married and built a life in the state, the one-year rule usually controls. If neither spouse has a longstanding New York tie, the two-year residency is the fallback. Miss all five and the court dismisses the case.

Automatic Orders That Take Effect at Filing

The moment the summons is filed, a set of automatic restraining orders under DRL 236 binds the plaintiff; they bind the defendant on service.³ They restrict what either spouse can do with assets, debt, and insurance while the case is pending:

Neither spouse can sell, move, conceal, or encumber any individual or joint property, aside from ordinary household expenses, normal business operations, or reasonable attorney’s fees.
Neither spouse can withdraw from, transfer, or take payments from a 401(k), IRA, pension, or similar retirement account without the other’s written consent or a court order. A spouse already drawing retirement payments can keep collecting them.
Neither spouse can run up unreasonable debt, including drawing on a home equity line or loading up credit cards, beyond normal household spending and attorney’s fees.
Neither spouse can drop the other or the children from medical, dental, or hospital insurance.
Life, auto, homeowner’s, and renter’s insurance policies have to stay in force with existing beneficiaries intact.
If either spouse learns of a tax lien, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or other litigation that could affect the marital estate, they must notify the other spouse in writing within ten days.

Violations happen all the time, usually by someone who did not know the orders existed. Closing a joint account, cashing out an IRA, or swapping a life insurance beneficiary during a separation can draw sanctions and will cost you credibility with the judge who ends up deciding the rest of the case.

Why the Judgment Waits on Everything Else

DRL 170(7) is explicit that equitable distribution of marital property, spousal maintenance, child support, attorney and expert fees, and custody and visitation all have to be settled before the judgment can be signed.¹ Either the parties agree, or a judge decides after a trial. There is no third path.

Spousal Maintenance

Maintenance uses a formula set out in DRL 236, applied to the payor’s income up to a statutory cap that adjusts every two years with the Consumer Price Index. As of March 2026 the cap is $241,000.³ Income above that cap is at the judge’s discretion based on factors like length of the marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, and the marital standard of living.

Child Support

Child support follows the Child Support Standards Act. The 2026 combined parental income cap is $193,000. The applicable percentage of combined income depends on the number of children: 17% for one, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and at least 35% for five or more. Above the cap, allocation is discretionary.

Financial Disclosure

Both spouses must file a sworn Statement of Net Worth whenever maintenance or support is at issue, and no special showing is required to trigger it.³ It has to cover all income, assets, and liabilities wherever located, plus any asset transfers from the previous three years or the length of the marriage, whichever is shorter. If the other side serves a written demand, you have twenty days to produce it. Without a demand, both parties file within ten days after the defendant answers.

Dividing Retirement Accounts

Retirement assets earned during the marriage are marital property, but splitting them takes an extra legal step. Employer plans governed by federal law, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), require a Qualified Domestic Relations Order before a plan administrator will release funds to the non-employee spouse.⁴ A QDRO is a separate court order drafted to the specific plan’s requirements. Without one, the divorce judgment alone will not move the money. QDROs are highly technical and each plan has its own formatting rules, so rejected drafts are among the most common post-divorce headaches. Federal, military, and state government pensions use their own equivalent orders with different requirements.

Settlement Agreement

If the parties agree on all issues, the agreement has to be in writing and signed and acknowledged by both spouses with the same formality as a deed. If they cannot agree, the court decides after a trial and the decision gets incorporated into the judgment. Either way, proof of resolution on every issue has to be in front of the judge before any signature.

Health Insurance Notice Before the Judgment

DRL 255 requires the court to confirm that both spouses understand they may lose eligibility under the other’s health plan once the divorce is final. Any settlement agreement must either arrange for future coverage or state that each spouse knows they will no longer be covered and may need to look at COBRA. Neither party can waive this, and neither can their attorney. If the agreement is silent on it, the court can grant a 30-day continuance so the parties can line up their own coverage before judgment is entered.⁵ Losing coverage because of divorce is a qualifying life event for enrolling in a new plan outside open enrollment, but the enrollment window is short.

Forms, Fees, and Service

The Unified Court System publishes the full uncontested divorce packet online and at every Supreme Court Clerk’s office.⁶ Before you fill anything out, gather both spouses’ full legal names and addresses, Social Security numbers, and the date and location of the marriage.

Two options start the case: a Summons with Notice (Form UD-1), or a Summons (Form UD-1a) served with a Verified Complaint (Form UD-2). The sworn statement about irretrievable breakdown goes into the Plaintiff’s Affirmation (Form UD-6).⁶ Beyond those, the full packet runs to roughly fifteen more forms covering proof of service, child support and maintenance worksheets, financial disclosure, and the proposed Findings of Fact and Judgment of Divorce.

Every case also needs a Sworn Statement of Removal of Barriers to Remarriage (Form UD-4), in which the plaintiff confirms they have done everything within their power to remove any religious or other barriers to the defendant’s ability to remarry.⁶ It has to be filed and served before the judgment is entered.

Index Number and Filing Fees

You buy the index number at the County Clerk’s office for $210.⁷ The index number is the case identifier and sets the filing date, which matters for valuing assets. Later, when you submit the completed packet, there is a $95 Request for Judicial Intervention fee.⁸

Serving the Papers

After getting the index number, you have to arrange delivery of the summons and complaint to your spouse. The person delivering has to be at least 18 and cannot be a party, so it can be a process server, a friend, or a relative, but it cannot be you. Personal delivery within the state is the cleanest. If diligent effort to hand-deliver fails, the alternatives are leaving the papers with someone of suitable age at the defendant’s home or workplace and mailing a copy, or as a last resort, affixing them to the door and mailing a copy.⁹ If none of that works, you can ask the court to authorize an alternative method.

How Long the Defendant Has to Respond

Hand delivery to the defendant inside New York gives them 20 days to appear. Every other service method, including leave-and-mail and nail-and-mail, gives 30 days from the date service is complete.¹⁰ No response within that window means you can move forward by default.

From Filing to Judgment

Once the defendant has answered or the response deadline has passed, the plaintiff assembles the full divorce packet and submits it with the Request for Judicial Intervention (Form UD-13). In an uncontested case, the packet includes proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and a Judgment of Divorce for the judge to sign.⁶

When the paperwork is complete and nothing is in dispute, many judges will sign without requiring an appearance. The court notifies both parties by mail or through the electronic filing system once the judgment is entered. If financial or custody issues are still open, the Request for Judicial Intervention assigns the case to a specific judge and the matter moves into discovery, conferences, and potentially a trial. That path can take several months to well over a year depending on the issues and the court’s calendar.

1
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 170 – Action for Divorce
2
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 230 – Required Residence of Parties
3
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 236 – Special Controlling Provisions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 414 – Definitions and Special Rules
5
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law 255 – Prerequisites for Judgments, Health Care Coverage
6
New York Courts. Divorce Forms
7
New York Courts. New York State Filing Fees
8
New York Courts. Fees
9
New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 308 – Personal Service Upon a Natural Person
10
New York State Senate. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 320 – Defendant’s Appearance