What are the grounds for divorce

"Grounds" are legally acceptable reasons for a divorce. In New York, there are divorces after separation, and fault-based divorces. There is no such thing is NY as "irreconcilable differences."

Divorce after separation - In a divorce after separation, you do not have to have one of the fault-based grounds, or reasons, for the divorce that are listed below. To file for divorce, you and your husband must either have a separation agreement or a court ordered-judicial separation. You also must live separate and apart for one year after the agreement or judicial order before you can be divorced. To understand what needs to be in a separation agreement in order for it to be considered a ground for divorce, it is best to consult a lawyer.

Fault-based – With a fault-based divorce, you do not have to be separated before filing for the divorce. In New York, you can file for a fault-based divorce for any of these reasons:

• Cruel and Inhuman Treatment – This includes physical, verbal or emotional abuse that endangers your physical or mental well being to the point that it is "unsafe or improper" for you to live with the abuser. The judge will require more than that you simply did not get along with one another. The judge will be looking for specific instances of cruelty that occurred in the last five years.
  
• Abandonment – To file for divorce based on abandonment, your spouse must have abandoned you for a period of one or more years. Specific examples of abandonment by your spouse include a physical move from the home or locking you out of the home. Also, if your spouse has refused to engage in sexual relations with you for at least one year, this can also qualify as abandonment and is known as "constructive abandonment."
  
• Three Consecutive Years Imprisonment - This is a ground for divorce if your spouse has been in jail for three or more years in a row beginning after your marriage. Once your spouse has been in jail for three years in a row, you can file for divorce:
  
  • while your spouse is still in jail
    
  • up to five years after s/he is released.
    

• Adultery – You must be able to show that your spouse committed adultery during the marriage. This is usually hard to prove in court, since you need evidence from a third party - someone besides you or your spouse.*

*NY Dom Rel Law §170