New York Matrimonial Law Changes for 2026
As 2026 approaches, New York divorce and family law is not standing still. Over the last eighteen months, Albany and the courts have rolled out a series of reforms that directly affect how child support is calculated and modified, how domestic violence is addressed, where you can file your divorce, and how financial disclosure is handled. Many of these changes come from legislation signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, paired with new rules and forms from the New York State Unified Court System.
If you are thinking about filing for divorce in 2026, or your case is already pending, you need to understand how these changes will reshape strategy, negotiation, and courtroom arguments. This guide walks through the key developments and what they mean in practical terms for New York matrimonial litigation.
Child Support Is Now More Individualized: Imputed Income and Incarceration
New York has amended both the Domestic Relations Law and the Family Court Act to change how courts attribute and impute income in child support cases, and how incarceration affects support. These amendments, codified in part in Laws of 2024, Chapters 327 and 357, are already in effect and will govern child support decisions throughout 2026 and beyond.
First, when a court decides to attribute or impute income to a parent, it can no longer simply pick a number based on vague notions of “earning capacity.” The statutes now require the court to consider specific circumstances of the parent, including assets, residence, employment and earning history, job skills, educational level, literacy, age, health, criminal record and other employment barriers, job search efforts, the local job market, prevailing wages, and the age and needs of the children. The court must make explicit written findings explaining the basis for any imputed income using these factors.
Second, the law has changed course on incarceration. In both Domestic Relations Law § 240(1-b) and Family Court Act §§ 413 and 451, incarceration is now expressly not treated as “voluntary unemployment” and is no longer a bar to establishing a substantial change in circumstances for purposes of modifying child support. This eliminates prior carve-outs that punished some incarcerated parents and brings New York more in line with federal child support policy.
Third, when the court has insufficient income information because a party defaulted or withheld documentation, support orders must still be based on available information about that parent’s specific circumstances, using the same imputation factors. Those “best-information” orders can later be modified retroactively upward without requiring proof of a change in circumstances, once better financial information emerges.
In practice, these reforms significantly raise the stakes on financial disclosure and record-building. For a support recipient, there is more room to attack unrealistic earnings assumptions and to argue for upward modification once hidden income surfaces. For a payor, deliberate underemployment and incomplete financial disclosure are riskier than ever, because courts now have clearer statutory authority to impute income carefully and to revisit orders retroactively. For incarcerated parents, the door is now open to seek realistic modifications instead of being trapped by old orders that did not account for their actual situation.
Domestic Violence, Family Offenses, and Orders of Protection
Recent legislation also expands who can seek family offense protection and tightens rules around orders of protection in abuse and neglect proceedings.
Laws of 2024, Chapter 541 amended Family Court Act § 812 and related criminal procedure provisions to broaden who counts as “members of the same family or household.” The definition now clearly includes persons related by consanguinity or affinity to parties who are or have been in an “intimate relationship” as defined in § 812(e). In everyday terms, that means extended family connected to an intimate relationship can access the family offense process in Family Court. In high-conflict divorces where abuse spills over to grandparents, siblings, or new partners, these relatives now have a clearer path to seek orders of protection in the family system rather than being pushed solely into criminal court.
In November 2025, Governor Hochul also signed Senate Bill S8382, Chapter 572 of the Laws of 2025, amending Family Court Act § 1056 regarding orders of protection in child abuse and neglect (Article 10) proceedings. The statute clarifies the court’s authority to issue and structure orders of protection in connection with abuse and neglect findings, including how long those orders can remain in effect and how they interact with other dispositional orders. For families who have an Article 10 case running alongside a Supreme Court divorce or custody proceeding, this change can affect how protection orders are coordinated and how risk is managed.
For matrimonial clients, these developments matter in two ways. First, the range of people who can be brought under the umbrella of family-offense relief has expanded, which can shape safety planning and litigation strategy in divorces involving extended family conflict. Second, in cases involving ACS or neglect allegations, orders of protection issued in Family Court may now have a more clearly defined scope and duration, which must be coordinated carefully with Supreme Court custody and access orders. Mindin & Mindin, P.C. regularly navigates these overlapping jurisdictions to protect both safety and parental rights.
Where You Can File: New Venue Rules for Divorce and Custody
An amendment to CPLR 515, highlighted by the Unified Court System’s matrimonial update, tightens venue rules for matrimonial and related family actions. As of February 19, 2025, matrimonial actions and certain related custody and child support proceedings generally must be brought in a county where at least one party or a minor child resides, subject to limited exceptions for safety and confidentiality.(NY Courts)
This reform is designed to reduce forum shopping and to keep litigation grounded in the communities where families actually live. For spouses, it means you have less ability to pick a distant or tactically favorable county unless there is a compelling confidentiality or security reason.
