Divorce Legal Questions

Thank you for your question about equitable distribution during the divorce process in New Jersey.  New Jersey is an equitable distribution state. This means that all marital assets, property, and debt that have been accumulated during the course of your marriage are divided fairly and equitably by the court. It is important to note that equitable distribution does not necessarily mean your assets will be divided into equal parts.  Marital assets are any assets acquired from the date of marriage until the date of filing for divorce.  Whether or not your husband may have a claim to the home in your and your father’s name requires a fact sensitive analysis.  I suggest you contact a family law attorney to determine your rights regarding the home. ... Read More

I am not sure what you are asking.  If a Complaint for divorce was filed and a request was made for child and spousal support, the party requesting support may ask that it is retroactive to the date of filing/service. It matters not that a hearing has not been set.  Once the case is heard that is when the court will decide the issue of retroactive support. Best of luck~  ... Read More

Getting married does not make all of your assets community property. Community property is what is earned during the marriage. However, there are more things to be concerned about when you marry someone who is not an American. I would caution you to be careful. I have represented multiple people who have spouses from overseas and have been caught up in a marriage scam.  It starts with demands for money, access to all money, then constant fighting, attempts to provoke you to physical violence, and it gets worse from there. If any of this sounds familar, then you need to seek an attorney immediately. The way the rest of this plays out .....you go to jail while your new spouse cleans you out and gets a fast track to a green card. If you cannot afford an attorney and any of this sounds familiar, I encourage you to do some internet research on this issue as soon as possible. ... Read More

My advice to you is to seek a consultation with an attorney as soon as possible. Even you you decide not to hire an attorney, you need to understand your rights. From statements and the questions you are asking, it is obvious you do not understand some basics about this process that even a 30 minute consultation with an attorney would provide. Proceeding without this advice could be far more costly than paying for the consultation.  Most attorneys offer an initial consultation at a discount and some (although you often get what you pay for) offer a consult for free. ... Read More

   Dear Ms. Reed:       I am sorry your divorce is going on so long.  I am assuming that the vacant lot is a marital asset.  As such, you are jointly responsible for the real estate taxes on the lot. You could file a motion to compel him to pay 50% of the taxes at this time in order to preserve a marital asset.  If it is not cost effective to go to court at the moment (not knowing your finances) and if you want to avoid losing the property  to the county (or paying a lot more than the taxes to get it back) then you need to pay the taxes now, and add that to monies your husband owes later.       ... Read More

Pensions can be one of the confusing and complicated aspects of divorce. Failure to properly handle a spouse's pension can be a costly mistake. Rather than try to explain the intricacies of pensions, feel free to give me a call. Once I have an idea of your situation, I can give you better information.... Read More

Texas is not a alimony state.  Texas has spousel maintainece under certain situations; ie been married for more than 10 years; spouse suffering from a disabiliy; married for more than 10 years and spouse lacks the ability to be self sufficient.   In Texas, when a divorce is filed the spouse does not have to leave the marital home.  You might be able to obtain a "kick out" order under certain circumstances.... Read More

In Texas, any property acquired during the marriage is deemed community property.  During a divorce, a court applies a "just and right" division of the property.  This doesnt mean 50/50, the court can split the community property 60/40, 70/30. The court applies factors in making this "just and right" division.  If your wife filed for divorce, then sold the house while the divorce is pending, you can claim that she commited "fraud on the estate" and seek to be reinbursed for your community share of the family home. ... Read More

Short answer:  "maybe," but you probably do not want to.  If no counterclaim has been made in the existing action, you shouild be able to dismiss the Nevada divorce case.  And you can re-file wherever you are now -- but that coiurt may lack jurisdiction to grant relief in whatever issues are pending in the case.  For an explanation, see the article "The Basics of Family law Jurisdiction," posted on the willicklawgroup.com website.  If you have any questions, speak with a qualified family law specialist before taking any action to dismiss the existing case.... Read More

Many people use one attorney. Technically that attorney can represent only one of you, but both parties don't have to hire a lawyer. You could hire someone and Husband could represent himself. There are also lawyers who do "collaborative divorce," which means one lawyer can do it but with some specific rules. That collaborative divorce model is new, and I don't think a lot of lawyers use it. The problem is that if you and your husband start to disagree, the collaborative lawyer has to drop out entirely. If you hire a lawyer and he doesn't, and there are some disagreements, your lawyer just keeps representing you and husband can hire one if he needs one. If you are just 100% sure, no question, that there will be no disagreement you could Google and see who is doing collaborative law. I don't, specifically, but I have been The only attorney on probably hundreds of divorce cases at this point.... Read More

  He can ask for anything he wants.  Getting it is another story.  Alimony is based, in large part, on one's need to receive it and the other's ability to pay.  Since your income is modest, and since your marriage was short, it is unlikely he will be successful with his request.   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova LAw Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 954-316-3496/561-962-2785... Read More

  Dear Ms. Keyser:       You can get a divorce from your husband.  You would have to serve him with divorce papers via publication in a newspper.  This is permitted once you file an affidavit with the court stating you made a diligent search and inquiry into his whereabouts and you are unable to find him.  There are  forms available on line from the Florida Supreme Court that may help with this.        Presumably he will not answer the published petition.  You will then need to obtain a default against him and then a Final Judgmetn of Divorce.  Since he will not be personally served, and since he probably does not have any "contacts" with Florida, the court can divorce you, but can make no determination of property rights.    However, once the divorce is final, you should be able to purchase a house in your name alone without him being able to make any claims to it.  That should satisfy the lender.   Best of luck, Cindy S. Vova Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. Broward-Boca Raton-Miami-Dade 954-316-3496/561-962-2785... Read More

You file for divorce in the state and county in which you have been a resident, regardless of where the marriage occurred.  Under Oklahoma Law, you must have resided in Oklahoma at least six months to file here, and at least 30 days living in the county in which you file.  Some states have different residency periods. ... Read More

Tina, In Louisiana, we recognize both “fault” and “no fault” as grounds for a divorce. Unlike the “no fault” grounds for divorce, which require spouses to wait a requisite amount of time before obtaining a judgment of divorce, under Louisiana Civil Code Article 103.2 upon proof of a spouse committing adultery, you would be entitled to an immediate divorce. Adultery in Louisiana is going to be considered any sexual contact between a spouse and another individual who is not the other spouse. This can be sexual intercourse, but can also include other noncoital acts. Such noncoital acts have been defined by the Louisiana courts as including, but not limited to, oral sex, genital contact, and laying on top of each other even if they did not have sexual intercourse.  Though there may be an issue obtaining a divorce under this statute based upon the facts you provided. You indicated that the infidelity occurred in 2013 and that you and he had separated in 2017, which would give you the grounds to seek a fault divorce, either under the infidelity or as you both had already been living separate and apart for the requisite amount of time, but you also note that in February of this year you both reconciled. Sadly, under Louisiana Civil Code Article 104, reconciliation between the parties will extinguish your fault cause of action and you will likely have to seek a “no fault” divorce. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 102, a "no fault" divorce may be granted upon a showing that the spouses lived separate and apart for either, 180 days without minor children involved or 365 with minor children. This time will begin to run from the later of the date of separation of the parties or from the date of service of the divorce petition on the other spouse.  If it is your intent to obtain a divorce as soon as possible, it would be best to begin the process of separating, if you have not already done so, and prepare the petition for divorce so that your husband can be served. I am available and would be happy to assist in guiding you through this process. Please feel free to give my office a call at (337)237-0492 and set up a free consult so that we can discuss. Thank you.... Read More