Webster, NY Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

Hi there, the answer is Yes, you can file for divorce in NY if your spouse is a resident of NY, even if you live in Colombia.  However, the procedure and cost will depend on whether you are able to have your spouse personally served, or will need to serve through "substituted" means such as publication.  My suggestion is to first reach out to an attorney or someone with the experience to help you do a quick search for your husband--You do not have to spend much to do a simple search, and you may be surprised to find that he is still living in the area.  This will also save you a lot in terms of legal fees and time. Feel free to call me for a free consultation--I will be at my desk until 5:00pm EST today.                (646) 587-0188 Sincerely, Leta Leta Liou, Esq.The Law Firm of Liou & Maisonet, PLLC124 Nassau Street, Suite 2New York, New York 10038Tel (646) 587-0188      Email: letaliou@gmail.comFax (646) 587-0187Matrimonial and Family Law Attorneys serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties.  

If the divorce case is a New York case you would have to have an attorney review the judgment of divorce and any settlement document to determine if you have grounds to seek a modification.

Your husband will probably be entitled to little or no share of your house or the joint bank account in your divorce.Since you bought the house before you married, it is not a marital asset. Therefore, he has no claim on it in a divorce, unless he put a very large amount of money into the property, in which case he might claim he has a constructive trust in it.As far as the joint account, if you had already filed for divorce you would've had no right to remove your husband's name, regardless of the fact that only you contribute to it. Your timing was excellent in removing his name now. Although you haven't mentioned it, if you have a job with a pension and your husband (as I suspect) does not, it's very important that you file for divorce as soon as possible to stop his share of your pension from continuing to accrue, keeping in mind that if he does have a pension, the same applies to you. The same applies to spousal support, which is calculated on the length of the marriage, up to the date you file for divorce. The additional caveat to filing as soon as possible is that if his income is significantly lower than yours, you can expect that he will file a motion for pendente lite relief, meaning a court order for spousal support and attorney fees from you, shortly after you file for divorce. Alimony is calculated according to a state mandated formula producing a range for an amount and length of time for spousa support to be paid, based on your joint incomes and length of the marriage. A skilled divorce attorney can often defeat or greatly reduce an award in that situation, depending on the particular case.