Tag Archive for: new jersey divorce chronicles

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 14: Analyzing The Outcomes

finalizing divorceOver the past year, we have followed two couples — Sharon and Robert, and Jason and Melissa — as they navigated the process of getting a divorce in New Jersey. As we saw in our previous installmentboth of our couples now have marital settlement agreements and both will soon be legally divorced. What are some of the important takeaways from their cases? In this final blog in the series, let’s a take a look. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 13: Reaching A Settlement

reaching a divorce settlement

For more than a year now we have been following two couples through the process of deciding to divorce, consulting with attorneys, and choosing whether to begin their cases in private mediation or in the court system. We focused primarily on one spouse in each couple: Sharon, who was married to Robert for 13 years, and Jason, who was married to Melissa for 11 years. Sharon decided to jump directly into litigation, while Jason opted to pursue mediation first. By the end of 2015, both couples were close to wrapping up all of their divorce issues. Let’s see how things have worked out for each of them: Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles Part 12: Will Sharon and Robert Go to Trial?

help for divorce issues
In our last installment of our ongoing divorce case study series, we saw Melissa and Jason making good progress with the division of their marital assets and debts in mediation. Meanwhile, the disappointing recommendations Sharon got from the Marital Early Settlement Panel (MESP) in Part 8 just seemed to get worse for her in Part 10. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles Part 11: Mediating Alimony and Child Support

negotiating alimony

Welcome to part 11 of our continuing New Jersey Divorce Chronicles case study series that tracks two different couples throughout the divorce process. In this latest installment, Jason and Melissa seem to be getting close to a settlement, but will first need to get past some disagreements over alimony and child support negotiations. Let’s take a look at their latest mediation session… Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 10: Bad News About Alimony & Child Support

help for divorce issues

Subject No.1: Sharon
When we last saw Sharon and Robert in Part VIII of our ongoing series, the Marital Early Settlement Panel (MESP) had just recommended an equal value distribution of the couple’s marital property and debt, with Robert keeping the family home. Meanwhile, in Part IX, we saw Jason and Melissa working out their own property division with the assistance of their mediator. Today, we’ll look at the MESP’s recommendations regarding alimony and child support in Robert and Sharon’s case. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 9: Dividing Marital Property

marital asset divisionIn our last installment of our ongoing case study series, we saw how the Marriage Early Settlement Panel (MESP) made recommendations for property distribution in Robert and Sharon’s divorce case, filed in New Jersey family court. Today we will look at how the distribution process might work in private divorce mediation. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 8: Who Gets the House?

dividing family home in divorce

Subject No. 1: Sharon

In Part 6 of our ongoing case study, we saw that after Sharon took a hardline stance on child custody, Robert ended up with a temporary order for primary physical custody. In Part 7, we saw how Jason’s more conciliatory approach with Melissa not only resulted in a parenting time plan that was closer to what he wanted; it also avoided the expense of a hearing. Is Sharon going to continue her aggressive tactics for the rest of her case, or is she beginning to see that a change in approach might be in order? Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 7: Calming Troubled Waters

Father and son sitting on the edge of the ocean

In our last installment of our ongoing blog series on common mistakes made during divorce, we looked at how Sharon’s aggressive approach impacted initial developments in her child custody dispute. Today we’ll see if our second subject, Jason, does any better. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 6: What about the Kids?

Children Omitted in DivorceIn part 4 and part 5 of our series, we looked at two different approaches to commencing a divorce case. One of our subjects, Sharon, took an aggressive approach. The other, Jason, started things off in a more conciliatory manner. In the next couple of installments, we’ll see how the initial tone and first steps impact the child custody aspects of these two cases. Today, we’ll look at how Sharon is faring. In the next installment, we’ll look at Jason’s situation. Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles, Part 5: Handle Emotions with Care

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In part 2 and part 3 of our continuing blog series on avoiding common divorce mistakes, we looked at two different approaches to hiring a divorce attorney. In part 4, we took a look at the aggressive initial approach taken by one of subjects, Sharon. In part 1 of our series, we introduced you to our two New Jersey couples: Robert & Sharon and Jason & Melissa. In this installment, we’ll see how our second subject, Jason, takes a softer approach to commencing his case, and how that impacts initial developments. Read more