New Jersey Divorce Legal Questions

You could probably do this yourself.  Look on the New Jersey Judiciary website and get the "pro se packet" for filing without a lawyer.  There will be no assets to divide.  You wll have to complete the forms, file, serve a copy on your spouse, and then wait the required time and go to court for a very brief hearing.  Your soon to be ex does not need to appear, and does not need to do anything.  ... Read More

If both parties agree to the terms, skip the lawyer and the mediator.  Write up the agreement, get both parties to sign, and use the pro se (without an attorney) packets that you can find on the New Jersey Judiciary website.  You will have to follow the process carefully, but you can do this yourself, if you are short on funds and agree to the terms. ... Read More

If the deed is in both names, you will need to have both people consent to the sale.  Many realtors will require both people to sign the listing agreement.  even though your ex is not on the mortgage, his/her name is on the deed and he/she will need to sign the deed to complete the sale.... Read More

no - you will not file in New Jersey.  You will file in the state in which you live, provided you meet New York residency requirements.  In New Jersey you must live in the state, and live here for one year prior to filing.  If you have lived in New York for more than one year chances are you have met the residency rquirements and could file from New York.... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The answer to your question is: You certainly can try to file a Motion.  However, I would strongly recommend that you first invest in a meeting with a good New Jersey divorce lawyer.   The New Jersey Alimony Reform Act of 2014 made changes to the law regarding the effect of unemployment and retirement on alimony obligations. You need to know those changes in advance, and you would benefit greatly from expert advice regarding your chances of success.  Your chances of success would also be greatly increased, if you had a good lawyer properly prepare, file and serve the necessary Motion papers.  There are many requirements which need to be followed.    I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  ... Read More

I'm not sure what you mean by ex parte divorce.  Ex parte usually refers to a conversation betwen one litigant and the judge.  You might mean a defualt judgment or something else.  If you can get the other party to consent to waive the time necessary to wait for default, you can greatly speed up the procees. ... Read More

Alimony is not the same as child support for the children.  You cannot waive child support and any agreement that supposedly waives child support in not enforceable.  The prenuptial agreement may not be applicable to joinlty held assets acquired during marriage.  You have to have an attorney review the prenuptial.  ... Read More

  I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The correct answer to your question is: In order for you to file for divorce in NJ, either your husband or you needs to have been a bonafide resident of NJ for the 12 months immediately preceding the filing of the Complaint for Divorce.  (There is an exception--but it pertains to adultery, which hopefully you do not have).      I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which your husband lives.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If your husband lives in one of those counties, and you wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  If not, please let me know what county your husband lives in, and I may be able to provide you with some suggestions for lawyers whom you may want to contact.      ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The short answer to your question is:  You should not leave.  Your husband cannot force you to leave right now, unless you commit domestic violence.  If and when he files a Divorce Complaint, one of the issues that needs to be resolved at some point during the divorce case is your rights to your home. The fact that your husband makes more money than you does not necessarily mean that he should get to stay in the house and you should leave.   The issues you raise in your question are important ones, and the resolution of those issues will have substantial ramifications for you, both now and in the years to come. You really need to have the help of a very experienced divorce lawyer. I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The answer to your question is: if your divorce was finalized in May 2014, I do not believe that the Ethics Committee should have told you that the case is "still in litigation."  However, I think that the best course of action is to have your lawyer file what is called a motion to enforce litigant's rights with the Court that granted the divorce in May 2014. Therefore, I recommend that you contact your lawyer right away. The most important thing is for you to get what you are entitled to from your ex husband's pension. Filing the motion is the quickest way to try to get that to happen. Of course, I anticipate that your lawyer will require you to pay additional legal fees and costs for that motion. However, as part of the motion, your lawyers should be requesting that your ex-husband reimburse you for those legal fees and costs. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and your lawyer is not willing to prepare, file and serve the motion, please contact us. Our local telephone number is 973-455-1220.  Please ask for my Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof. ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The answer to your question is:  Before you leave, you really need to speak to a very experienced New Jersey divorce lawyer.  If you are ready to file for divorce, under New Jersey divorce law you are certainly entitled to a reasonable amount of financial support from your husband, both for yourself and your two children     In addition, if your husband controls all of the money and has the money to retain a lawyer, under New Jersey divorce law you are entitled to apply to the court for an Order requiring your husband to provide a monetary advance to you for your own New Jersey divorce lawyer.   I would be happy to have a phone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  Retirement assets (which may include IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, profit sharing plans or annuities) which are acquired during the marriage are subject to equitable distribution in a New Jersey divorce. Since you have been married for eight years, whatever portion of your 401(k) and pension you have acquired during the marriage are subject to equitable distribution. Of course, if your wife has any retirement assets through her work with the State of New Jersey-- and it is likely that she does-- those assets are also subject to equitable distribution. There is no hard and fast rule in New Jersey family law that states that one party is entitled to 50% of the marital portion of retirement assets of the other party. However, that is a fair starting point for negotiations.   Equitable distribution of retirement assets in a New Jersey divorce can be very complicated for various reasons, including: (1) the fact that some portion of a retirement asset was often acquired prior to the marriage; (2) the fact that retirement assets are "pretax" assets-- meaning that they must be distributed in the proper manner in order to avoid the distribution being a taxable event; and (3) there are various options for how to distribute retirement assets, depending on the specifics of each individual case.   You do not say whether you are in the middle of a divorce case or have not even become one. You may simply be asking this question to try to get an idea of what would happen if you did file for divorce. I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  I would need would information from you, in order to answer your question.  I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call.  ... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to selected New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  We handle a limited number of cases at any given time. Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  The issues you raise in your question are important ones, and the resolution of those issues may have substantial ramifications, both now and in the future. I would be happy to have a very brief telephone call with you, to get a few more facts. What you tell me remains confidential and there is no charge for the call. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you live in one of those counties and wish to schedule a brief, confidential telephone call with me, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof.  She will be able to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for the call. ... Read More

