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Your marriage is irretrievably broken and divorce is the best pathway forward. You’ve built up a substantial retirement plan, but it’s only in your name. Is it protected from distribution to your spouse in the property settlement? Are there any special conditions that must apply?
Under the equitable distribution principles in place in New Jersey, both parties to a marriage are entitled to receive a portion of any assets acquired during the marriage, regardless of how the property is titled. Accordingly, the fact that all retirement assets are held in the name of one spouse will not prevent those assets from being divided between the parties. One caveat—only those retirement assets that were contributed and accrued during the marriage will be subject to equitable distribution. Any retirement assets contributed or accrued before the marriage are generally exempt.
The distribution of retirement assets must be carefully handled or one or both parties may incur tax consequences. As a general rule, the way those potential problems are avoided is with the use of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”), a court order that directs the administrator of any retirement assets to transmit a portion of them to the other spouse. The QDRO must be signed by the judge to be legally binding.
A QDRO is not required, however. The parties may include language in the marital settlement agreement allowing the owner of the retirement funds to keep all of them, typically in exchange for conveying other marital property of similar or equal value to the other spouse.
We will only take your case if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.
In the state of New Jersey, alimony may be awarded in a divorce on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the court, based on a number of factors, including, among other things:
Though the court will enter a binding order, the amount and the requirement to pay alimony may change, based on either the circumstances or a subsequent court order. For example, if the recipient remarries or cohabitates with another person, the obligation to pay alimony will automatically be terminated (unless the divorce decree states otherwise). Furthermore, the payor may often petition the court for a reduction in alimony payments if his or her income drops significantly.
Often, upon retirement, a person’s income decreases, sometimes substantially. As a general rule, when a payor’s income goes down dramatically due to circumstances beyond his or her control it can provide the necessary rationale for a reduction of alimony. But can a party petition the court for a reduction of income because of retirement? Can a person retire early and ask for a reduction? It depends on the circumstances.
In New Jersey, the normal retirement age is considered to be 65. When a person reaches the age of 65, he or she may petition the court for the reduction of an alimony obligation, provide income has gone down significantly. Approval of such a motion is not automatic, though. The court will look at the facts and circumstances of the retirement to ascertain whether it was reasonable, considering such factors as:
We will only take your case if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.
When you file for divorce in New Jersey, and there are minor children living at home, issues of custody, visitation, and support must be resolved, by either agreement of the parties or intervention of the court. As a general rule, when deciding issues that affect minor children, the court employs the standard of “the best interests of the children.” What does that mean? What factors will the court consider when attempting to discern the best interests of the child?
In New Jersey, it has long been assumed by the courts that the “best interests” of the child are served by having both parents actively involved in the lives of their children. Exceptions exist where there is evidence of abuse or neglect on the part of one parent, or indication that one parent has carelessly or intentionally put the child in harm’s way.
No single solution meets the best interests of every child. The best course of action is determined on a case-by-case basis, using the following criteria:
We will only take your case if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
In a New Jersey divorce proceeding where minor children are involved, the parties must resolve issues related to custody and visitation. The parties may agree to terms without the intervention of the court, but the court must still enter an order putting the arrangement in place. If the parents cannot agree regarding where children will reside and what parenting time will look like, the court will hold hearings and make the final decision.
In New Jersey, as is most states, there are two types of custody: physical and legal. Physical custody refers to the child’s primary residence, whereas legal custody addresses the right of the parents to be involved in decisions related to education, medical care, religious training, and other important life issues.
As a general rule, courts prefer joint legal custody, with both parents actively and meaningfully involved in decision-making. Though there has been an increase in joint physical custody, most courts still believe it to be in the best interests of a child to have a principal residence with one parent and visitation with the other.
Courts tend to favor decisions that ensure both parents are involved in the life of the child. Other factors the court considers when making a custody ruling include:
We take your case only if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990.. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
In a divorce proceeding where there are minor children in the home, one of the most difficult decisions can be determination of child custody. Where will the child spend most of their time? What will visitation look like?
In New Jersey, as in other states, there are two components to a custody arrangement—physical custody and legal custody.
Physical custody addresses where the child will reside most of the time—what will be considered the child’s “home.” Though the parents can essentially “share” custody, with the child spending half of their time with each parent, it’s more common for the court to grant primary custody to one parent and allow the other visitation rights. The parents may mutually agree to a custody arrangement, subject to the approval of the court. If they cannot agree, the court will make the determination, based on what it perceives to be in the best interests of the child.
