Many in today’s society would view the court’s treatment of dogs and other pets as merely property to be equitably distributed in the breakup of relationship as antiquated, given the increasing role that pets are play in today’s society. A common scenario playing out in relationships across the Garden State today…
On September 2, 2014, the New Jersey Appellate Division published an opinion in the case of Krupinski v. Krupinski, reversing the trial court’s decision denying Mr. Krupinski’s motion to terminate alimony, and directing the trial court on remand to provide for an exchange of discovery and the possibility of an…
When it comes to questions regarding equitable distribution, the one that seemingly gets overlooked or underappreciated the most often is the question revolving around how to divide or distribute the marital liabilities or debts of the marriage. It is so much easier to comprehend and make distributions of the assets…
In any and all cases where a pension is to be equitably distributed between the parties, there are two questions that a family law practitioner must always consider: (1) How is the pension going to be valued and istributed; and (2) Are survivor benefits going to be elected for the non-pensioner spouse? …
Last week, we addressed the concept of how a gift or transfer of property to one or both spouses may be treated in a divorce. But what occurs if one of the spouses transfers marital money or marital property to a person or entity outside of the marriage? How does…
It is well settled in New Jersey that when there is a question of whether a transfer of property was a gift or not, “Proof of gift requires evidence of unequivocal donative intent on the donor’s part, actual or symbolic delivery of the gift’s subject matter, and the donor’s absolute and…
According to the New Jersey alimony statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23 (b), a New Jersey family court in fixing alimony has to consider thirteen enumerated factors. Conspicuously missing from those factors is marital fault. Litigants may be surprised that a spouse’s “fault” in the classic divorce sense is generally ignored by family court judges…
In a previous blog post, “How the Fair Value of a Business Interest is Determined in a New Jersey Divorce for Purposes of Equitable Distribution”, James Yudes, Esq. explained the valuation methods utilized by the courts in determining the value of a business for purpose of equitable distribution in a divorce. In New Jersey, courts…
According to a March, 2013 publication from the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, authors Susan L. Brown and I-Fen Lin discussed the divorce rate for adults over the age of 50 in their article entitled “The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-aged and Older…
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…