Filing for divorce generally includes (1) filing the necessary paperwork with the appropriate state or county court; (2) paying the filing fee; and (3) having the paperwork properly served on (handed to) your spouse—known as service of process.

This paperwork generally consists of a complaint or petition that includes the names of the spouses, the grounds for the divorce (fault or no-fault), whether there are children involved in the marriage, and whether the spouse is seeking child custody, child support, or spousal support.

A spouse generally may file for divorce in the state and county in which the spouse resides—or in which the other spouse resides. In many states the spouse must have lived in the state or county for a specified period of time before filing for divorce. Laws regarding this residency requirement and where a lawsuit for divorce may be filed vary from state to state and with circumstances in which the spouses share minor children.

Laws regarding the requirements for filing for divorce are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

In New York, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary documents to the appropriate county Supreme Court. The initial paperwork typically includes a Summons with Notice or a Summons and Complaint, which outline the basic information about the marriage, the grounds for divorce, and any requests for child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance (alimony). New York allows for both fault-based and no-fault divorces, with the latter often cited as 'irretrievable breakdown of the marriage for at least six months.' There is a filing fee that must be paid upon submission of the paperwork. After filing, the documents must be properly served to the other spouse, adhering to the state's service of process rules. At least one spouse must meet New York's residency requirement to file for divorce in the state, which generally means living in the state for a continuous period of at least two years before filing, one year if the grounds for divorce occurred in New York or if the couple was married in New York, or if the couple lived in New York during their marriage. The specific residency requirements can vary based on the circumstances of the marriage and divorce. These laws are codified in New York's Domestic Relations Law.