New Jersey Divorce Legal Questions

The answer to this may be in the wording of your divorce agreement. If the wording is silent about how to address this issue, and both of you are not able to come to an agreement as to the amount he would receive, it would have to be left up to the court to decide after making an application to the court on this issue. As a first step, I would suggest having your agreement reviewed by an experienced family law attorney to discuss the language, and what your options are.... Read More

You can file a visa petition for your spouse whether or not she changes the name on her passport. She is allowed to use her new married name. Consider working with an immigration attorney. There are many forms and documents to file. Case processing could be delayed if mistakes are made. Some of us charge an affordable flat fee to handle the case from start to finish. ... Read More

Thank you for your question. Generally speaking, upon divorce a spouse is entitled to half of the “marital coverture” of any retirement plans. This means the income added to the plan from the date of marriage to the date of complaint. Each plan can be a little different in their rules, and pensions are tricky because they are defined benefit plans, not defined contribution plans like 401(k)s. When the tie comes to split any retirement assets, lawyers will consult or engage an actuary. During the negotiation phase of a divorce, parties are allowed to agree that one person gets a larger share of the equity in the home, or some other asset, in exchange for waiving rights to the pension.  You have options, but the best course of action is to consult with an experienced matrimonial attorney, who can advise you based on your unique situation.  ... Read More

If you are going through a divorce and your spouse is / has sold off assets of the marriage without your consent, you need to consider filing an application with the court for sanctions against him / her. As part of your application, if you beleive that he did so, to try and prevent you from sharing in it or with the plan to re-acquire it at a later date, you need to present all of your proofs now so that a judge can address it and potentially hold your spouse accountable for its value, etc in the divorce or to compel its return.... Read More

You need to have a consultation with a divorce law specialist to review your respective asset structure and your anticipated income settings moving forward. It would be unfortunate for you to presume to know what your income setting will look like in retirement, only to find out that your understanding was wrong. ... Read More

Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear you are going through this stressful time. In a situation like the one you describe the amount of alimony you will have to pay is based on several factors. What is the income of each party? What was the standard of living during the marriage? Is either party underemployed or deliberately unemployed? Is either party living beyond their means? What is the payor’s ability to pay? All of these aspects, and more, can have a bearing on giving you a definitive answer. To help you understand your rights and options, I strongly urge you to schedule an attorney consultation.... Read More

You are in the middle of a divorce, and I presume that you are representing yourself.  A also presume that you and your spouse are no longer living together and despite the fact that he no longer is living in the house with you, he has continued to pay for the expenses of the house but he has not given you money for your auto expenses or for your personal expenses. And, as a result of him not giving you money for those expenses, you have been taking money out of the bank account[s] on a monthly basis to pay for those expenses. And, im going to presume that since the divorce matter has started, he no longer is depositing his paycheck into those accounts and as a result, the account balance has been declining. The real question for the court is when your spouse moved out and began paying for the shelter expenses BUT refused to pay for your auto expenses and your personal expenses, what communications took place between you and him as to how you would pay for those additional costs? Did you tell him that if he didn’t pay for them, you would have no choice but to take the money from the accounts each month to pay for them or did he tell you that you needed to work and that you needed to pay for those expenses yourself?  Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with whatever your spouse told you, what was your response? If he told you to take the money from the account, then the decline in the account balance is simple and was an agreed-upon action. If he told you to get a job and pay for them yourself and your response was that you could not do so and that you planned to take the money from the account for payment purposes, then that is a different setting and the judge will then have to focus on whether you could have gotten a job to assist in the payment of expenses or not and whether your actions were reasonable in taking money from the account.  The next question that a judge will focus on is whether your spouse knew that you were invading the account for payment of your expenses or not. If the account was in joint name and each of you had access to it online (and the account login remained the same), then again, its relevant to the court’s analysis.  Lastly, if there was a significant disparity in your income settings, I am not sure I understand why you didn’t file an application with the court for the court to put in place an interim support obligation upon your spouse. Obviously, if you had done so and he did not comply and you were forced to take the money from the account, then the court could charge the decrease in the account against his share of the account, as opposed to dividing the account otherwise.   ... Read More

You NEED to schedule a consultation with a divorce law specialist - not simply a lawyer that also handles divorce matters to better understand your rights and whether the proposed consent order makes sense for you. I dont know if you are already divorced and in your divorce agreement, you waived your claim to alimony or whether you were supposed to get a larger share of the division of your husband's pension plan as part of a support agreement and without knowing all of those details, its impossible for me or any other family law specialist to offer you guidance. As a general statement, in the division of assets in a divorce ( equitable distribution), the marital poriton of retirement assets are divided and you can start off with the presumption that the marital portion will be divided equally by either a roll over into an IRA account in your name or through a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO). If being divided by QDRO, the proposed form of order will tell the plan admin how to divide the benefits and whether you are entitled to what is called the joint and survivor option as well as the preretriement survivor benefits ( most plans permit both types of options to be elected). It is impossible to say whehter the proposed QDRO presented to you has been done correctly or whether it was done wrong. You need to have a competent family law specialist look at it and look at your agreement, etc to see if the other side is playing it straight with you or not.  Since this is a benefit that may pay you money for the balance of your life, I would find the money to pay for a competent consultation to review the material. ... Read More