Legal custody refers to the right of each parent to be involved in decision-making regarding the child’s educational, health, religious, and other special needs. The preference of the courts in New Jersey is to grant joint legal custody.
Courts tend to believe that the best interests of the child are served by regular and meaningful contact with, and involvement of, both parents. Other factors the court might consider include:
At the law office of David M. Lipshutz, we won’t take your case unless we know we can help. For a private meeting, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Though all 50 states have adopted some form of no-fault divorce, only 17 are considered pure no-fault states. In New Jersey, a court may consider the actions of the parties when making decisions regarding marital dissolution.
For centuries, a party seeking divorce had to identify for the court grounds to justify the divorce. Traditionally, those grounds included infidelity, dishonesty, mental illness, criminal conduct, and abuse, among other issues. The modern trend in the United States, including New Jersey, is to allow parties to obtain a divorce if they simply claim to have “irreconcilable differences.”
“Irreconcilable differences” means that the parties disagree about many things and believe there’s no reasonable expectation that they’ll resolve their differences. Proponents of no-fault divorce contend that divorce is less challenging for children when they don’t have to witness their parents airing their grievances to support a divorce complaint.
Though the ability to allege “irreconcilable differences” has made divorce simpler for many in New Jersey, the state still allows a party to assert fault. Fault-based grounds for divorce in New Jersey include:
New Jersey courts may consider adultery and other forms of fault when ruling on the availability of alimony or spousal support. As a general rule, fault does not affect custody and visitation, unless the court determines that the wrongful act poses a risk to the minor child. Fault is not a factor in property settlement in New Jersey.
At the law office of David M. Lipshutz, we won’t take your case unless we know we can help. For a private meeting, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
In divorce proceedings where there are minor children involved, custody and visitation are important and often complicated issues. New Jersey courts have long recognized the value of having both parents involved in the upbringing of their child. Accordingly, until the turn of the 21st century, a custodial parent who wanted to relocate to another state faced an uphill struggle.
In 2001, state courts relaxed the standards dramatically, citing advances in technology that make it easier for parents and children to communicate at a distance, as well as trends in other states allowing more out-of-state relocations. Child psychologists argued that happier parents make happier children and suggested that the best interests of the children are better served when some of the critical needs of parents are met as well. The New Jersey Supreme Court took all those factors into consideration and issued a new standard for parents who wanted to relocate to another state: they needed only to show a “good faith reason for asking to move out of state” and demonstrate that the move would “not be inimical to the children’s interests.” The court further stated that the potential impact on the noncustodial parent’s visitation, was not, in and of itself, sufficient reason to deny a request to move out of state.
That standard remained in force until 2017, when the New Jersey Supreme Court revisited the matter. The court observed that the trend that had begun around the turn of the century had not expanded since—no additional states were expanding the rights of custodial parents to relocate out-of-state. Furthermore, additional social science studies brought into question the impact of such relocations on children. Accordingly, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected the “good faith/inimical” test in favor of one that focuses on the “best interests of the child.” In essence, the analysis has shifted from a consideration of the rights of the custodial parent to an examination of the best interests of the child.
At the law office of David M. Lipshutz, we won’t take your case unless we know we can help. For a private meeting, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.
In the state of New Jersey, when you file for divorce, one of the more challenging tasks you’ll face is the division of marital property—the debts and assets accumulated during your marriage. If you and your spouse mutually agree on how to allocate things, the court will still review your agreement to ensure that there’s no indication of undue influence, misrepresentation, or coercion. If you cannot agree who will receive specific property and who will be obligated to pay certain debts, the court will make those decisions for you.
New Jersey has long applied the concept of equitable distribution to determine how a marital estate is divided. It’s important to understand, up front, that “equitable” distribution does not necessarily mean “equal” distribution. The court will attempt to create a property settlement that is “fair,” based on a wide array of factors, including:
At the law office of David M. Lipshutz, we won’t take your case unless we know we can help. For a private meeting, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.
In New Jersey, as in all states, courts must consider the “best interests of the child” when making decisions about physical custody and visitation. Courts look at a number of factors when making that assessment, including:
At the law office of David M. Lipshutz, we won’t take your case unless we know we can help. For a private meeting, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
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