In most cases our attorneys will ask you for information pertaining to the history of your marriage, information about your budget or general finances, information about past year’s income tax returns, information about insurance policies in place, information about employment benefits, information about pension plans of the parties, an itemization of your assets and liabilities, etc.
It is always a good idea to put all of the paperwork together regarding these types of information before coming into the office.
One of our attorneys will review with you and ask you to sign a fee agreement. That agreement will govern the relationship between the client and the attorney. The fee agreement will require the payment of an initial retainer. The fee agreement will apprise you of the firm’s billing methods.
A divorce doesn’t have to be a drawn out expensive process. In fact an important question to ask your attorney when choosing one, it how successful they are getting cases settled for their clients. The quicker the case the settles the less the legal fees!
One of our attorneys will review with you and ask you to sign a fee agreement. That agreement will govern the relationship between the client and the attorney. The fee agreement will require the payment of an initial retainer. The fee agreement will apprise you of the firm’s billing methods.
A divorce doesn’t have to be a drawn out expensive process. In fact an important question to ask your attorney when choosing one, it how successful they are getting cases settled for their clients. The quicker the case the settles the less the legal fees!
The fault grounds in New Jersey include:
- adultery
- willful desertion (abandonment) for at least 12 months
- physical or mental cruelty which endangers the safety or health of one spouse, or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect that spouse to continue to live with the abuser, and
- continued drug or alcohol abuse for a period of at least 12 months.
For all fault grounds in New Jersey see N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2.
In New Jersey, judges won’t consider fault or misconduct when determining how to divide property between spouses, but they can consider any evidence of fault or misconduct when deciding how much alimony is reasonable and just.
For example a Court can find that a spouse behavior was particularly egregious. The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that the denial of alimony can only be justified if the fault is “by its very nature so outrageous that it can be said to violate the social contract, such that society would not abide continuing the economic bonds between the parties.
“No-Fault” is a divorce in which the cause of action is irreconcilable differences, and separation for 18-months.
If a husband and wife or partners have lived separate and apart for six months, the can either file for and obtain divorce without being required to offer any evidence of the other’s fault such as adultery or extreme cruelty.
“No-Fault” should not be mistaken for an expedited divorce. The divorce case in many instances will be contested on the issues of custody and visitation of the children, distribution of the assets, alimony, or child support.
If you are the spouse or partner initiating the divorce one of our attorneys will draft and file a legal document, called a complaint, with the court where the divorce will be heard. The complaint includes information such as the date of the marriage, children born of the marriage and the specific cause claimed as the basis for the divorce.
A copy of the complaint will be served on your spouse or partner by a process server, and he or she will then have a period of thirty-five days to answer the complaint. They will answer by admitting the allegations or denying the allegations. They may also file a legal document called a counter-claim, asking for a divorce based upon their own allegations and grounds, or they can simply ask the court to hear the financial issues.
New Jersey matrimonial law is such that your spouse does not need to agree to the divorce or sign any legal documents to have your divorce entered by the Judge. If you have the grounds for a divorce and place on the record that irreconcilable differences have existed in your relationship for six months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, the Judge will put your divorce through divorce without your spouse’s consent. This called a divorce by default.
The fault grounds in New Jersey include:
- adultery
- willful desertion (abandonment) for at least 12 months
- physical or mental cruelty which endangers the safety or health of one spouse, or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect that spouse to continue to live with the abuser, and
- continued drug or alcohol abuse for a period of at least 12 months.
For all fault grounds in New Jersey see N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2.
In New Jersey, judges won’t consider fault or misconduct when determining how to divide property between spouses, but they can consider any evidence of fault or misconduct when deciding how much alimony is reasonable and just.
For example a Court can find that a spouse behavior was particularly egregious. The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that the denial of alimony can only be justified if the fault is “by its very nature so outrageous that it can be said to violate the social contract, such that society would not abide continuing the economic bonds between the parties.
Immediately contact one of our experienced divorce attorneys who will advise you of the legal consequences of the legal documents received. Under this advisement you can choose your course of action as recommended by the attorney.
A divorce proceeding will have life span which depends on many things including how far apart the divorcing parties are from agreeing on key issues, as well as, the volume of cases in the county where the matter is filed.
One of our experienced attorneys can give you insight about the time it will likely take to get your divorce completed. Generally speaking if both spouses have agreed on all the issues in the divorce, a final court date will usually take three to four months. If all or any aspect of the case are contested (that is, not agreed upon), a final decision may take up to two years.
