Hoboken Divorce

How Mediation May Be a Positive Step Forward in Getting Your New Jersey Divorce

April 12, 2021 | Frank Marciano

When people think of a divorce, they often think of a process that is highly combative and highly stressful. For many divorcing couples, there can be a better way than an extremely contentious adversarial process. Using mediation may allow you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse to work together in an emotionally healthier way to reach a collaborative solution that often proves to be more lasting than solutions arrived at through contested litigation. Even if you decide to go the mediation route, you still will need legal services from a knowledgeable Hoboken mediation attorney, in order to be sure you are prepared for your mediation hearing, and also to be sure you are getting a mediation settlement agreement that accurately reflects the solutions you and your spouse reached in the hearing.

Very recently, nj.com’s consumer affairs column touched on divorce mediation. The information is timely because the first quarter of any year is one of the most popular times for couples to begin pursuing a divorce.

The information is useful because not all divorcing New Jersey couples may know that there are alternatives to going through a prolonged, stressful and costly adversarial process in order to arrive at closure. Some people may see that and think… I know about uncontested divorce in New Jersey, but that’s just for divorcing couples who agree on everything, right? My spouse and I are definitely not in that situation, so what other options do we have?

The New Jersey Early Settlement Program and Divorce in the Time of Coronavirus

April 3, 2021 | Frank Marciano

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted almost all areas of our lives. For some, the impact on home life has forced them to reevaluate certain relationships. If you’re one of those people and you’ve determined that your marriage is broken past the point of repair, you may be concerned about your divorce options during this time of ongoing pandemic. The reality is that the courts and the rest of the legal system are operating, so you should wait no more to contact an experienced Hoboken family law attorney.

Going all the way back to the spring, family law attorneys around New Jersey began noticing an upswing in people calling about the possibility of filing for divorce, as a May 2020 report by nj.com reinforced. In some places, there are even billboards that tout legal services related to “COVIDivorce.”

Of course, getting a divorce in New Jersey in 2020 hasn’t always been easy – for a while, courts around the state were closed due to the lockdown. For those needing a divorce here, there is helpful news: the courts are open again… and have been for months. Virtual proceedings began in the spring and in-person hearings restarted in the summer.

What Lessons Anyone Can Learn from the Divorce of One of the ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’

March 27, 2021 | Frank Marciano

Most of us will probably never live the high-flying lifestyle of celebrities, but there may still be things that people of all walks of life can learn from a celebrity divorce. In the case of the divorce of one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, that lesson is the potentially substantial benefit spouses – especially those with children – can achieve through using the mediation process effectively. Even if you are working collaboratively through the use of the mediation process as opposed to proceeding in an adversarial process, it is nevertheless extremely important to have a skilled Hoboken divorce attorney on your side to protect you and your relationship with your children.

Fans of the Real Housewives of New Jersey will immediately recognize the name “Teresa Guidice” as a starring cast member on all 10 seasons of the reality TV show. In 2019, after two decades of marriage, Teresa and husband Joe separated.

In early September 2020, the attorney who handled the couple’s divorce mediation announced that the couple had finalized their divorce, according to a People report. The Guidices, who were also the parents of four daughters ranging in age from 19 to 11, successfully resolved all of their divorce issues through the mediation process, according to their mediator.

How Adultery Will — and Won’t — Play a Role in the Outcome of Your New Jersey Divorce

March 13, 2021 | Frank Marciano

Historically, adultery has been something that could have a legal impact in two different ways: one in the area of family law and the other in the area of criminal law. Here in New Jersey, criminal penalties for adultery were abolished decades ago. An extramarital affair can still have an effect on your divorce, but those effects are limited. Whether it was you or your spouse who strayed, it is important to have a skilled Hoboken family law attorney on your side to protect your rights in a divorce action and make sure the outcome you get is a fair one.

Criminal adultery laws have actually been making the news recently. While New Jersey decriminalized adultery in 1978, other places still have bans on the books. Back in early November, a New York City assemblyman made news by introducing legislation that would wipe away the Empire State’s criminal ban on adultery.

Here in New Jersey, there are several points in the divorce process where adultery may impact the case. First, let’s look at the initial divorce filing. New Jersey law still recognizes adultery as a valid basis for seeking a divorce. (Some other bases include extreme cruelty, desertion, deviant sexual misconduct, imprisonment, drug addiction and mental illness.)

Living Near Your Ex-Spouse to Co-Parent Post-Divorce, and What Happens If One of You Later Moves Away From New Jersey

March 5, 2021 | Frank Marciano

When you divorce the mother or father of your children, you may feel a strong desire to make sure that both of you have an active and hands-on role in raising your children. Some parents may promise to continue living near each other and may even put that promise in writing in their marital settlement agreements. Living nearby one another can be an excellent way to raise a child post-divorce but, if your life’s circumstances have thrown an unexpected complication into those plans, be sure your rights and your relationship with your child are protected to the fullest by retaining a skilled Hoboken family law attorney.

There are lots of situations where parents living close to one another would be beneficial for the children. That’s especially true if both of you seek to share joint physical custody of the child. This kind of arrangement may call for each parent to have the child for alternating weeks. Other variations of this include calling for one parent to have the child 4 days and the other 3 days in one week and then to reverse those numbers in the following week.

This arrangement often is successful, at least for as long as both parents stay put. When one or the other finds it desirable or necessary to move, then things can become complicated. In early 2020, for example, the Appellate Division court addressed exactly one of those child custody scenarios.

