How Will New Tax Rules Affect Your Divorce?

To prevent the U.S. economy from toppling over a “fiscal cliff” that would likely result in surging tax rates and significantly curtailed government spending, Congress approved the American Taxpayer Relief Act on January 1, 2013, following intense debate. President Obama signed ATRA into law on January 2, 2013.

What does ATRA mean for your taxes — especially since you are going through divorce? Read more

What Happens to Your Inheritance in a Divorce?


Anthony’s mother passed away in 2005, and his father in 2007. As an only child, Anthony’s parents willed their estate to him upon their deaths. Though he had known this day would eventually come, when Anthony received his parents’ house (and its contents) and their remaining cash savings, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. Read more

Finding Your Spouse’s Hidden Income

While the law requires both parties in a divorce to disclose all assets and sources of income (declared in the New Jersey Case Information Statement), unfortunately, not all spouses are completely forthcoming regarding financial matters. Suspicious that your spouse is hiding assets or extra income? Conducting a lifestyle analysis or requesting a formal accounting of financial records may be necessary in some cases to get a clear picture of personal and joint finances. But for many couples, a spouse’s hidden assets may actually be hiding in plain sight. Read more

Asking Your Spouse To Consider Divorce Mediation

You’ve done your homework and decided that pursuing private divorce mediation is in your best interest for settling your divorce matter as quickly and painlessly as possible. But will your spouse see mediation in the same light? Here are some tips for how to introduce your spouse to the concept and benefits of mediation, and why it may be worth the two of you giving it a try. Read more

Introducing Your Child to Your New Romantic Partner

Whether or not the relationship began during your marriage, or it’s one that didn’t start until after you were separated, when and how you introduce your child to your new romantic partner can set the tone for how your child views and relates to this person for years to come. Read more

You Filed for Divorce — Now What?

Did you know January is called “Divorce Month” due to an annual uptick in divorce filings at the start of the new year? Filing this month can have its advantages. As we’ve blogged about before (Will Your New Year’s Resolutions Include Divorce?) and as this recent article on divorce points out, filing for divorce now avoids the stress of the holiday season, can make financial record keeping easier, and may be beneficial for tax purposes.

If you are planning to go ahead and file this month, or you just submitted all required documents and paperwork, you may be wondering — what’s next? Read more

New Jersey’s “High Conflict” Parenting Coordinator Program Ends


As 2012 ended, so did New Jersey’s 5-year-old Parenting Coordinator Pilot Program. According to a notice sent from Acting Administrative Director of the Courts Glenn Grant, the decision to shut down the program as of Nov. 26, 2012 came at the request of the Conference of Presiding Family Judges and the Supreme Court’s Family Practice Committee. All approved placement forms for the program — which had been in place for local counties in Bergen, Middlesex, Morris, Sussex and Union vicinages — are now terminated. Likewise, the roster of parenting coordinators once found on the New Jersey Judiciary’s website is also gone. Read more

Paying Alimony After a Spouse Remarries

When you are required to pay alimony, a former spouse taking on a new husband or wife usually means an end to support payments. But that’s not the case for one New Jersey couple who wound up in court after the spouse receiving alimony (in this case, the ex-husband) claimed he is still owed spousal support, despite his remarriage. A judge agreed with him, and now his ex-wife has lost three motions trying to prove otherwise. Read more

Three Ways Cheating Can Affect Your Divorce Settlement

Cheating or an affair may have ended your marriage — but will infidelity impact the terms of your divorce settlement? Read more

Jailed For Not Paying Alimony?

Updated! For the latest on this case, please see the note at the bottom of this post.

A New Jersey man has sat in jail for the last seven weeks on a “non-support” charge for allegedly failing to pay alimony.

Just another deadbeat ex, or does this story speak to the need for a more vigorous alimony reform debate in the state? Here’s a look at this very controversial case. Read more