Whether at family gatherings, cocktail parties or making small talk at the gym, when people learn I am a divorce lawyer, they often question whether it makes sense to get married in today’s society, that it is “just a piece of paper”, and that people can simply “shack up” if…
As I was relaxing on the beach during a recent vacation listening with guilty pleasure to a local Top 40 radio station, Ryan Seacrest and his band of cohorts interrupted the music to discuss the pros and cons of a new model for marriage that had been posited on the…
A prenuptial agreement (also called antenuptial agreement or premarital agreement) is a contract that parties enter into before a marriage (or a civil union) in which they make provisions for equitable distribution of assets and/or spousal support in the event of a divorce. One New Jersey Court stated, “antenuptial agreements fixing post-divorce rights and obligations [are]…
The case of US v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 7, (2013), decided on the last day of the United States Supreme Court’s term on June 26, 2013, declared unconstitutional certain provisions of Bill Clinton’s landmark legislation, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, commonly referred to as “DOMA”. The challenge to DOMA before the U.S. Supreme Court in…
The process of deciding and moving towards a divorce is a vexing and stressful time for anyone. We ask our friends and families questions: some stupid, some obvious, others befuddling and perplexing about what we should do when our marriage is not going as we had hoped or planned. Should I…
In 1971, New Jersey enacted Divorce Reform Legislation thereby placing in the forefront an “Equitable” standard for the distribution of property when people divorce, replacing the long previously held universal rule that when people divorce, property is divided according to title to the property. Although this new order was revolutionary,…
The decision to seek a divorce is often difficult and painful. There is uncertainty about your future and possibly your children’s futures, and you may likewise be uncertain about what the Family Court process actually entails with regard to getting a divorce. Described below is a very brief outline of the…
The New Jersey State motto is “Liberty and Prosperity.” Therefore, it should come as no surprise that New Jersey is home to the third largest percentage of millionaires in the United States. Over 7% or approximately 235,000 of New Jersey citizens are millionaires. (See Barron’s millionaire-ranking) Accordingly, many New Jersey citizens…