Articles Posted in Alimony

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Most times, when courts award alimony and child support the Payors comply with their court ordered support obligations.  In some instances, unfortunately, compliance with such orders wains and the issue of enforcement of court ordered support obligations must be addressed by the Court.  New Jersey Court Rule 1:10-3 provides a vehicle for the Payee to seek enforcement of support orders through an application for the “Enforcement of Litigant’s Rights” and provides a plethora of coercive vehicles to a court to compel compliance with court ordered support obligations.  Clearly the most effective of these coercive vehicles is the ability to incarcerate the payor until compliance in the form of payment is  forth coming. Continue reading ›

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courthouse-1330873-mIn previous blogs I have written on the actions taken by the New Jersey Legislature to move forward with alimony reform.  In February, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved a measure calling for an eleven person panel to study the need for and make suggestions with regard to such alimony reform.  Continue reading ›

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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. Continue reading ›

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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 elderlyentitled “The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-aged and Older Adults, 1990-2010”.  Continue reading ›

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As recently discussed in an earlier blog post, the New Jersey Legislature is considering legislation that would abolish permanent alimony and regulate the term and amount of all alimony awards.  Without that legislation, the right to and the responsibility to pay permanent alimony will continue to be controlled by trial judge’s discretion.

Most commentators on matrimonial law would agree Continue reading ›

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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 they want to be together.  Continue reading ›

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It is not uncommon for someone who is paying alimony to a former spouse to be concerned about or to find him or herself faced the scenario of paying alimony to a former spouse who becomes involved in a committed, romantic relationship with a paramour but is not remarried.  The person paying alimony often suspects that the former spouse is choosing to not to remarry because the remarriage will result in a termination of alimony.   The New Jersey Supreme Court has held that such “cohabitation” is a change in circumstance that can trigger the court revisiting the issue of alimony.  Gayet v. Gayet, 92 N.J. 149, 154-55 (1983). Continue reading ›

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Wedding rings and moneyCurrently pending in the New Jersey State Senate and the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee are identical bills, which by their terms, would amend New Jersey’s alimony statute, N.J.S. 2A:34-23.  Since the Divorce Reform Act of 1971,  N.J.S. 2A:34-23 has been amended on seven occasions. Each time the design of the amendment was to bring the statute into conformity with case law as it had developed by the courts.  The Office of James P. Yudes, P.C. has been instrumental in shaping laws on support to dependent spouses and children in the court system through the development of caw law. Continue reading ›

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wedding handA  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] … valid and enforceable” and courts should “welcome and encourage such agreements at least ‘to the extent that the parties have developed comprehensive and particularized agreements responsive to their peculiar circumstances’.”  D’Onofrio v. D’Onofrio, 200 N.J. Super. 361, 366 (App. Div. 1985). Continue reading ›