New Jersey Divorce Lawyer Blog

What about my life and health insurance?

Generally, if you are carrying life insurance and you are required to pay child support or alimony in the divorce settlement, you will be required to keep that particular policy. The courts will look at this policy as insuring your responsibilities. The age of the children, term of alimony, age of the parties and amount of each responsibility will generally dictate the amount of insurance required. These factors will also control who must be named as the beneficiary of the policy.

If you are covered under your spouse’s health insurance policy, that coverage will terminate after the Judgment of Divorce. You can either obtain insurance through your own employer or inquire into COBRA benefits through your spouse’s employer. Children can be covered by you or your spouse. The best thing to do is to keep the children insured under the policy with the most comprehensive coverage.
Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " What about my life and health insurance? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: After the Divorce

Bookmark:

Who pays for the lawyer if my spouse controls the money?

If your spouse controls the finances and you do not have access to funds to pay your attorney, you may ask the Court to release marital funds to pay counsel fees. You can also ask the court to require your spouse to contribute to your counsel fees. The court may consider (1) the financial circumstances of the parties; (2) the ability of the parties to pay their own fees or to contribute to the fees of the other party; (3) the reasonableness and good faith of the positions advances by the parties; (4) the extent of fees incurred by both parties; (5) any fees previously awarded; (6) the amount of fees previously paid to counsel by each party; (7) the results obtained; (8) the degree to which fees were incurred to enforce existing orders or to compel discovery; and (9) any other factor bearing on the fairness of the award. R. 5:3-5. Additionally, in the case William v. Williams, 59 N.J. 229, 233 (1971), the court must consider the need of the applicant, the other party’s ability to pay and the good or bad faith of both parties.
Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " Who pays for the lawyer if my spouse controls the money? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Lawyers Fees

Bookmark:

Do I get more money if my spouse is cheating?

Adultery will not effect the distribution of assets in most cases and does not add to your potential alimony claim. There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if your spouse has generated debt based on the extramarital affair you may be able to avoid responsibility for that particular liability. However, you should not expect to get a large alimony settlement just because your spouse was unfaithful.

Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " Do I get more money if my spouse is cheating? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Alimony

Bookmark:

Can my spouse be arrested for non payment of alimony or child support?

Yes. If you are afraid that your spouse may not make the payments required you should request that the Department of Probation monitor your case. Probation will be able to keep a record of the arrears (back money due) that you spouse owes you. Once the arrears begin to accumulate, Probation can ask for a hearing and can request that an arrest warrant be issued.

Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " Can my spouse be arrested for non payment of alimony or child support? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Support

Bookmark:

Can I use my maiden name again?

Absolutely. All you need to do is let your attorney know that you would like to return to your maiden name. The Final Judgment of Divorce will have a provision giving you the right to your former name. If you already have a Final Judgment of Divorce that does not contain a name change provision, you can contact a lawyer to add an addendum to the divorce decree.

Carton and Rudnick

Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " Can I use my maiden name again? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: After the Divorce

Bookmark:

Is there any benefit to hire a private investigator to catch my spouse cheating?

Not really. Going through a divorce is an extremely personal and emotional time for most people. Hiring a private investigator to catch your spouse cheating is only going to add to the emotional strain on the parties involved and generally will not effect the distribution of assets. In my experience, it causes more harm than good.

Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " Is there any benefit to hire a private investigator to catch my spouse cheating? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Grounds for Divorce

Bookmark:

When is my child emancipated and what does this mean?

Emancipation simply means that the parents no longer have a financial obligation for child support under the law. Children are deemed emancipated upon the earliest happening of any of the following event
a. If he or she reached the age of eighteen (18) years if not in high school or completion of four (4), full-time, continuous academic years of college education, whichever last occurs;
b. Marriage;
c. Permanent residence away from either parent;
d. Death;
e. Entry into any armed forces of any country, whether voluntary or involuntary;
f. Engaging in full time employment upon or after the child=s attaining the age of eighteen (18) years of age, except if the full time employment is during vacation and/or summer periods.

Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " When is my child emancipated and what does this mean? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Support

Bookmark:

What happens if my spouse refuses to pay for me or the kids?

If you have a court which requires your former spouse to pay alimony or child support, you may file a motion to enforce that order is he or she is refusing to pay. The court has numerous remedies at it’s discretion including an award of counsel fees, additional monetary fines, and jail. The court can also attach to wages or other assets that the violator may have including retirement accounts. However, it is rare for a Judge to jail an individual who is not paying support.

Carton and Rudnick family law
Carton and Rudnick consumer law
Carton and Rudnick

Continue reading " What happens if my spouse refuses to pay for me or the kids? " »

Posted by Jonathan Rudnick | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: After the Divorce

Bookmark: