On January 27, 2009, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an Opinion in the case of Valente v. Valente which shed light on whether alimony should be permanent or of limited duration in an “intermediate length marriage” of 11+ years. The Court concluded that given the duration of the marriage, the ages of the parties (42) and other factors prescribed by the statute, an award of permanent alimony was not warranted.
Over the past months, much has been written about the tabloid divorce of former New Jersey governor James McGreevy and Dana Matos McGreevy. While the salacious details made headlines, the legal lessons embedded in the court’s 44 page Opinion issued on August 8, 2008 are worth noting for persons contemplating or going through a divorce.
In a significant opinion issued on June 17, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 6-1 that cohabitation is not an absolute requirement for a successful “palimony” claim but is only one of a number of factors a court should consider.
In a case decided on June 17, 2008, a New Jersey appeals court distinguished the roles of a Custody Mediators from Parenting Coordinators in divorce cases.
On June 19, 2008 a New Jersey appeals court determined that a police chief’s retirement, even if involuntary as claimed, was not sufficient to modify his alimony obligation. The Court found that the trial judge had failed to consider numerous other factors which had bearing on whether alimony should be reduced or terminated, as defined by statute and case law.
During the past decade divorce lawyers have witnessed the steady growth of “Alternate Dispute Resolution” (ADR) techniques such as mediation and binding arbitration of matrimonial issues. While ADR may be a viable option to a judicial decision, a recent case demonstrates the limits of binding arbitration in the divorce context.
In the world of post-divorce litigation, the issue of cohabitation by an alimony recipient continues to be an area of contention.
A New Jersey appeals court has affirmed the state’s right to a phase-in period before it accepts joint income tax returns from same sex couples under the New Jersey Civil Union Act.
To the relief of many and the consternation of a few, New Jersey law now includes “irreconcilable differences” as a ground for divorce. The bill, just signed into law by Governor Corzine, means that a Complaint for Divorce can assert the existence of irreconcilable differences which have caused a breakdown of the marriage for six or more months.
On October 30, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court affirmed a trial judge’s ruling that a divorced parent must pay more than $40,000 in college expenses for his daughter.
