Most people describe their situation the same way: “It should be simple. We both want this.” Sometimes that turns out to be true. Often it does not. Whether a New York divorce is uncontested or contested has nothing to do with how politely you and your spouse are treating each other. It depends on one thing: can you both sign your names to the same answers on a short list of hard questions?
What “uncontested” actually means
A divorce is uncontested only when both spouses agree on all of it:
- that the marriage should end;
- how property and debts will be divided;
- whether either spouse will pay maintenance (spousal support), how much, and for how long;
- custody and a parenting schedule, if there are children;
- child support.
Agreement on most of the list is not an uncontested divorce. It is a contested divorce with a head start.
New York allows no-fault divorce. Under Domestic Relations Law § 170(7), one spouse states under oath that the marriage has broken down irretrievably for at least six months. Nobody has to prove cheating or cruelty. But the same statute has a catch people miss: the court cannot grant the judgment until the money and custody issues are resolved, either by your agreement or by a judge’s decision. No-fault means you do not need a reason. It does not mean the divorce is automatic.
What makes a divorce contested
One unresolved issue is enough. If either spouse disputes anything on the list above, the case moves through the contested track in Supreme Court: formal financial disclosure, motions where a judge decides temporary questions, negotiation, and, in a small number of cases, trial. Court filing fees are similar either way. What grows is everything around the dispute: time, preparation, and attorney work. The expensive part of a contested divorce is the contest.
Before either path: the residency rules
New York courts can only hear your divorce if the case meets the residency requirements of Domestic Relations Law § 230. The simplest path is that either spouse has lived in New York for two continuous years before filing. One year can be enough when there is another New York connection, such as the marriage took place here, you lived here together as a married couple, or the grounds arose here. If you and your spouse live in different states, or one of you spends time abroad, sort this question out first. Filing in the wrong court wastes months.
What the court itself charges
An uncontested divorce costs at least $335 in court filing fees, including the $210 index number fee that opens the case, according to the New York courts’ official guide. Lawyers, process servers, notaries, and copies are separate. If paying the court fees would be a real hardship, you can ask the court for a fee waiver.
The court’s free forms, and their limit
New York offers a free do-it-yourself uncontested divorce program for couples with no children under 21, and a paper packet for couples with children under 21. For a short marriage with no property, no children, and no support, those forms may be all you need, and it would be dishonest to tell you otherwise.
Their limit is judgment. The forms will not tell you whether the deal you are signing is fair, whether a retirement account should be divided and how, or what happens with property that sits in another country, which is a live issue in many Korean-American families. A settlement you sign today will be enforced years from now, when circumstances have changed. Agreements are far easier to review before signing than to attack afterward.
The rules change the moment a case starts
Filing a divorce in New York triggers automatic orders under Domestic Relations Law § 236B(2)(b). They bind the filing spouse immediately and the other spouse once served. While the case is pending, neither spouse may, among other things:
- sell, transfer, or hide property, outside ordinary living and business expenses;
- withdraw or borrow against retirement accounts;
- run up unreasonable new debt;
- remove the other spouse or the children from health insurance;
- change life insurance beneficiaries.
A 2026 amendment added a duty to notify the other spouse within ten days of learning about tax liens, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or lawsuits that affect marital property. Violating the automatic orders turns a money question into a court problem. This is one reason the order of operations matters: decisions about accounts, insurance, and the home are best made with advice before papers are filed, not cleaned up after.
Uncontested can turn contested, and the reverse
These labels describe where your case is today, not where it ends. Plenty of “simple” divorces turn contested when full financial disclosure surfaces something one spouse did not know about. Plenty of contested cases settle completely after a motion or two clarifies the real numbers. Starting uncontested does not lock you in, and starting contested does not sentence you to a trial.
A quick honesty test
Ask yourself three questions. Have I actually seen the full financial picture, or am I trusting it? Is our parenting schedule written down, specific, and agreed? Do I understand what I am giving up, not just what I am getting? If any answer makes you hesitate, that hesitation is information.
Before signing or filing anything, consider speaking with an attorney familiar with New York family law. Jake Kim Law Firm represents clients in divorce and family matters in New York and New Jersey, and Korean-language communication is available. To request a consultation, contact Jake Kim Law Firm.
Sources
- N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 170 (grounds for divorce) — New York State Senate
- N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 230 (residency requirements) — New York State Senate
- N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 236 (automatic orders) — New York State Senate
- Filing an Uncontested Divorce — New York State Unified Court System