Thank you for your question and I’m sorry to hear that you’re in this position.  It is a little difficult to completely answer your question without asking some additional questions. Are you currently going through a divorce or are you already divorced? Have you asked the other party for proof of these accounts? Has the other party blatantly advised that they do not have these accounts or did they refuse to disclose this information? You are correct in stating that all financial information and documentation needs to be fully disclosed in a divorce. You are also correct in stating that one spouse is entitled to a portion of the “marital coverture” of the other parties’ retirement account. The marital coverture is the period of time from the date of marriage through the date the Complaint for Divorce was filed (unless another cut-off date has been established). Any retirement accounts that were earned prior to marriage are considered pre-marital and may not be subject to equitable distribution. The party who has the account should provide statements of the account from the date of marriage through the date of Complaint and also as of today’s date. In the event you are divorced and later found out that your spouse was hiding these assets from you, depending on what your Marital Settlement Agreement reads, you may be entitled to these accounts once discovered. You may also be entitled to attorney’s fees for needing to file a Motion with the Court in order to have this enforced – so long as you have this language in your Agreement as well. There are some additional questions that may need to be answered and will definitely be helpful in your situation. To help you understand your rights and options, I strongly urge you to schedule an attorney consultation.... Read More

You can retain a lawyer anywhere in NJ presently since most lawyers are meeting with their clients through Zoom teleconference technology and most courts are still proceeding through zoom for court proceedings as well. But, if you are more comfortable working with a local lawyer, then look for divorce lawyers in your county. If there are any complications to your matter, then your google search should be for "Certified Matrimonial Trial Lawyers by the New Jersey Supreme Court", since only 2% of all lawyers in the state of NJ have met the qualifications for 'certificaiton" by the court system. ... Read More

If you are ready to move forward with a divorce matter, you should meet with one or more divorce lawyers for a consultation to better understand your rights in a divorce and your spouses obligation ( if any) for the payment of spousal support. Without sitting down with you and reviewing your income setting, your spouses income setting, the difference between your respective income settings, the nature of your disability, the assets and liabilities of the marriage, the lenght of the marriage, etc its impossible for any lawyer to give you competent advice. My suggestion is that you look for family law attorneys offering free initial consultations and take advantage of that opportuntity to become better educated. ... Read More

The best way to handle an interim support setting is to agree IN WRITING exactly what amount your "soon to be ex" will be paying you or on your behalf, each month and under what circumstance, if any, you have the right to invade assets subject to division in your divorce. In that writing, it should identify all of the assets subject to division, their account numbers, account balances so that you and he know exactly how much money is available for division in the divorce and if the account is less later on, then either you and he agreed to invade an account for the payment of a specific expense ( ie a root canal at a cost of xx) or the invasion gets charged against you or against him in the division. The agreement should also spell out exactly what he will be paying for on your behalf. As an example, if he is  paying the mortgage of XX, the homes utility services of approximately xx per month, the auto insurance of xx per month, giving you xx per month with payment of the 1st of xx and payment of xx on the 15th of the month.... spell it out so that there is no misunderstandings later as to how much was to be paid, etc. ... Read More

I have no idea what the terms of your divorce settlement agreement provided for but presumably you waived alimony or the judge handling your divorce matter asked you if you were waiving alimony. Presuming my understanding is correct, you would need to show a change in circumstance from the time of the divorce or you would need to show that the terms of the settlement agreement are unconscionable. Simply saying that someone from a divorce center was not available to meet with you at the time you signed the agreement, etc is not a legal basis for reexamination of an alimony waiver. ... Read More

I’m guessing that your current relationship with your father is not the best and he is angry and being angry, he is lashing out at you and trying to make you feel guilty or make sure that you know that he paid an amount towards your school costs in excess of his legal obligation. I don’t know how ( if ever) for you to repair your relationship with your father BUT legally, he has no legal right to require you to reimburse him for the amount he paid over and above what he was legally obligated to pay based on the agreement in place with your mother. If your father was to file a lawsuit against you for the excess payments, you need to send him a frivolous litigation letter, notifying him that any such claim is not proper and that you will be forced to retain counsel to oppose his claim and that all costs incurred by you in opposing it, potentially will be his responsibility under the frivolous litigation laws. ... Read More

