Q: Please, what is the statute of Limitations for filing an action to set aside a divorce agreement in NY? Can you cite it?

A: Contracts procured by fraud have a six year statute of limitations, CPLR213(8), but divorce agreements are not any ordinary contract. Divorce agreements are "allocuted" which means the judge asks questions about whether both parties entered into the agreement freely, knowingly and voluntarily. There are questions about satisfaction with lawyers. Challenging a divorce agreement is not simply a matter of filing something within a period of time.

This does not mean divorce agreements are eternal. If the asker can demonstrate fraud, duress or undue influence, or unconscionability, there may be success in vacating a divorce agreement (called a 'stipulation of settlement').

Fraud requires proof that the former spouse knowingly concealed or gave false information about an essential fact, that a party justifiably relied on that misrepresentation and suffered damages as a result. Duress and undue influence are grounds for setting aside the agreement only if the former spouse threatened or coerced the asker to sign and the asker would not have signed the agreement absent such coercion.

The damaged party can file to vacate such an agreement at any time, but given the protections afforded the agreement in a divorce action, the likelihood of success will be nil.

A: Six years, but you are not merely seeking to void a "divorce agreement." You are attempting to undo a very detailed proceeding by the Supreme Court to ensure that everything was done properly and consensually. Even if timely, you may be blocked anyway if you benefitted from the divorce for an extended period of time, or any of the other defenses to an action to vacate the judgement. Consult the attorney who represented you in the divorce and see what s/he thinks.