§ 200. Action for separation.
434 words·~2 min read·
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§ 200. Action for separation. An action may be maintained by a husband
or wife against the other party to the marriage to procure a judgment
separating the parties from bed and board, forever, or for a limited
time, for any of the following causes:
1. The cruel and inhuman treatment of the plaintiff by the defendant
such that the conduct of the defendant so endangers the physical or
mental well being of the plaintiff as renders it unsafe or improper for
the plaintiff to cohabit with the defendant.
2. The abandonment of the plaintiff by the defendant.
3. The neglect or refusal of the defendant-spouse to provide for the
support of the plaintiff-spouse where the defendant-spouse is chargeable
with such support under the provisions of section thirty-two of this
chapter or of section four hundred twelve of the family court act.
4. The commission of an act of adultery by the defendant; except where
such offense is committed by the procurement or with the connivance of
the plaintiff or where there is voluntary cohabitation of the parties
with the knowledge of the offense or where action was not commenced
within five years after the discovery by the plaintiff of the offense
charged or where the plaintiff has also been guilty of adultery under
such circumstances that the defendant would have been entitled, if
innocent, to a divorce, provided that adultery for the purposes of this
subdivision is hereby defined as the commission of an act of vaginal
sexual contact, oral sexual contact or anal sexual contact, voluntarily
performed by the defendant, with a person other than the plaintiff after
the marriage of plaintiff and defendant. Oral sexual contact and anal
sexual contact include, but are not limited to, sexual conduct as
defined in subdivision two of section 130.00 and subdivision four of
section 130.20 of the penal law.
5. The confinement of the defendant in prison for a period of three or
more consecutive years after the marriage of plaintiff and defendant.
6. The relationship between the spouses has broken down irretrievably
for a period of at least six months, provided that one party has so
stated under oath. No judgment for separation shall be granted under
this subdivision unless and until any applicable, timely and relevant
economic issues, which may include the payment or waiver of spousal
support, the payment of child support, the payment of counsel and
experts' fees and expenses as well as the custody and visitation with
the infant children of the marriage, have been resolved by the parties,
or determined by the court and incorporated into the action.