Editing New York divorce law (section)

===Contested divorce===
The grounds for divorce may be decided by a jury or by a judge, all other ancillary relief is considered [[Equity (law)|equitable]] in nature and must be decided by the judge alone.

The grounds in all cases must be specifically stated in the complaint, giving factual details, dates, and actual places of occurrence.  Lack of proper content is not an affirmative defense; the plaintiff must prove the allegations even if uncontroverted; proof is made according to the general rules of evidence.  Failure to state a cause of action will result in a judgment dismissing the complaint. Divorce may commence by means of filing and service of a Summons with Notice on the defendant.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uncontested Divorce Overview |url=https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/Family/divorceOverview.shtml |website=NYCourts.gov |publisher=New York Courts |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref> The defendant must then make an appearance and demand for the complaint by the plaintiff, or is at risk of having the plaintiff granted the divorce by default.<ref>{{cite web |title=Matrimonial FAQ's |url=http://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/11jd/supreme/civilterm/civil_matfaq.shtml |website=NYCourts.gov |publisher=New York Courts |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref> Forms for filing or responding to a divorce are available on the state courts website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Divorce Forms |url=https://www.nycourts.gov/divorce/forms.shtml |website=NYCourts.gov |publisher=New York Courts |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref>

Once the case is filed and served the parties must request a Preliminary Conference within ninety days if the case is to be treated as a contested divorce. Such Preliminary Conference will be scheduled if one of the parties files a "Request for Judicial Intervention" (RJI) with required fee. At the Preliminary Conference the court may deal with interim issues, (i.e. temporary custody, child support,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maintenance & Child Support Tools {{!}} NYCOURTS.GOV |url=https://ww2.nycourts.gov/divorce/MaintenanceChildSupportTools.shtml |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=ww2.nycourts.gov}}</ref> attorney fees or spousal support) and will schedule discovery between the parties that includes the valuation of assets and pensions to be divided between the parties.