Divorcing? Consider a Lifestyle Analysis

As part of the New Jersey divorce process, you will need to complete a Case Information Statement – essentially what amounts to a listing of a couple’s financial assets and liabilities as well as income and family expenses. The courts then use this document, in part, to determine such critical financial matters as division of assets, alimony, and child support.

In a perfect world, the information written down on the Case Information Statement would be 100% accurate and complete. But what if you don’t have access to old bank accounts, are unsure how much you owe on your mortgage, and have no idea how much money it takes to pay the bills each month – and on top of this have an uncooperative spouse only willing to supply minimal information? Instead of guessing or estimating – and possibly suffering the consequences of an inaccurate financial record — your lawyer may recommend a process called lifestyle analysis.

Read more

New Jersey Senate President Weighs in on Gay Divorce

After a remarkable about-turn in the New Jersey Senate last week (in which a bill approving gay marriage was passed by a majority vote), both sides of the political spectrum have begun to weigh in on the legislation and its possible repercussions. Read more

New Jersey Officially Amends Outdated Alimony Laws

A New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee has passed amendments to New Jersey’s currently outdated and oppressive alimony laws. As reported by Marketwatch the effort was headed by Democratic Senator Nicholas Scutari with support from the New Jersey Alimony Reform and its director, Tom Leustek–whose efforts toward this end were previously reported in our blog post about Ending Lifetime Alimony. Read more

New Jersey Senate Waves Rainbow Flag, Approves Same-Sex Marriage

lgbtq marriage and parenting rights

New Jersey has taken the next big step forward towards passing legislation that legalizes gay marriage. On Monday (appropriately, the day before Valentine’s), the state Senate passed a bill creating an environment of equality for same-sex couples throughout the state. New Jersey is moving forward to join the ranks of the six U.S. States (and Washington, D.C.) that already allow same-sex marriage.

Read more

Ending “Lifetime Alimony”

Imagine this: your divorce ends with you being told that you have to pay alimony to your ex. You don’t like it, but you do it. Then you lose your job. You can’t afford anything for yourself, let alone payment of anything to someone else. The only way you can get your alimony payments lowered or suspended is to go to court, where you now have to prove that your financial situation has seriously changed. You’re told that you haven’t been unemployed long enough to show that your circumstances have changed. Now you’re forced to wait around and prove that you’re unemployed, racking up more and more debt every month. Additionally, you’ve also had to spend money on a lawyer to try to prove that you have no money.

Read more

Divorce and Valentine’s Day

While most people think of Valentine’s Day as the most romantic day of the year, for a surprising number of couples it’s one of the least romantic. That’s because reports show that divorce filings increase by about 40% around Valentine’s day and inquiries about divorce go up by about 36%.  Perhaps February 14th is to divorce lawyers what April 15th is to accountants.

Read more

Crazy Prenuptial Agreements

We usually associate prenuptial agreements with finances: how much of one spouse’s worth the other will get if they’re divorced, whether one will get support, who gets the house. They’re don’t really rank high on the wedding cake with doves and hearts flying over it  romance scale, but they have their place.

But the dollars and cents breakdown is only one part of a prenuptial agreement now–some people use them to try to define behavior and conditions of their marriage and these “lifestyle” clauses can get pretty crazy. It’s one thing to state who gets Mittens the cat if the couple splits up, but setting out requirements for the number of times they have sex per week? That’s micromanaging.

Read more

Name Game: Can Your Ex Change Your Child’s Name?

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

That was a very lovely thing for Juliet to say to Romeo, but the truth is that a name is a big deal–especially when it’s your child’s name and your ex wants to change it.

Read more

Celebrity Divorce Role Models: Russell Brand and Katy Perry

We all know about dreadful celebrity divorces–the type where the future exes drag each other’s name through the mud, hang their dirty personal laundry out in the tabloids, scrap for every dollar, and argue over child custody issues. Astonishingly, though, there are celebrities who bring their marriage to an end quietly and peacefully. Today’s exemplars of A-list Divorce Done Right are Russell Brand and Katy Perry.

Read more

Divorce Social Media Dos and Don’ts

Back in your grandparents’ day, there were plenty of annoying things about getting divorced (aside, of course, from just getting divorced). Your lawyers couldn’t angrily email each other; instead, they had to call and yell at each other, or worse, send irate letters via snail mail. You couldn’t fill out forms electronically, or easily print out as many copies as you needed quickly. Rather, some poor secretary had to sit and painstakingly type all the documents on crinkly carbon paper, all of which had to be tossed out if there was a tiny typo.

However, there was one big giant divorce disaster-in-the-making that they didn’t have to deal with back, oh, eight years ago: social media missteps.

Read more