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On Divorce, New York Style: A New Bedsworth

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It doesn’t get any better than a new Bedsworth, so enjoy. Excerpt here:

There are only six grounds for divorce in New York. Adultery or cruel and inhuman treatment are the first two, but they tend to be literal about the “cruel and inhuman treatment” part. “You don’t bring me flowers anymore,” apparently doesn’t cut it.

It’s the other four grounds I find most interesting. They consist of: (1) living apart for a year, (2) living apart for a year, (3) living apart for a year, or (4) going to prison for three years.

Honest, that’s what the statute provides. I don’t know why. I’m 3,000 miles from New York and there is no one I want to divorce there, so it would be wrong for me to spend a lot of time researching this, but four of the six grounds for divorce in New York are: abandonment for a year, living apart under a court-approved separation agreement for a year, living apart under contract for a year, or one of the parties being imprisoned for three years.

I can only conclude from this that the New York State legislature decided, “If we only make ‘em go to prison for a year to get out of their marriage, we’ll have to hire thousands of additional police; let’s make it three years.”

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