NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9496
SPONSOR: Lavine TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to what quali-
fies as an applicable, timely and relevant economic issue for no fault
separation
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to make technical clarifying changes to
Chapter 673 of the laws of 2025.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 would make technical clarifying changes to section 200 of the
domestic relations law relating to judgments for no fault separation on
the basis of irretrievable breakdown of the relationship.
Section 2 would establish the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2010, the New York State Legislature passed a bill that included
irretrievable breakdown of the marriage as a ground for no fault
divorce. After a divorce is filed, a party may lose health insurance
coverage from their spouse. In order to avoid the loss of health insur-
ance coverage, yet obtain court-ordered relief, many parties choose to
obtain a judgment of legal separation pursuant to DRL Section 200. Chap-
ter 673 of the laws of 2025 amended domestic relations law 200 to
reflect the changes that section 170 of the domestic relations law had,
which ensures that New York will have no-fault separation statutorily
implemented.
This chapter amendment would provide additional clarity to the courts
regarding when it may enter a judgment for separation. It would require
the parties to have settled outstanding issues of economic support, and
provides the court with a non-exhaustive, but illustrative list of
potential issues that must be addressed prior to a judgment being
rendered.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None noted.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a
chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the domestic relations law relating
to allowing for no fault separation, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S. 1261-A and A. 3392-A, takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9496
IN ASSEMBLY
January 7, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to what quali-
fies as an applicable, timely and relevant economic issue for no fault
separation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 200 of the domestic relations law,
2 as added by a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the domestic
3 relations law relating to allowing for no fault separation, as proposed
4 in legislative bills numbers S. 1261-A and A. 3392-A, is amended to read
5 as follows:
6 6. The relationship between the spouses has broken down irretrievably
7 for a period of at least six months, provided that one party has so
8 stated under oath. No [action] judgment for separation shall be [main-
9 tained] granted under this subdivision unless and until [the] any appli-
10 cable, timely and relevant economic issues [of], which may include the
11 payment or waiver of spousal support, the payment of child support, the
12 payment of counsel and experts' fees and expenses as well as the custody
13 and visitation with the infant children of the marriage, have been
14 resolved by the parties, or determined by the court and incorporated
15 into the action.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
17 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2025 amending the domestic relations
18 law relating to allowing for no fault separation, as proposed in legis-
19 lative bills numbers S. 1261-A and A. 3392-A, takes effect.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03731-05-6
