Residency Requirement for a Divorce in New York State
June 14, 2013
New York’s Domestic Relations Law 230 provides the “residency requirements” that must be proven in order to obtain a divorce in New York.
DRL 230 – Required residence of parties.
An action to annul a marriage, or to declare the nullity of a void marriage, or for divorce or separation may be maintained only when:
- The parties were married in the state and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding, or
- The parties have resided in this state as husband and wife and either party is a resident thereof when the action is commenced and has been a resident for a continuous period of one year immediately preceding, or
- The cause occurred in the state and either party has been a resident thereof for a continuous period of at least one year immediately preceding the commencement of the action, or
- The cause occurred in the state and both parties are residents thereof at the time of the commencement of the action, or
- Either party has been a resident of the state for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the commencement of the action.
Louis L. Sternberg is the principal attorney at the Law Office of Louis L. Sternberg P.C. in Hauppauge, New York. He has been recognized as a New York Metro Super Lawyer from 2021 through 2026 and concentrates his practice exclusively on divorce and family law in Suffolk County and Nassau County.