        It’s not that easy to afford an alimony and child support obligation and he will have to prove that he is permanently disabled as determined by the social security administration and even if he is found to be disabled, the court and the ex-have the right to look behind his claim. And, presuming the court concludes that he is capable of work, the court has the right to impute income to him and impose obligations upon him – which means that if you and your husband maintain joint accounts, the court has the right to require an investigation into those accounts. So, it makes better sense to maintain separate accounts and be prepared to prove that the money into your account was from your employment only. If your husband deposits money into your account or if there are monies into your account from an undisclosed source, presume that the court has the right to question the source of those monies.... Read More

Thank you for your question.  Suspension of alimony for a period of time is not a termination of your obligation.  Any unpaid alimony during the suspension period  will be added to your arrears balance. You are able to check this balance by logging into your child support account. Typically, repayment of arrears is also paid back weekly by tacking an arrears payment onto your court ordered weekly alimony figure, such as an additional $25 or maybe $100 per week.  The amount of this arrears payment can be addressed with the Court.  Thus, proof of your declining business and income may help to keep the arrears payment manageable.  It is unlikely that the Court will force the sale of your home and vehicles.  I would strongly recommend you consult with an experienced family law attorney to assist with this alimony issue.... Read More

Thank you for your question.  Available resources are a concern for most when commencing divorce litigation.  In the event you are to retain counsel, you are free to utilize any savings and retirement assets available to you.  Additionally, if that is not an option, you can explore the possibly of utilizing the assistance of Legal Services in Gloucester County.  In the meantime, please remember you do not have to vacate your home on your spouse’s request.   You have the same right to the home as your spouse does.  I would recommend contacting an experienced family law attorney as soon as possible. ... Read More

Yes. The fact that your wife left you, left the state and left the country does not mean that you cannot move forward with a divorce. The biggest issue in this type of proceeding is the service of process upon your wife of the filed complaint for divorce. After you file the complaint for divorce with the court system, you then need to arrange to have a copy of that filed  complaint for divorce personally served upon your wife, with your wife signing paperwork acknowledging her receipt of the paperwork. If you cannot get her to agree to accept the paperwork and sign the acknowledgement of service of those papers, then you need to hire a process server in her country to personally serve the papers on her and then he signs a paper acknowledging that he personally served her. That paperwork is then filed with the NJ court system and then the clock can begin to run on the period time under the statute to respond.  If you don’t do it correctly ( as explained above), the court cannot proceed with a divorce matter for you. In this setting, it is probably worth your while to hire a competent divorce lawyer knowledgeable in this procedure and who has access to process servers around the world.  ... Read More

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately it sounds like you received some incorrect information. A QDRO or Qualified Domestic Relations Order is an Order used to divide retirement accounts such as 401(k) or pensions incident to a divorce. It delineates who the alternate payee is when the spouse who owns the account is transferring a portion of the funds to his or her former spouse. A QDRO is generally drafted by an actuary, when necessary.A QDRO is not related to claiming life insurance proceeds. You may want to consult with a trusts and estates attorney.... Read More

Thank you for your question. Whether the mortgage is in one name or both on marital property does not make it only one person’s liability. Even if only one name is on the mortgage, both parties would still be liable for the debt if it is marital debt. By having only the mortgage in your name, would make it easier for you to buy him out in the event of a divorce, since you would not need to refinance again. If the mortgage is in both names, a refinance would need to occur for a buyout. To help you understand your rights and options, I strongly urge you to schedule an attorney consultation. ... Read More

How do I say this politely...... the key to an uncontested divorce is a formal written agreement that not only addresses the issues outstanding but also lays out how to handle disputes in the future over issues that may come up.  As an example, presuming you have a child that is contemplating college or trade school, how are you & your ex handle the payment of the SAT/ACT prep course[s] (payment), the college / trade school selection process & which schools to consider, how to pay for that school & the ancillary costs. What if your income setting is different than your ex's at that time, what is the mechanism to determine who pays what percentage of those costs? Does your child have an obligation to apply for all loans available & what percentage (if any) of the college / trade school costs are to be paid for by your child? These are simple type items that should be in your agreement, so you & your ex do not fight at the time over them & end up in court spending money when its needed most. Similarly, once a child turns 17, he /she needs to be added to your auto insurance policy or her policy & there will be an expense - is that expense being shared in a ratio between your respective income settings or is one person paying for it?  These are simple everyday type items that people end up fighting over & if the agreement does not spell out how to handle them. 35 years of handling divorce & family law matters has taught me that all of these issues are better to be dealt with now in a formal agreement then thinking that you & she will be cooperative & work it out later. Believe it or not but about 60% of all applications to the family courts are for post-divorce issues because their settlement agreements failed to properly address the issue. My suggestion is that you meet with a "Certified Matrimonial Trial Lawyer by the NJ Supreme Court" since that certification is the only way to truly know if a lawyer has specific family law training & experience. If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of the partners in Diamond & Diamond to discuss your matter & to see if we can be of assistance to you in finalizing your divorce, please call Angela at 973-379-9292 (Millburn Office) or at 609-248-9595 ( Ocean County office). ... Read More