Section 253. Removal of barriers to remarriage

1. This section applies only
  to a marriage solemnized in this state or in any other jurisdiction by a
  person specified in subdivision one of section eleven of this chapter.
    2.  Any party to a marriage defined in subdivision one of this section
  who commences a proceeding to annul the marriage or for a  divorce  must
  allege,  in  his or her verified complaint: (i) that, to the best of his
  or her knowledge, that he or she has taken or that he or she will  take,
  prior to the entry of final judgment, all steps solely within his or her
  power  to remove any barrier to the defendant's remarriage following the
  annulment or divorce; or (ii) that the defendant has waived  in  writing
  the requirements of this subdivision.
    3.  No  final  judgment  of  annulment  or divorce shall thereafter be
  entered unless the  plaintiff  shall  have  filed  and  served  a  sworn
  statement: (i) that, to the best of his or her knowledge, he or she has,
  prior to the entry of such final judgment, taken all steps solely within
  his  or  her  power to remove all barriers to the defendant's remarriage
  following the annulment or divorce;  or  (ii)  that  the  defendant  has
  waived in writing the requirements of this subdivision.
    4.  In  any  action  for divorce based on subdivisions five and six of
  section one hundred seventy of  this  chapter  in  which  the  defendant
  enters  a  general appearance and does not contest the requested relief,
  no final judgment of annulment or divorce shall be entered  unless  both
  parties shall have filed and served sworn statements: (i) that he or she
  has,  to the best of his or her knowledge, taken all steps solely within
  his or her power to remove all barriers to the other party's  remarriage
  following  the  annulment  or  divorce; or (ii) that the other party has
  waived in writing the requirements of this subdivision.
    5. The  writing  attesting  to  any  waiver  of  the  requirements  of
  subdivision  two,  three or four of this section shall be filed with the
  court prior to the entry of a final judgment of annulment or divorce.
    6. As used in the sworn statements prescribed by this section "barrier
  to  remarriage"  includes,  without   limitation,   any   religious   or
  conscientious  restraint  or  inhibition, of which the party required to
  make the verified statement is aware, that is imposed on a  party  to  a
  marriage, under the principles held by the clergyman or minister who has
  solemnized  the  marriage,  by reason of the other party's commission or
  withholding of any voluntary act.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be
  construed to require any party to consult with any clergyman or minister
  to  determine  whether  there exists any such religious or conscientious
  restraint  or  inhibition.  It  shall  not  be  deemed  a  "barrier   to
  remarriage"  within  the  meaning  of  this  section if the restraint or
  inhibition cannot be removed by the party's voluntary act. Nor shall  it
  be  deemed a "barrier to remarriage" if the party must incur expenses in
  connection with removal of the restraint or  inhibition  and  the  other
  party  refuses  to  provide  reasonable reimbursement for such expenses.
  "All steps solely within his or her power" shall  not  be  construed  to
  include application to a marriage tribunal or other similar organization
  or  agency  of  a religious denomination which has authority to annul or
  dissolve a marriage under the rules of such denomination.
    7. No final  judgment  of  annulment  or  divorce  shall  be  entered,
  notwithstanding the filing of the plaintiff's sworn statement prescribed
  by  this  section,  if  the clergyman or minister who has solemnized the
  marriage certifies, in a sworn statement, that he or she has  solemnized
  the marriage and that, to his or her knowledge, the plaintiff has failed
  to  take all steps solely within his or her power to remove all barriers
  to the  defendant's  remarriage  following  the  annulment  or  divorce,
  provided  that the said clergyman or minister is alive and available and
  competent to testify at the time when final judgment would be entered.

    8. Any person who knowingly submits a false sworn statement under this
  section shall be guilty of making an apparently sworn false statement in
  the first degree and shall be punished in accordance with section 210.40
  of the penal law.
    9.  Nothing  in this section shall be construed to authorize any court
  to inquire into or determine any ecclesiastical or religious issue.  The
  truth  of  any statement submitted pursuant to this section shall not be
  the subject of any judicial inquiry, except as provided  in  subdivision
  eight of this section.