Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Divorce-form UD-1

I would like to know what does this statement mean or pertain to.

***Defendant will take, prior to the entry of final judgment in this action, all steps solely within her power to remove any barrier to the Plaintiff's remarriage.****

Does this statement mean that the Plaintiff may not be remarried ever again...or the Defendant is just removing their marriage name and marriage rights towards that name.


Asked on 1/10/02, 7:27 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

John Hayes The Law Office of John M. Hayes

Re: Divorce-form UD-1

This language relates most specifically to certain religious issues.

For those of the Jewish faith, in particular, there are steps/procedures separate and apart from the grant of divorce by a court of law, which steps have to be dealt with before the religion will recognize the divorce and permit re-marriage.

So: this language {contained in a document commonly called the "barriers affidavit" and both husband & wife submit one} amounts to an 'assurance' that both parties will do whatever may be necessary to make it possible for the divorce to be recognized by any particular religious entity and, thereby, to make it possible for the other party to re-marry within any such religious entity.

Put otherwise: unless you/your spouse are members of a religion that has its own rules/procedures about divorce and remarriage, this document is only a formality and has no particular significance in the rest of the 'real world'.

Regards, etc.,

J. M. Hayes

>>--> The foregoing amounts to musings and observations based on some years familiarity with the 'day-to-day' operation of the law with regard to the issues involved In The Most General sense; my remarks should not be thought of as "legal advice and counsel" in the formal sense of that phrase, since there is, in fact, no 'attorney / client' relationship existing between us. <-<<

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Answered on 1/10/02, 7:49 pm
Salvatore Lagonia Attorney At Law

Re: Divorce-form UD-1

In the Jewish religion traditionaly a husband could stop his ex-wife from getting remarried. To remove this bar the parties file a document that removes the barriers to remarriage. Simply, the parties cannot stop each other from a religious re-marriage.

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Answered on 1/10/02, 9:31 pm
Daniel Clement Law Offices of Daniel Clement

Re: Divorce-form UD-1

Some religions, particularly Judaism, require the parties to obtain a religious dissolution of the marriage so that they could someday re-marry. This document states that you will or have already removed such a barrier to remarriage.

Daniel Clement

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Answered on 1/11/02, 9:27 am


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