170 Old Country Road, Suite 316, Mineola, NY 11501 — across from the Nassau County courthouses Call us today  516-248-7008
Greebel & GreebelAttorneys at Law Request a Consultation

Long Island Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Start the path to your new life.

Divorce is a legal process, but you will experience it as a personal one — and on the other side of it there is a next chapter.

You will work with Mitchell A. Greebel directly, from the first conversation to the final judgment. Most matters we handle are resolved by agreement, not trial; the goal is not just to end a marriage well, but to set up the life that follows it.

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Mitch is by far the best divorce/family attorney I've ever met… It's nice to finally have an attorney who isn't in it for the money and who actually cares about their clients. — Google Review
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Contested or uncontested? Start here.

Every New York divorce is one of two kinds, and knowing which one you are facing changes everything that follows — the timeline, the cost, and how much of the process you control.

A man pausing as he slips off his wedding ring

Uncontested divorce

An uncontested divorce means you and your spouse agree on all of it — property, support, and parenting. It can proceed on paper, usually without either of you appearing in court: faster, far less expensive, and private. Much of our work is keeping agreements uncontested — drafted carefully the first time, so they don't come back to court later.

How uncontested divorce works

Contested divorce

A contested divorce means at least one issue is unresolved — sometimes all of them. Contested does not have to mean hostile: most cases still end in a negotiated settlement, not a trial. But the process runs through the court, and experience in the specific courthouse matters — Nassau County matrimonial cases are heard across the street from our office, before judges whose practices we know well.

What to expect if it's contested

Not sure which describes you?

That is the most common starting point — and often the first thing a consultation settles.

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How do you file for divorce in New York?

The process is the same across New York State, but where you file shapes the experience. For Nassau County residents, that means the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola. Here is the path, step by step.

01

Confirm you can file in New York

New York has residency requirements tied to how long you've lived in the state and where the marriage took place. Most Long Island couples meet them easily — confirming your eligibility is one of the first things we do at a consultation.

02

File the summons

A divorce begins when one spouse purchases an index number from the County Clerk and files a Summons with Notice or a Summons and Complaint through the New York State Courts Electronic Filing System.

03

Serve your spouse

The papers must be personally delivered to your spouse within the court's deadline. If your spouse is cooperative, this can be as simple as their attorney accepting service; if not, a process server handles it.

04

Your spouse responds

In an uncontested case, the responding spouse signs an affidavit agreeing to the divorce. In a contested case, they serve an answer, and the case proceeds.

05

Exchange financial disclosure

Both spouses complete a sworn Statement of Net Worth — income, assets, debts, and expenses. In contested cases this expands into fuller discovery. Honest, complete disclosure isn't just required; it is what makes a settlement durable.

06

Resolve the issues

Uncontested cases move directly to a judgment packet submitted to the court. Contested cases are assigned to a judge, begin with a preliminary conference, and proceed through negotiation — where the overwhelming majority settle — or, rarely, trial.

07

The judgment of divorce

A judge reviews and signs the Judgment of Divorce. You are divorced on the day it is signed and entered — not the day you filed, and not the day you agreed.

At each of these steps there are choices that affect your position months later — which papers to file first, what to ask for in the summons, how to schedule disclosure. This is where representation earns its keep long before anyone stands in a courtroom.

Most divorces end in agreement — even the ones that begin in dispute.
Mitchell A. Greebel, Partner
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Do you need grounds for divorce in New York?

Not anymore — not in the way most people mean. Since 2010, New York has been a no-fault state: it is enough to state under oath that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. No one has to prove wrongdoing, and no one can prevent the divorce by refusing to agree that the marriage is over.

One point that surprises many clients: no-fault does not mean automatic. Before a judge will sign the judgment, every economic and parenting issue — property, maintenance, custody, support — must be resolved, either by your agreement or by the court's decision. The grounds are the easy part. The resolution is the work.

Two wedding rings resting on a signed agreement between a couple

How long does a divorce take on Long Island?

New York has no mandatory waiting period, so the honest answer is: as long as it takes to resolve the issues, plus the court's processing time. An uncontested divorce typically runs around three to six months from filing to signed judgment, driven mostly by the court's calendar. Most contested divorces resolve within nine months to two years.

The single biggest factor in the timeline isn't the court — it is how far apart the two of you are, and how efficiently that distance gets closed. Our settlement-first approach exists in large part because it gives clients their time back.

A partner working at his desk at Greebel & Greebel

How much does a divorce cost in New York?

The honest answer is that it depends — but it depends on things you can understand up front, and some of them you can control. Court filing fees are the small, predictable part. Legal fees are the variable, and what drives them is conflict, not paperwork: custody disputes, business valuation, hidden-asset investigation, and motion practice are the major cost drivers.

