What Happens in a Contested Divorce

A divorce is contested when the spouses do not agree on one or more issues and the court has to decide them, or at least supervise the process until they do. Most contested divorces still settle. What follows is the sequence the court rules impose, so that you know what is coming and when.

Step one. Filing and the automatic orders

The case begins when the plaintiff files a Summons with Notice or a Summons and Complaint with the County Clerk and receives an index number. In Suffolk, the filing is with the County Clerk in Riverhead and matrimonial cases are then heard predominantly in Central Islip. In Nassau, the filing is with the County Clerk in Mineola and the case is assigned to the Matrimonial Center at 101 County Seat Drive.

The moment the summons is filed, the automatic orders under DRL 236B(2)(b) bind the plaintiff, and they bind the defendant when the summons is served. There are six of them. Neither party may transfer, encumber, or dispose of property except in the usual course of business, for customary household expenses, or for reasonable attorney's fees. Neither may withdraw or transfer retirement or pension assets. Neither may incur unreasonable debt. Neither may remove the other or the children from existing medical, hospital, or dental coverage. Neither may change the beneficiaries on existing life insurance. And, since January 20, 2026, a party who receives notice of a tax lien, foreclosure, bankruptcy, or litigation affecting marital property must give the other party written notice within ten days. The orders stay in effect until the judgment is entered unless the court or a written agreement changes them.

Step two. Service and the answer

The defendant is served personally, and has twenty days to appear if served in person in New York, or thirty days otherwise. A defendant who has been served with a Summons with Notice serves a Notice of Appearance and demands the complaint. The answer may include counterclaims. If the defendant does not appear, the plaintiff can proceed on default, which is how many uncontested divorces are actually granted.

Step three. The request for judicial intervention and the preliminary conference

Either party can file a Request for Judicial Intervention, which gets a judge assigned. The court rules require the court to schedule a preliminary conference within 45 days of assignment. Ten days before that conference, both sides must exchange and file a sworn Statement of Net Worth, current pay stubs with the last pay stub of the prior year, three years of tax returns with all W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s, three years of statements for every bank, brokerage, and retirement account, and statements for life insurance and deferred compensation. The retainer agreement with your attorney is filed with the net worth statement. In Nassau, the Matrimonial Center's uniform rules also require a signed retainer and the completed preliminary conference order to be sent to the court before the conference, and adjournments of the conference are not granted without a compelling reason.

The preliminary conference is where the case takes shape. The judge or a court attorney goes through the issues, identifies what is agreed and what is not, sets a discovery schedule, decides whether a neutral appraiser or business valuator will be appointed and who pays, decides whether an attorney for the children or a forensic evaluator is needed, and sets the next date. Both parties must attend. Temporary issues, such as who lives in the house, temporary maintenance and child support, and interim counsel fees, are often raised here and decided by motion if they cannot be agreed.

Step four. Discovery

The rules limit each side to 25 interrogatories and depositions to seven hours per witness, and require discovery to be completed within six months of the preliminary conference. In practice discovery in a financial case means document demands and subpoenas to banks, employers, and business accountants, depositions of the parties, and the neutral expert's work. Where a party does not produce what is demanded, the court can preclude that party from offering evidence on the issue, draw an adverse inference, or impute income. In February 2026, the Second Department affirmed an order imputing income to a father who had refused to produce financial documents and whose claimed retirement was uncorroborated.

Motions during this stage are common: for temporary support, for exclusive occupancy of the home, for counsel fees, to compel discovery, and for temporary custody or parenting time. A motion for support or counsel fees must include a current Statement of Net Worth or the court will not hear it. In Nassau, a party who intends to make a motion must give the other side 48 business hours' written notice first.

Step five. The compliance conference and the note of issue

When discovery is done the court holds a compliance conference, which the parties must attend personally. The judge addresses the parties directly, confirms that discovery is complete, and sets the case down for trial. Before trial, each side must file a Note of Issue, which certifies the case is ready, together with an updated Statement of Net Worth and a Statement of Proposed Disposition that sets out what that party claims is marital and separate property, what each party should receive, and what should happen with maintenance, child support, custody, and parenting time. Expert reports must be exchanged at least sixty days before trial and rebuttal reports thirty days before.

Step six. Settlement or trial

Most cases settle at or before this point, because by now both sides know the numbers. A settlement is put in a written stipulation, signed and acknowledged, and often placed on the record in court. The court then grants the divorce on papers.

If the case is tried, the trial is before the judge without a jury. Financial issues are tried on the documents and the experts. Custody is tried on the testimony of the parents, the witnesses, the forensic evaluator if one was appointed, and the position of the attorney for the child. After trial the court issues a decision setting out its findings on each of the statutory factors, and a judgment is settled and signed.

Step seven. After judgment

The judgment is served with notice of entry, which starts the thirty-day period to appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department. Retirement accounts are divided by a qualified domestic relations order submitted to the plan after the judgment. Property transfers are completed. Support is enforced through the Support Collection Unit or directly.

How long and how much?

A contested divorce in Suffolk or Nassau typically takes twelve to eighteen months if it settles after discovery and two to three years if it is tried. The cost is driven by the number of disputed issues, the need for experts, and the conduct of the parties. The fee and billing page explains how matrimonial attorneys are required to bill in New York and what you can do to control the cost.

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