What is the difference between contested and uncontested divorce in New Jersey?  The basic difference is that in a contested divorce is that there are issues that need to be resolved. In an uncontested divorce, all the issues have been resolved. What are some of the issues that must be resolved in divorce? Decisions must be made regarding dividing assets and property; whether alimony will be paid and how much; child support and who pays for college; child custody and visitation; and more. HOW IS A CONTESTED DIVORCE RESOLVED? When spouses cannot agree on a single issue or multiple issues ..read more

One of the first questions asked by many people who are divorcing is “how long will it take?” We wish there was an answer to this that you could concretely rely upon!  But there, is not. The time frame for your divorce will depend on all the unique intricacies of your individual situation. Some divorces take just months while others can take a year or more. Typically, the more complex your finances and your marital life, and the more antagonistic your relationship is with your spouse, the longer it will probably take. CONTESTED OR UNCONTESTED DIVORCE There are two general types of divorc ..read more

Please Note: Our practice focuses on cases that occur in New Jersey. While co-parenting and parallel parenting sound similar, these are actually two very different ways for parents to raise their children after a divorce. Divorcing spouses who treat each other with civility and respect and are able to communicate effectively may be able to enter into a co-parenting arrangement. In this arrangement, parents work closely together to raise their children. On the other hand, when former spouses are antagonistic and disrespectful toward each other post-divorce, a parallel parenting arrangement limi ..read more

It is a common question and one that leads to contention in many New Jersey divorces: Which spouse keeps the family home? Whether for practical reasons or due to sentimental attachment, it is not uncommon for both parties to want to keep their home after their divorce. But the truth is that, while both spouses may want it, only one can have it — and in some cases, neither spouse may end up with the home. DECIDING WHO KEEPS THE HOUSE There is no simple or straightforward formula for deciding who keeps the house. While there are several clearly-established guiding principles, these principl ..read more

  When parents are not married, there could be more legal complications regarding children if they split up, or if the parents were never together as a couple in the first place. This is why the New Jersey Court’s have a whole separate part of the Courthouse to assist and help those father’s who were never married to the other parent.  Unmarried fathers who wish to be part of their children’s lives may first need to take steps to establish that they are indeed the child’s biological father in order to have rights when it comes to child custody and visitation and to ensure that they ..read more

Both parents are responsible for supporting their children financially following divorce. While child support payments include money for food, clothing, housing, medical care, and, often, payment for college, extracurricular activities are more of a gray area. Child support guidelines include some extracurricular activities. However, there are also extracurricular activities that child support does not cover unless spelled out in the support agreement or order. Every situation is different for divorcing parents when it comes to what activities their children may reasonably be involved (and al ..read more

Divorce is complicated enough when spouses live in the same state. When one spouse decides that they may want to live in another state, it becomes even more intricate, especially when children are involved. So how do you get divorced if you live in New Jersey and your spouse has moved out of state with the kids? What if your spouse and children have established residency in the new state—will that impact child custody decisions? The first issue to address is whether or not you or a Court allowed your spouse to relocate with your children to another State?  If you have no children, then y ..read more

Most divorces start off contested. A contested divorce means that you and your spouse have issues that need to be resolved before you can get divorced. These issues can include disagreement about child custody, child support, property division (such as dividing up retirement assets, stocks and bonds, whether alimony will be paid, and other areas like college selection and financial contribution for your children, , or valuing and investment business interests. If you are unable to come to agreement on any issue preferably with the help of a divorce attorney, your divorce will ultimately go to ..read more

People often think of divorce as a completely negative experience. They may believe they are a failure because they couldn’t make their marriage work. But there are mental, emotional, financial, and other benefits of divorcing when you are in an unhappy marriage. Before we talk about how divorce can be a good thing, though, our divorce lawyers are also realists and understand that the process of ending a marriage is stressful. Many people initially experience bouts of anxiety. They worry about the effects on their children and what family and friends may think and whether their reputation is a ..read more

If you find out that your spouse has been hiding money from you in a secret bank account, spending large amounts of money that you were unaware of, or running up excessive debt without your knowledge, you may rightfully feel mistrust and anger toward them. While financial infidelity in itself is not a technical legal ground for divorce in New Jersey, it can certainly cause a lot of problems in a marriage and ultimately lead to or contribute to divorce. There are different reasons for financial infidelity between spouses, but whatever the reason for your particular situation, if you are conside ..read more