By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Forget the blame game.
New York has become the last state in the nation to allow couples to divorce without first establishing that someone is to blame, Gov. David Paterson's office announced Sunday.
In sixty days, a no-fault divorce law will allows couples to make their splits official by simply agreeing that they want to divorce.
Couples were required to either separate for a full year or demonstrate that one partner was guilty of a list of infractions, including adultery, abandonment or cruel or inhuman treatment.
"Finally, New York has brought its divorce laws into the twenty-first century," Paterson said in a statement announcing the signing.
"These bills fix a broken process that produced extended and contentious litigation, poisoned feelings between the parties and harmed the interests of those persons — too often women — who did not have sufficient financial wherewithal to protect their legal rights," he said.
The bill, which was passed by the State Senate in June, was part of a package that also includes changes to how the court decides who will pay lawyers' fees and sets guidelines for allocating temporary maintenance while a divorce is pending.
Critics had argued that the new law would make divorce too easy for couples who could survive if they tried.
Paterson also vetoed 34 bills, claiming that they were too expensive or "have technical faults, lack a clear objective or will be difficult to implement, making it impossible to estimate savings," his office said in a statement.