Practically, this means that if you are deciding when and where to file in 2026, venue analysis must be front-loaded. Mindin & Mindin evaluates not only your county of residence, but also the child’s location, potential confidentiality concerns, and each court’s culture and backlog before recommending where to proceed.
New Financial Disclosure Rules and Forms in Supreme Court Matrimonial Parts
Financial transparency has always been central to New York divorce, but the mechanics are changing. The Unified Court System has approved a revised Statement of Net Worth form and a new spreadsheet-based Statement of Proposed Disposition, with amendments to 22 NYCRR 202.16 taking effect December 1, 2025.(NY Courts)
The new Statement of Proposed Disposition is no longer a simple narrative form. It is a detailed spreadsheet that requires each party to lay out, line by line, their proposed resolution of every major financial issue in the divorce: equitable distribution of each asset and liability, maintenance, child support, counsel fees, expert costs, and related items. The courts expect more precision, internal consistency, and transparency than before. At the same time, the rules provide for a short-form financial statement to be used in assessing eligibility for publicly funded counsel in matrimonial matters, reflecting a growing recognition that financial barriers should not prevent meaningful representation.(NY Courts)
The upshot for 2026 divorces is straightforward. You will be required to commit early on paper to a detailed financial position. Sloppy or incomplete forms will not only irritate the court but may undercut your credibility and leverage. For higher-net-worth cases with complex assets, properly using the spreadsheet format can actually help tell a clearer story about what a fair settlement looks like. Mindin & Mindin works closely with clients to prepare these disclosures in a way that aligns with litigation strategy and settlement goals rather than simply satisfying a bureaucratic requirement.
Confidentiality and Redaction Requirements
In addition to new forms, the courts have tightened rules on confidential information in filings. Amendments to 22 NYCRR 202.5(e), effective December 2, 2024, clarify what personal identifiers must be omitted or redacted from Supreme Court and County Court papers, and add a new subdivision addressing how redaction should be handled.
For matrimonial litigants, this means more scrutiny on how Social Security numbers, bank and account numbers, financial-institution identifiers, and other sensitive information appear in motion papers, exhibits, and proposed orders. If you are a business owner, a professional with sensitive client data, or a public figure, these rules are an important tool to limit the collateral damage of litigation. Our office routinely structures filings to protect confidentiality while still giving the court the information it needs to rule.
How These Changes Affect Strategy in 2026 Divorce Filings
Taken together, these statutory and rule changes shift the landscape in several important ways for anyone filing or litigating a New York divorce in 2026. Child support fights will hinge more heavily on careful evidence about actual earning capacity and job markets, and courts are now obligated to show their work when they impute income. Modification applications, particularly for previously incarcerated parents or cases built on thin evidence, must be analyzed under the new standards.
Venue selection is more constrained, which calls for earlier strategic conversations about where to file and whether any confidentiality or safety reasons justify alternative venues under CPLR 515.(NY Courts) Domestic violence and family-offense reforms broaden who can seek protection and how orders of protection function in intertwined Family Court and Supreme Court proceedings, which can alter the leverage and timing of custody and access disputes. New financial-disclosure forms and redaction rules increase the importance of disciplined, accurate paperwork and thoughtful use of sensitive information.(NY Courts)
There are also important proposals still pending in Albany for 2026 and beyond, including bills seeking to expand and clarify automatic orders in matrimonial actions and to modernize terminology around “parentage” in place of “paternity.” As of late 2025, some of these measures have not yet been signed into law, but they are on the radar and could further shift how courts handle custody, parentage, and financial protections in the coming years. Mindin & Mindin closely tracks these developments so that our advice reflects not only the law as it stands today, but where the law is clearly headed.
Speak With New York Matrimonial Counsel Who Live in This Law Every Day
If you are contemplating divorce in 2026, already in the middle of a New York matrimonial action, or trying to understand how these recent changes affect your support, custody, or property rights, you should not be guessing based on outdated information. The statutory amendments and court-rule changes described above are already shaping how judges think, how evidence must be presented, and where the pressure points lie in negotiation.
The Law Offices of Mindin & Mindin, P.C. focuses on New York divorce, custody, and family litigation at a high level of detail. We stay on the cutting edge of legislative and rule changes, from child support reforms and venue adjustments to orders of protection, and we translate those developments into concrete strategies tailored to your case.
If you want to understand exactly how the New York matrimonial law landscape intersects with your finances, your children, and your long-term goals, contact Mindin & Mindin, P.C. to schedule a confidential matrimonial consultation. The earlier you align your strategy with the current law, the more leverage and clarity you will have as you move through the divorce process.