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Domestic violence and statutory changes that reflect medical insurance were two of the issues being updated in the New York State court system last summer. The court updated their free Divorce Packets, which includes 27 fill-in-the-blank official forms, to help couples complete uncontested divorce New York without an attorney.

Affidavits from the plaintiff and the defendant and notes on findings of fact forms were also amended. The office of Matrimonial Matters issued a statement that a new record checking law enacted earlier in 2009 required that some forms capture sworn statements concerning any past history of domestic violence, sex offender status or child protective orders in family courts. There were also some modifications to forms regarding a person’s pedigree – and that of their child’s – in order to help in identify the correct individual or individuals among the three databases and with notification of results in the findings of anything illegal or out of the ordinary.

Typically, those people who can divorce themselves without an attorney’s help – an uncontested divorce NYC – are people who have little or no assets and no children to fight over. 

Unfortunately, the more information that is requested, the more time it takes to investigate its validity and get back to the divorcing couple. Some couples may want to apply for a legal separation before they receive their divorce so that some of the important issues are listed and each party will abide by them.

There is a lot of damage that can be done if a couple has assets such as retirement portfolios or real property and the divorce papers do not account for the division of these items.  A couple could end up back in court if they are not clear about things like child custody, property division, health insurance and even such things as if the girls will participate in dance classes or if the boys will join the cub scouts. Everything must be spelled out to the letter – every possible scenario should be considered – and included in a divorce decree or a couple may find themselves back where they started, before a judge or in mediation, in which negotiations will have to be entered in order to make things amicable for both sides.