When you want a divorce, what you’re really doing is you’re staring a lawsuit. One person has to sue the other person. So the first step will be, writing a complaint for a divorce, that will contain your reason for the divorce and then that paper is filed at the courthouse. Essentially we’re getting you into the legal process. Then, your spouse, either with an attorney or on his own, will also file a response called an answer, and that gets served at the courthouse and then served on you or your attorney. That starts the litigation process.

The divorce itself really is about dividing the assets, figuring out how any debts will be divided between the two of you and then most importantly what happens with your children, who will they live with, how much time will they spend with the other parent, how do we calculate child support, who’s going to provide health insurance for your child. All of these things are the real backbone of what goes on during a divorce process. Once we get through all of that for you, it will be put down between a written agreement, the two of you sign it, and then we take you to the courthouse and get you divorced. It sounds easy, there are definitely some stumbling blocks along the way, but we’ll be there with you to get you through it.

Who can file for divorce in New Jersey?

Generally, a party filing a Complaint for Divorce must have lived in the state for at least one year prior to the filing.

 
 

THE DIVORCE PROCESS

What are the grounds for divorce in New Jersey?

There are no-fault grounds and fault-based grounds for divorce in New Jersey. A no-fault divorce can be based on irreconcilable differences between the spouses or a separation for 18 consecutive months in different habitations with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. The fault-based grounds are as follows:

  • Adultery
  • Sexual desertion for a period of at least 12 months
  • Habitual drunkenness
  • Voluntary addiction
  • Imprisonment
  • Institutionalization
  • Extreme mental cruelty

The most frequently cited ground is irreconcilable differences, followed by extreme cruelty, separation, and adultery.

By Herbert & Weiss, LLP
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