Under the residency rules for matrimonial actions, which scenario constitutes 0 years of residency?

• A. Both parties are New York residents when action commenced
• B. One party is a New York resident, the other is from another state
• C. Neither party is a New York resident at the time
• D. A party has been a resident of New York for 2 years

Answer: (A)

Residency for matrimonial actions focuses on the time a party has actually lived in the state before filing, since jurisdiction often depends on satisfying a minimum continuous period of residence. The idea tested here is about the pre-filing period: if the action starts when both spouses are already residents, there has been no prior full year of residence to count before filing. In that edge case, the pre-filing residency time is 0 years.

So, when both parties are New York residents at the moment the action commences, the scenario meets the condition of having 0 years of residency prior to filing. The other options imply some measurable time spent in New York before filing (or none at all for the last option), which would not reflect zero years of pre-filing residency.