The Importance of Evidence About Your Marital Lifestyle to the Outcome of Your Alimony Case in New Jersey

February 28, 2021 | Frank Marciano

If you know a bit about how alimony works in New Jersey, then you know that the lifestyle a couple enjoyed during their marriage (sometimes also called the “marital standard of living”) is a very important factual factor the judge will consider in making an alimony award. So, whether you are the spouse seeking alimony or you are the spouse potentially paying alimony, it is important to have the evidence and the arguments you need in order to present a clear picture of what your marital lifestyle really was. To make sure you are equipped to do that and get a fair outcome from your alimony case, look to an experienced Hoboken family law attorney to provide the legal representation you need for success.

A case from earlier this year faced a question that can potentially impact a lot of Garden State couples: how should courts ascertain a couple’s marital standard of living and handle alimony when the couple’s lifestyle was beyond their actual means?

In that case, S.W. and his wife, G.M., were a divorcing couple who had lived beyond their means while married, even though their means were quite substantial. While the husband’s income fluctuated dramatically from year to year, he had an average annual net income of more than $1.3 million. (The wife stopped working outside the home after the birth of the couple’s eldest child.)

Millennials in New Jersey and Elsewhere Are Increasingly Turning to Prenuptial Agreements… and Why Perhaps You Should, Too

February 2, 2021 | Frank Marciano

It’s been more than a decade and a half since hip-hop star Kanye West scored a hit song that opined that a “prenup… [is] something that you need to have.” Today, more and more people are agreeing. The group leading the current surge to acquire prenuptial agreements is, according to news reports, the Millennial generation. If you’re preparing to marry, whether or not you’re a Millennial, it is worth your while to contact an experienced Hoboken family law attorney and find out if executing a prenuptial agreement makes sense for you.

Based on these recent reports, many of the reasons Millennials are gravitating to prenuptial agreements are very good ones and something from which anyone who’s contemplating marriage can learn… regardless of age.

Here are some of the reported reasons why Millennials are getting prenuptial agreements and why, potentially, you should, too.

Size Isn’t Everything: Why a Solo or Small Firm Attorney May Be Just Who You Need to Handle Your New Jersey Estate Planning or Divorce Matter

January 25, 2021 | Frank Marciano

A very large nationwide personal injury firm has a billboard that boasts in very large letters that “Size Matters.” On the flip side, the thousands upon thousands of extremely satisfied clients of solo and small firm attorneys have recognized something else, which is that, when it comes to legal representation in your divorce or estate planning matter, small may actually be a significant benefit, not a drawback. As you consider retaining someone regarding your divorce or estate plan, consider the substantial benefits that a diligent Hoboken solo or small firm attorney can provide.

All good attorneys, regardless of firm size, want their clients to be successful and to leave the relationship feeling fully satisfied and confident that they received quality legal representation.

Sadly, this outcome does not always come to fruition, as an unusual news story from February 2021 illustrates. An unhappy legal client in England left a negative comment on a review website in which he called his London law firm “another scam” and a “waste of money.” That review got the client hauled into court, where a judge found him guilty of defamation and awarded damages to the law firm.

Things to Keep in Mind About Your Life After a Divorce in New Jersey

January 10, 2021 | Frank Marciano

According to the American Psychological Association, nearly half of all U.S. marriages will end in divorce. For a whole lot of folks, divorce is (or is going to be) a reality in their lives. For some, a divorce may make them feel that “my life is over.” Many people, though, find as much or more happiness, fulfillment, and, yes, love after a divorce as before. Of course, part of getting to those “better days ahead” is closing the current chapter of your life. When it comes time to get that healthy closure and to ensure that the divorce judgment you receive is a fair one, call upon an experienced Hoboken divorce attorney to help you through this process.

Obviously, no one enters a marriage with eager anticipation of a subsequent divorce. Divorce can, however, be a positive in certain ways. A late 2020 article from fatherly.com published comments from a dozen different men who had gone through divorce. One of the men, a Connecticut father of teens, stated that “divorce was the best thing to happen to my relationship with my kids. … [My] relationship with my kids is the best it’s ever been.”

Divorce may also free you to explore interests or preferences that you had placed on the “back burner” because of your spouse. Maybe you’d long desired a career change. Perhaps you’d always wanted to move somewhere warmer. Possibly it was something as simple as taking up a new hobby. After a divorce, those decisions are things you can make on a “me” basis instead of a “we” basis.

Some of the Ways in Which a New Jersey Divorce Action or a Prenuptial Agreement Can Help Protect You Financially

August 14, 2020 | Frank Marciano

Divorce is something that, in many cases, has sweeping reach that touches many areas of your personal life. It is also something that can have serious effects on your “legal life,” as well. If you have created an estate plan (though a will, a trust and/or other legal documents,) your separation or divorce can have a major impact on how those legal documents work. Those impacts may potentially provide you with even more reasons to make sure you are completing your divorce without delay. To get that divorce finished efficiently and effectively, and to be sure that all your legal documents do what you want them to, be sure you’re working with an experienced Hoboken divorce attorney on your case.

In terms of the effect separating and/or divorcing can have, there’s a real-life case from recent months that is a good example. Last September, famous musician Ric Ocasek died in Manhattan at age 75. For more than 25 years, Ocasek had been married to model Paulina Porizkova. However, in 2018, Porizkova posted on social media that she and Ocasek had separated in 2017, according to People.com. Two months after Ocasek’s death, news reports indicated that Ocasek had excluded Porizkova from his will. The will stated that the pair were “in the process of divorcing” and that Porizkova was not entitled to anything from his estate “because she has abandoned me.”

Ocasek died in New York City, so his e

Paper cutout family with divorce related messageste likely will not be administered in New Jersey. However, you might wonder, what would happen in a situation like this in New Jersey? The reality is… it depends.