What we do to contain cost is straightforward. You work with a partner, so nothing is billed twice while a file is passed between associates. We give you a candid assessment early — including telling you when a fight isn't worth its price. At the consultation, we walk through the actual numbers for your situation, plainly, before you commit to anything.

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What is equitable distribution?

Equitable distribution is how New York divides what a couple owns when a marriage ends. Equitable means fair — which is not the same as equal. Only marital property is divided: broadly, what the two of you built during the marriage. What you brought in, inherited, or were given personally is separate property, and ordinarily stays yours.

How that plays out in practice — the house, retirement accounts, a business, an inheritance that got mixed into joint money — is where the real questions live.

Equitable distribution in New York: what gets divided, and what stays yours
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Custody and child support

No part of a divorce matters more, and no part benefits more from being resolved by parents rather than imposed by a court. New York decides custody by the best interests of the child — weighing stability, each parent's involvement and caregiving, and how the parents communicate. There is no automatic preference for mothers or fathers.

Child support follows a statutory formula under the Child Support Standards Act, based on a percentage of combined parental income that rises with the number of children. The formula looks mechanical; applying it to real income — bonuses, self-employment, a business — is not, and at a consultation we can show you what it actually produces for your family's numbers.

More about child custody
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Do you have to get divorced? Legal separation and mediation

Not every marriage that is ending needs a courtroom, and not every couple that separates wants a divorce. A legal separation lets you settle property, support and parenting in a binding agreement while remaining legally married — and after living apart under it for a year, either spouse may convert it into a divorce.

Mediation is a different route: the two of you work out terms directly with a neutral third party. We do not mediate — but we act as review counsel, making sure the agreement you sign reflects what you actually agreed to, and what the law would give you.

Legal separation in New York: how it works, and the disadvantages nobody mentions

Partner-led representation,
across from the courthouse.

When you retain Greebel & Greebel for a divorce, you retain Mitchell A. Greebel — not a team you will never meet. Mitchell has practiced matrimonial and family law since 1984, and the firm he founded with his father has stood at 170 Old Country Road since 1988, directly across the street from the Nassau County courthouses where these cases are heard.

That proximity means day-in, day-out familiarity with the Nassau County Supreme Court and Family Court — the judges, the conference practices, the local rhythms that don't appear in any statute. Clients consistently describe the same experience: direct access to their attorney, straight answers, and a preference for resolving matters sensibly over litigating them expensively.

Mitchell A. Greebel

Partner — matrimonial & family law since 1984

Meet Mitchell →

Lawrence M. Greebel

Partner — practicing law since 1958

Meet Lawrence →

Divorce questions we hear most

Typically about three to six months from filing to a signed Judgment of Divorce, assuming the paperwork is complete and correct. The timeline is driven mainly by the court's processing calendar — neither spouse needs to appear in court in a properly prepared uncontested case.

No. Since New York adopted no-fault divorce, one spouse's sworn statement that the marriage has irretrievably broken down is sufficient grounds. A non-participating spouse can slow the process, but a divorce can be granted on default if they ignore properly served papers.

One lawyer cannot ethically represent both spouses — even in a friendly divorce, your interests are legally adverse. In practice, one attorney often drafts the agreement and the other spouse retains counsel to review it, which keeps an uncontested matter efficient while protecting both sides.

New York's residency requirements turn on how long you or your spouse has lived in the state and the marriage's connection to New York. Most couples living on Long Island qualify without difficulty. Confirming eligibility takes minutes at a consultation, and it's the first box we check.

A home bought during the marriage is marital property no matter whose name is on the deed. What happens to it depends on the whole picture: one spouse may buy out the other, the house may be sold and proceeds divided, or a custodial parent may stay for a period before sale. There is no single rule — which is exactly why it is negotiable.

No. New York is an equitable distribution state. Marital property is divided fairly in light of the circumstances rather than split automatically in half, and property classified as separate generally is not divided at all.

Generally no. An inheritance received by one spouse is ordinarily separate property. It can lose that protection if it is mixed with marital assets — deposited into a joint account, or used to buy something held jointly — which is why what happened to it after it was received matters.

A separation agreement resolves the same issues a divorce would — property, support, parenting — but you remain legally married. After a year of living apart under the agreement, either spouse can convert it to a divorce. Separation suits couples who need the terms settled but aren't ready, for personal or practical reasons, to end the marriage.

The answers above are general information about New York law, not legal advice about your situation. For advice you can rely on, speak with an attorney.

Talk it through before you decide anything.

You do not have to know whether you want a divorce to have this conversation. A consultation with Mitchell A. Greebel is free and confidential — an hour to understand where you stand: what the process would look like, what it would cost, and what your options are, including the option of waiting. People usually leave that hour feeling something they haven't felt in a while: clear about what comes next.

516-248-7008

170 Old Country Road, Suite 316, Mineola, NY 11501
Across from the Nassau County courthouses

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