New Jersey Divorce and Family Lawyer Blog
Over the Christmas holiday I came across a news story detailing a New Hampshire couple’s unsuccessful joint attempt to vacate their 2014 divorce decree on the ground of their reconciliation. In affirming the lower court decision denying their request, the New Hampshire Supreme Court in the case of In the Matter of Terrie Harmon and Thomas McCarron, 2015 WL 7747720 (No. 2015 – 0273; Opinion Issued Dec 3, 2015) held that the family court lacked statutory authority to vacate a decree of divorce upon the joint request of reconciled parties absent a showing of fraud, undue influence, deceit, misrepresentation or mutual mistake. In effect, the Court made clear that simply changing your minds and no longer wanting to be divorced, even if both parties agree, is not a legally valid basis to undo a Final Judgment of Divorce in the absence of an express statutory authorization permitting same. While generally the focus of my practice is getting people divorced, not “un-divorced”, this case made me consider how a New Jersey court might address this or similar issue. Continue reading ›