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DIVORCE LAW
At the Butler, Morris County, New Jersey, law firm of I. Jacob
Weingarten, I represent clients with divorce matters. As a divorce
lawyer, I represent clients throughout New Jersey, including
Morris, Sussex, and Passaic counties, which include the communities
of Butler, Bloomingdale, Riverdale, Wayne, West Milford, Kinnelon,
and Pompton Lakes. Contact my firm today to work with an experienced
divorce attorney.
Grounds for Divorce
During my thirty-plus years of practice, divorce in New Jersey
has undergone some sweeping changes. The good news is that it
is much easier to get a divorce than it was not too many years
ago.
New Jersey recognizes four grounds for divorce: extreme cruelty,
adultery, desertion, and no-fault. For a no-fault divorce, you
and your spouse must live separate and apart continuously for
eighteen months with no sexual relations during that time. Desertion
involves one spouse leaving the home over the objection of the
other spouse for a period of one year. Extreme cruelty is almost
any type of conduct that upsets you or your spouse. As one judge
put it, if eating crackers in bed drives your wife crazy, then
eating crackers in bed is extreme cruelty. Generally, who did
what to whom during the marriage has little or no effect on
alimony, custody, visitation, child support or division of property.
Children
The court will decide where the children will live (custody).
This will be based on what is in the child’s best interests,
physically, emotionally, and economically. Where the parents
have already separated, if the child is doing well it’s
unlikely that custody will change. Most of the time, the children
will live primarily with one parent (sole custody). On rare
occasions, the children will spend roughly the same amount of
time with each parent (joint custody). Usually, this requires
that both parents live in the same or nearby towns. It always
requires co-operation between both parents.
In cases of sole custody, the other parent enjoys liberal and
reasonable visitation. This may be spelled out in great detail
by the court or by the parties themselves or it can be left
to the parents to set visitation on a more flexible basis. The
courts are very supportive of visitation. It will not be limited
unless it is in the child’s best interest to do so.
Both parties must contribute to the financial support of the
children (child support). In New Jersey, child support, in most
cases, is determined based upon the income of the parents. The
courts use a mathematical formula (the child support guidelines)
to determine child support. Only in rare cases may the court
deviate from the guidelines. If one or both parents are unemployed
or underemployed, the court will base child support on what
that parent is capable of earning. In addition to child support,
provision must be made for other needs, including medical insurance,
uncovered medical expenses, work-related day care and college.
Child support is usually paid through Probation by deducting
the necessary payments from the paycheck of the supporting parent.
Child support will be reviewed by Probation periodically to
track the parties’ financial situation.
Alimony
Alimony is support for a spouse. Unlike child support, there
is no formula for spousal support. Alimony is based upon the
length of the marriage and the potential of each spouse. The
longer the marriage and the greater the difference in the parties’
earning potential, the greater the likelihood that alimony will
be awarded. Alimony may be permanent (until the death of either
party or the remarriage of the spouse receiving alimony). Permanent
alimony may also end if the spouse receiving alimony enters
into a relationship that is tantamount to marriage. Alimony
may also be for a shorter, stated period of time, as, for example,
where one spouse needs to go back to school to acquire skills
to enter the job market.
Change in Circumstances
After a divorce is finalized, alimony, child support, custody,
and visitation may be changed if there is a significant change
in circumstances of one or both of the parties. The maturation
of the children is a change which may result in an increase
in child support. Changes in employment, finances and health
of the parties are changes which may result in a reconsideration
of these issues.
Division of Property
The court will divide up property acquired during the marriage
(equitable distribution). This includes real estate, bank accounts,
stocks, furniture, jewelry, motor vehicles… in fact just
about everything you own. It also includes employment benefits,
pensions, 401K plans, profit sharing plans, etc. Generally,
all marital assets are divided equally, especially in the case
of a marriage of ten or more years. However, there are expectations
and each case must be evaluated on its own facts. Assets acquired
during the marriage by gift or inheritance are not subject to
equitable distribution unless they are merged with jointly held
assets, such as depositing an inheritance into a joint bank
account. Assets acquired during the marriage are subject to
equitable distribution even if they are owned in the name of
one party and not the other.
Counsel Fees
Divorce cases are one of the rare areas in New Jersey law where
one side may end up paying for the other side’s lawyer.
The court looks to each party’s ability to pay for their
own and/or their spouse’s counsel fees. The court also
looks to which of the parties has been acting in good faith.
If you try to make your spouse suffer by “playing hardball”
you may end up paying for his or her lawyer, as well as for
your own.
Procedures
Most lawyers try to settle a case before they take it to court.
It is almost always cheaper to settle a case early. A settlement
can be made to meet the unique demands of the individuals involved.
Sometimes, a settlement can accomplish things a court may not
do.
If an early settlement is not in the cards, the formal divorce
proceedings are started by one side filing a complaint with
the court, demanding a divorce and a resolution of all the divorce-related
issues outlined above. A case may settle even after the complaint
is filed and the good news is that most of them do. If not,
it takes, on average, a year to two years for a case to reach
the top of the trial list. A settled case must still be heard
by a judge, but that can be arranged within a few days after
settlement. Prior to settlement, the parties will go to court
frequently. There will be status (case management) conferences,
and settlement conferences, including an appearance before the
early settlement panel, two or three divorce attorneys who will
hear the matter informally and render a non-binding suggestion
on how to resolve the issues fairly. Either party may go into
court for interim relief, such as payment of temporary child
support or alimony or to enforce visitation. These interim applications
are called motions. If all else fails and a case does not settle,
a judge will hear all the evidence and will decide whether a
divorce should be granted as well as custody, visitation, child
support, alimony, equitable distribution, etc.
Contact me today for an experienced divorce lawyer.
I. Jacob Weingarten
P.O. Box 251
10 Park Place
Butler, NJ 07405
Phone: (973) 838-4898
Fax: (973) 838-5245
Law Office of I. Jacob Weingarten
10 Park Place Butler, NJ 07405
Phone: (973) 838-4898
Fax: (973) 838-5245
ijwlaw@aol.com
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