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Brooklyn Divorce Jurisdiction

A Brooklyn divorce jurisdiction attorney will help you prepare the necessary paperwork and guide you through the process of getting divorced in New York. It can seem overwhelming to confront a divorce on your own and that is where the insight of an attorney who cares about you and your family's future is especially important. A divorce jurisdiction lawyer in Brooklyn will be able to answer your questions promptly so that you know what to anticipate and can avoid many of the common problems associated with ending a marriage.

New York has particular rules related to residency and when you can file for divorce. Divorce in New York can be filed on fault-based or no-fault based grounds. No-fault based grounds simply require stating that the marriage has suffered an irretrievable breakdown for a period of six months or longer and that the spouses do not intend to reconcile.

If you or your spouse have continuously been living in New York state a minimum of two years prior to filing the divorce case, if both you or your spouse are residents of New York state on the date of that the divorce began and the grounds for the divorce occurred within New York, or if either you or the soon-to-be-former spouse have been living in New York for at least one year prior to initiating the divorce case and you lived together in the state as a married couple, got married in the state, or the grounds for the divorce occurred in New York state, you are eligible to meet the residency requirement. You may file on fault-based grounds of cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment, imprisonment, adultery, divorce after a legal separation agreement or divorce after a judgement of separation or based on grounds of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

You need to put together specific forms in order to initiate a divorce. Jurisdictional requirements are the same as the residency requirements in order to initiate your divorce. The lawsuit can be brought in a county in which either the husband or the wife resided in. You are required to be a resident of the state for a certain period of time as is mentioned above so you should always sit down with an attorney at the outset of your case to figure out whether or not you are already eligible to initiate a divorce. Consulting with a lawyer is a crucial component of being able to resolve the divorce related issues and you may be able to use avenues such as alternative dispute resolution to address these concerns.

After you have filed for divorce, the other party must receive notice of your decision to file. He or she has a certain period of time in which they must reply in order for the divorce to move forward. You will then be able to meet outside of court or even within court by working with a neutral third party such as a mediator to figure out the relevant issues in your divorce like spousal support, child support, child custody and division of property. If you and the other party are able to come to terms of agreement on your own, you do not have to leave these decisions up to the judge and can put together your own agreement. However, you will not always be eligible to receive the benefits of alternative dispute resolution if you can't come to terms of agreement with your former spouse. Your lawyer will be a vital asset for you going forward and especially if you need to modify child custody or terminate child support after the divorce orders are final.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
My ex-husband hadn't paid child support or the mortgage on the house as he was supposed to. Stephen Bilkis and his team of lawyers were amazing. They stopped the foreclosure on the house, Got a judgment against him and most importantly kept me and my children in the house. Can't say enough good things about him in the firm their compassion hard work and dedication were exceptional. I.G.
★★★★★
From the very first phone call to Stephen Bilkis' office, the staff was extremely polite and helpful in assisting me. Mr. Bilkis was honest and upfront with me from the beginning in what he projected the outcome of my case would be; in the end we got better results than either of us anticipated. He was very genuine and compassionate in understanding my situation and how this legal matter could effect not only myself but my family as well. I highly recommend this law firm and will most definitely continue using them for any future legal needs. Jarrett
★★★★★
Stephen has handled numerous estate matters, criminal matters and family court matters effectively and with a goal-oriented approach. He gets great results and is a results-oriented attorney. Dustin