N.Y. Domestic Relations Law Section 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 action for separation shall be maintained under this subdivision unless and until the economic issues of 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. * NB Effective February 17, 2026

Source: Section 200 — Action for separation, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/DOM/200 (updated Dec. 26, 2025; accessed Feb. 7, 2026).

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Verified:
Feb. 7, 2026

Last modified:
Dec. 26, 2025

§ 200. Action for separation's source at nysenate​.gov

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