You can file for divorce in New Jersey if you have been living here for a year.  You will have to serve him with a copy of the divorce complaint, and will have to send it regular mail and certified mail to the last known address.  You will also have to send something to the court if he does not sign for the certified mail, and indicate that you sent it certified and regular mail, that the regular mail did not come back undeliverable, and that he refused to sign for the certified mail.  You will be able to find a last know address for him online using something like White Pages, or something similar. ... Read More

You can file for divorce and get an agreement from your spouse not to contest same, and have a default judgment.  If you can divide up what you have an each move on, then you can file for divorce, claim no suport, no asset division, nothing, then your spouse does not have to answer the complaint, and you can go to court and be divroced. you can find packets of information ont he New Jersey Judiciary website.... Read More

I have seen your question. My name is David Salvaggio.  I have more than 35 years of legal experience and head a law firm that devotes its practice exclusively to New Jersey Divorce and Family Law matters.  It's all we do. Please feel free to take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.com) for further information about my firm.  Based on the limited information you have given, it would appear that your ex husband must continue paying alimony until and unless he gets a court order relieving him of that obligation. In order to get that court order, he needs to file some sort of additional motion. You do not say how long ago the judge denied his motion, so I do not know how long ago that was and therefore how many weeks of alimony he is now behind in paying. If you want to "take the bull by the horns," a motion can be filed on your behalf to compel him to immediately bring himself up to date in his alimony payments.  As part of that motion, a request could be made that he reimburse you for any legal fees and costs that you incur relating to the motion. Alternatively, you could wait for some period of time for his motion and then respond to that motion. As I am sure that you know, you have a much greater chance of success if you have a lawyer. What people don't realize is that, even know they can save money without a lawyer, they will often lose more money if they don't do things right. Therefore, in most cases, I believe that a lawyer is a good "investment." If you can't come up with the money to have a lawyer do everything for you (by borrowing or otherwise), I recommend that you at least borrow enough money for what we call an Assessment, in which I will go over your situation in detail, answer your questions, and give you guidance as to the best course of action. Typically, the Assessment lasts about an hour.  The cost is $425, which can be paid by cash, check or credit card. Your question does not specify the town in which you live.  My firm's offices are located in Morristown, NJ (Morris County).  We handle cases in all of the counties in northern and central New Jersey, including not only Morris County but also Somerset, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Passaic, Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. If you wish to schedule an Assessment, please call my office (973-455-1220) and speak to the firm’s Client Intake Coordinator Dara Vanderhoof, who can arrange a mutually convenient date and time.... Read More