Key Takeaways
- Understanding the complexity of New Jersey family law provides individuals with transparency in what to expect throughout the legal process.
- The divorce process requires numerous steps, decision-making, and attention to detail to move a case forward.
- Consider the rights and rules related to child custody and support as well as alimony support.
- Cordell & Cordell offers a comprehensive insight into New Jersey family law matters.
Men and fathers going through a New Jersey divorce face an array of challenges that threaten to upend their lives. Cordell & Cordell’s New Jersey divorce lawyers focus on representing men during the divorce process and that gives them an understanding of how the state’s laws affect them and their families.
Our New Jersey divorce and child custody articles provide insight necessary to know what your rights are and how to protect them. Learn more about the divorce process in New Jersey so you know what to expect. By preparing to work with an experienced divorce lawyer, you also increase your readiness heading into New Jersey family court.
New Jersey Divorce Process
The New Jersey divorce process involves nine specific steps.
#1: File with the Court:
- Complaint for Divorce
- Certification Verification and Non-Collusion
- Confidential Litigant Information Sheet
- Certification of Insurance Coverage
- Certification of Self-Represented Litigant and Dispute Resolution Alternatives
#2: Complete the Divorce Summons
This is an official notice that a divorce complaint has been filed. It also contains where and how to respond as well as the deadline to respond.
#3: Address
List the current address of your spouse or partner if you are in a domestic partnership or civil union.
#4: Pay Filing Fee
The filing fee is $300. In some cases, you can request a fee waiver. There is also a $25 fee for the Parent Education Program (PEP) when minor children are involved.
#5: Sign Documentation
Go through each document and check that they are properly signed and dated as required.
#6: Make Copies if Submitting via Mail or In Person
Create three copies of all documentation, including one for yourself.
#7: Redact Personal Identifiers
All documents filed with the Court must have all personal identifiers redacted, such as social security numbers, except for the information contained on the Confidential Litigant Information Sheet.
#8: Submit to System
Upload all of the documents to the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) System.
#9: Serve the Summons, Complaint, and Other Documents
Wait until you receive the Complaint with a docket number from the Court. Then, personally serve the defendant with these documents along with the Summons by using the County Sherriff’s Department or a process server. The Confidential Litigant Information Sheet should not be served on the Defendant.
Related Article: What to Know When Filing for Divorce
New Jersey Residency Requirements
Under N.J. Stat. § 2A:34-10, either spouse must be a resident of the state of New Jersey for a full year prior to filing. In cases of adultery, this waiting period does not apply.
Related Article: What Is The Residency Requirement For Filing For Divorce?
Grounds for Divorce in New Jersey
In New Jersey, the no-fault grounds for divorce require that the parties have been living separate and apart for 18 consecutive months, or that the parties have experienced irreconcilable differences for a period of 6 months prior to filing the Complaint for Divorce and they must allege that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. Under a no-fault divorce based on irreconcilable differences, the parties may be living together and file for divorce if they can show irreconcilable differences existed for 6 months or more prior to the filing. Note, the courts in NJ also refer to divorce as “dissolution.”
The fault grounds for divorce in New Jersey include the following:
- Adultery
- Extreme mental or physical cruelty
- Voluntarily induced addiction or habitual drunkenness
- Institutionalization for mental illness
- Imprisonment
- Deviant sexual behavior
Divorce from bed and board may also be requested, which can later be converted to a final judgment of divorce. When divorce from bed and board is sought, both parties must apply for this relief and it can be later converted into a divorce action.
Related Article: The No-Fault/Fault-Based Divorce Debate
New Jersey Asset and Debt Division Process
The division of property in New Jersey must be equitable in the eyes of the court. In New Jersey, there is a three-part inquiry completed to establish equitable distribution.
- Identify the marital assets and debts
- Assign a value to the marital assets and debts
- Equitably divide the marital assets and debts between spouses
To achieve this, the court must first outline what specific marital assets and debts are eligible for distribution based on the type of asset or debt. Then, the court will need to determine the current value of those assets and debts, with a focus on distribution. The final step involves determining what is an equitable division of those assets.
