Filing for divorce is a significant legal process that involves multiple steps and considerations.

And while divorce is not easy, taking the proper steps to dissolve your marriage is less stressful and less demanding when you have a Parsippany divorce lawyer from Weiner Law handling your case.

We have been counseling the people of New Jersey since 1988, and we can protect you in any family law situation.

Contact us right away to speak with a member of our experienced team.

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A Brief Overview of the Divorce Process

If you want your divorce to go as smoothly as it can, you should get organized long before walking into the courthouse to file your papers. To get organized, you should understand the following:

  • Whether you have grounds for divorce,
  • What type of divorce is available to you,
  • Whether New Jersey has jurisdiction over your divorce,
  • How assets and resources will likely be divided in your divorce, and
  • How child custody and child support will likely be handled in your divorce.

Understanding the above can help you gather the evidence needed to defend your position and possibly come to agreements with your spouse so that you can cut down on court time.

Grounds for Divorce

Anyone seeking a divorce in New Jersey needs to prove one of the following:

  • Their spouse committed adultery,
  • They have been living separately from their spouse for at least 18 consecutive months without a reasonable prospect of reconciliation,
  • Their spouse has engaged in extreme mental or physical cruelty against them,
  • Their spouse has been imprisoned for at least 18 consecutive months after getting married, 
  • Their spouse has been institutionalized for mental illness for at least 24 consecutive months after getting married,
  • Their spouse willfully deserted them for at least 12 months,
  • Their spouse has had a voluntary substance abuse issue for at least 12 months, 
  • Their spouse engaged in non-consensual and deviant sexual conduct, or 
  • The spouses have irreconcilable differences that have lasted for at least six months.

The ground of irreconcilable differences is the no-fault option for obtaining a divorce in New Jersey, and it is a popular option for dissolving a marriage.

However, choosing a fault-based ground might serve some spouses better. Choosing fault-based grounds for divorce can influence the court’s decisions regarding other matters in the divorce.

Contested and Uncontested Divorce

There are many paths to officially ending a marriage, and some are less contentious than others. In general, you might have the option of a contested, an uncontested, or a default divorce. 

Uncontested divorce

If you and your spouse can agree on all the terms of your divorce, you can likely file uncontested. Before the court can finalize an uncontested divorce, the spouses must enter into a written agreement that outlines how they will handle all their divorce-related issues, including:

Coming to these agreements may require a lot of discussion and attention to detail, but a skilled and knowledgeable Parsippany divorce lawyer from our group can help you get there.

Contested divorce

If you and your spouse disagree about any divorce matter, your divorce is contested, and you must attend a hearing to resolve your issues.

While you might have to battle over several matters in a contested divorce, you can reduce your amount of court time by entering into a written settlement regarding any issue you and your spouse agree on.

We can help you negotiate as much as possible in your divorce so that you can avoid protracted or highly contentious proceedings.

Default divorce

If your spouse chooses not to participate in divorce proceedings after you have given them proper notice, the court may choose to grant the divorce on your terms.

This is called a default divorce, and it is similar to an uncontested divorce. If you want to end your marriage but doubt your spouse will engage in the process, we can put you in the best position to finalize the divorce despite their absenteeism.

Jurisdiction

Once you know why you are getting a divorce and what kind of divorce you are filing for, you need to figure out if you can file in New Jersey. In New Jersey, specific residency requirements must be met for the state to have jurisdiction over a divorce case. 

At least one spouse must have been a resident of New Jersey for a minimum of one year before filing for divorce. However, if the grounds for divorce are based on adultery, the one-year requirement does not apply.

Property Division

If there is one thing every divorcing couple must contend with, it is their finances. A divorce court must decide how a divorcing couple will share their assets and liabilities according to what is equitable. This means that debts and property are not divided 50/50, but rather in shares that the court deems fair. 

When deciding what type of distribution is equitable, the court looks at the following factors:

  • The age and health of each spouse,
  • The assets each spouse brought into the marriage,
  • How long the marriage lasted,
  • Each spouse’s economic circumstances at the time of property division,
  • Each spouse’s income and earning capacity,
  • The contribution each spouse made to the other’s education or earning power,
  • The debts and liabilities of each spouse,
  • The extent to which either spouse deferred their professional goals,
  • The standard of living the parties enjoyed during the marriage,
  • The tax consequences of a potential property distribution,
  • Any agreements the spouses have already made about dividing the property, and
  • Either spouse’s need to retain the family home due to childcare obligations.

As you can see, this is a fact-intensive process that might require a large amount of evidence and argument in court.

Alimony

Alimony is not a given in a New Jersey divorce, but either spouse can request an order for the other spouse to pay them alimony.

When determining whether to grant alimony (and how much), the court looks at the financial resources and needs of both spouses and the length of their marriage.

Alimony payments may last a lifetime or a limited amount of time, depending on how long the spouses were married and each spouse’s need for or ability to pay alimony.

Child Custody

If your divorce involves minor children you share with your spouse, the court must include a custody order in its divorce decree.

This order includes who will have legal custody (the right to make major decisions about the child’s life) and who will have physical custody (the right to have the child live with them). 

The court makes custody decisions according to what is in the best interests of the child, which takes into consideration:

  • The stability of each parent’s household,
  • The child’s needs,
  • The age of each child involved,
  • Whether there is any history of domestic violence or abuse,
  • How fit each spouse is as a parent,
  • The health of each parent,
  • The child’s desires (if they have the capacity to make custody decisions),
  • The continuity and quality of the child’s education,
  • Each parent’s ability and willingness to work with the other,
  • How close each parent lives to the other,
  • The quality of each parent’s relationship with the child, and 
  • Each parent’s employment responsibilities.

Like other factors in a divorce, arguing for custody is fact-intensive and better handled with the help of one of our experienced Parsippany divorce lawyers.

Child Support

When a New Jersey divorce court determines each parent’s custody rights, it must also determine each parent’s child support obligations.

In general, courts decide support obligations based on a parent’s financial needs, a parent’s financial resources, and the child’s needs.

Child support obligations often last until the child turns 19 or graduates from high school (whichever is later).

Our Parsippany Divorce Attorneys Can Get the Job Done

At Weiner Law, our divorce attorneys have represented thousands, and we believe in teamwork. These qualities put us at the forefront of helping spouses receive the best outcomes in New Jersey divorces.

Our clients give us top ratings for our effectiveness, professionalism, and the ways we have been able to put them at ease during difficult times.

You can book a case evaluation with us by calling our office or contacting us online.