Steps to getting an uncontested international divorce
The uncontested divorce process in New York is fairly simple and straight forward. New York court also offers excellent assistance in obtaining an uncontested divorce without attorneys. However, since international divorces often involve complicated jurisdictional and international law issues, you should consult with or retain an experienced attorney.
If you need my service in your uncontested international divorce case, please follow these steps:
Step 1: Communicate to each other and reach an agreement, if you can.
If you believe that your spouse will not respond to your request for an uncontested divorce, you may contact me to find out whether you can get a default uncontested divorce, where the defendant fails to respond.
Step 2: Contact me to schedule an initial consultation.
*Please note that unlike in some countries, such as France, Australia, and New Zealand, an uncontested divorce in New York is not based on a joint petition by both parties although both parties’ consent affidavits can be submitted to the court by one attorney. I can only represent one party, instead of both parties.
If both of you consent to an uncontested divorce, before contacting me, you should decide who will file for the divorce and the person who will file for the divorce should contact me. For practical reasons, I would suggest that the divorce be filed by the spouse
§ that lives outside of New York; and/or
§ that will be responsible for the legal cost for the divorce; and/or
§ that is living with the children.
To simplify the service process the spouse who resides in the foreign country should file for the divorce. New York law requires that the summons of a divorce action must be personally delivered to a defendant. On the other hand, service of process abroad is regulated by complex New York law and international treaties (see below).
Please complete the contact form or send me a brief description of your situation by email ([email protected]). I will contact you to schedule an initial consultation if I can help you with your case.
Step 3: Initial consultation.
At the initial consultation, I will provide a detailed case evaluation to discuss:
§ Case strategy based on your circumstances
§ Whether you can obtain an uncontested divorce in New York;
§ Whether you should obtain an uncontested divorce in New York or in another country;
§ Country specific information about the divorce process;
§ Detailed information about the cost of your case.
§ Any questions that you may have.
Step 4: Retain my service.
If you decide to retain my service and I am available to take your case, we will sign a retainer agreement and you will make your payments according to the retainer agreement.
Step 5: Start the divorce process and serve the defendant.
As soon as I am retained, I will start the divorce process in an appropriate New York State court and serve the defendant. As indicated in Step 2, if the defendant spouse resides in New York, the process of service is simplified.
If the defendant spouse resides in one of the countries where process service of a divorce action can only be accomplished through the use of attorneys and solicitors, listed below, then difficulties and delays in process service are expected, and additional expenses may be incurred.
Step 6: Prepare and file divorce papers.
I will prepare all the documents needed for getting an uncontested divorce in New York. In addition to the standard uncontested divorce documents, I will prepare documents required in an international divorce. After you and your spouse sign the divorce documents, I will file them in court.
Step 7: Receive the final judgment of divorce.
When the judgment of divorce is granted, I will send both you and your spouse the judgment of divorce. If either of you needs to authenticate the judgment of divorce, my office will process it for you with a small administrative fee.