Related Article: Divorce Tips For Men: What To Do With The House?
New Jersey Child Custody Laws
Child custody laws in New Jersey are dependent on two components: Legal and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the right to make decisions for the child related to health, educational and welfare. It can be awarded as joint or sole custody.
Physical custody refers to where the child lives or resides. It can also be ruled sole or joint if shared. There are numerous strategies for establishing child custody arrangements, including alternating weekly schedules.
Related Article: New Jersey Child Custody Questions
New Jersey Child Support
New Jersey courts expect both parents to provide financial support for their child and note that this is a fundamental and constitutional right. New Jersey Child Support Guidelines help to determine the amount of child support one parent must pay to the other. Courts have the discretion to deviate from this if there is evidence to warrant it or if the combined incomes of the parties exceed the income cap set by the guidelines.
To make decisions about child support, the court must take into consideration several key factors:
- The needs of the child
- The respective lifestyles of each parent and the standard of living the child is used to
- The source of all income from each parent, including assets that may not be income-producing
- All sources of debt for each of the parents and the child
- The earning capacity of each parent based on previous work experience and education
- Roles of the respective parents in caring for the child
- The expenses paid for by each parent historically
- The ability to provide for the child’s higher education needs
- The child’s current age and health needs
- The responsibility of each parent based on the court’s belief of other support provided
The court must determine a figure that provides for the child’s needs while balancing the parent’s ability to make such a payment.
Related Article: New Jersey Child Support: Paying For College
New Jersey Maintenance/Alimony
The maintenance, or alimony, awarded is dependent on numerous factors, including:
- The actual need for alimony and the ability of the parties to pay
- Length of the marriage
- The age, physical and emotional health of the parties
- Marital standard of living and the likelihood that each party can maintain a reasonable comparable standard of living with neither party having a greater entitlement to that standard of living than the other
- Earning capacities, education levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties
- Length of absence from the job market of the party seeking alimony
- The parental responsibilities for the children
- The time and expenses necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking alimony to find appropriate employment, the availability of training and employment, and the opportunity for further acquisitions of capital assets and income
- The history of financial or non-financial contributions to the marriage or civil union by each party
- The equitable distribution of property ordered and any payouts on equitable distribution
- The income available to either party through investment of any asset held by that party
- The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award
- Any other factors which the court may deem relevant
Alimony or maintenance is not always a component of New Jersey divorce.
Related Article: Will I Have To Pay Alimony?
Why Work With Cordell & Cordell
Experience, compassion, and dedication make working with Cordell & Cordell a desirable outcome for many people filing for divorce in New Jersey. With the experience of your divorce attorney, you gain insight into your rights and obligations at every step of the divorce process.
Testimonials
“Everything was great. You guys have a reputation of being the firm for dads, and you delivered extremely well.” — Xavier S.
“The service was top notch. the staff were able to help me through it without a lot of legalese and by genuinely caring about my case.” — Thaddeus O.
Take Charge & Move Forward Today
Cordell & Cordell is a national law firm helping men with various family law concerns, including all aspects of divorce. This page is a resource to use to guide further support, and is not to be taken as legal advice.
Contact Cordell & Cordell today to gain insight into your legal options in any of the previous areas. Contact 866-DADS-LAW (323-7529) now to learn more or complete our contact form.
Written by Joseph E. Cordell
Joseph E. Cordell is the Principal Partner at Cordell and Cordell, P.C., which he founded in 1990 with his wife, Yvonne. Over the past 25 years, the firm has grown to include more than 100 offices in 30 states, as well as internationally in the United Kingdom. Mr. Cordell is licensed to practice in the states of Illinois and Missouri and received his LL.M. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph E. Cordell was named one of the Top 10 Best Family Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction in Missouri.
