Question #172: Hello, I came across your site and I have a question for you, My daughter has been married for the past three and a half months. during that time I would say that most of the marriage has been spent apart and separate. He has been mentally and emotionally cruel to her. In the state of NY what is the time period she can file for a divorce and what are the grounds. They have both been residents in the state for over 10 years.

There is no length of time she must wait in order to file for divorce. The grounds could be “cruel and inhuman treatment”, but she will have to show
Fear of physical harm, not just mental and emotional cruelty.
Because they both lived in NY for over a year, NY would have jurisdiction.
If they are living in the NYC metro area, I strongly suggest they call me at 212-370-1660 to arrange for a meeting to discuss mediating their divorce.

Leonard Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions