Post-Season Financial Preparedness: Who Owns the Holiday Gifts?

holiday gifts and divorce

If you were lucky enough to receive a particularly high-value gift over the holiday season, and you are also married or soon-to-be-married, then you may want to take a moment to consider the ownership of that gift. While no one wants to think about the possibility of divorce during happy times, those happy times often present the best opportunity for planning. Financial preparedness is like insurance—if you wait to think about it until you need it, you could be too late.

So what are the rules in New Jersey regarding gifts and divorce? Read more

7 Steps To Filing For Divorce In New Jersey

filing for divorce in new jersey

You’ve made the decision to divorce, so what can you expect next? The divorce process will require you to divide all marital assets and debts, establish alimony and child support if applicable, and determine custody arrangements for your children. To get the process started, you first need to file the appropriate forms and paperwork. Here are seven important steps to take during this initial stage of divorce: Read more

New Jersey Divorce Chronicles Part 12: Will Sharon and Robert Go to Trial?

help for divorce issues
In our last installment of our ongoing divorce case study series, we saw Melissa and Jason making good progress with the division of their marital assets and debts in mediation. Meanwhile, the disappointing recommendations Sharon got from the Marital Early Settlement Panel (MESP) in Part 8 just seemed to get worse for her in Part 10. Read more

Dividing a Family Business in Divorce

dividing a family business in divorceWhen owners of family or closely held businesses divorce, they may wonder whether or not they are going to have to divide their business as part of asset division, and if so, what exactly that might mean for their financial future. A “closely held” business is either family-owned or has shares owned by a small group of investors. If you are one of these family business or small business owners, what divorce options do you have? Read more

7 Top Tips For Dealing With Divorce Stress

reducing divorce stressDivorce can be one of the most stressful situations anyone can face. We’ve all met people who seem to wear their divorce on their sleeve. But here’s a tip for you as enter this process: off-loading stress onto others will often push them away, thereby creating even more stress. How do you deal with the hardship of divorce so that it doesn’t consume you? Here are 7 tips to ease you through. Read more

Custody Options & Parenting Rights for Military Dads

rights for military fathersThe unique demands of military service, and particularly the demands of long-term active duty assignments, can put tremendous strain on a servicemember’s home life. Deployments can be unpredictable and sometimes involve short notice. Families are called on to make difficult adjustments. Relationships can change or grow distant, including relationships with those who mean the most to you: your kids.

Are you a military dad facing custody issues? Learn about your father’s rights and parenting time options. Read more

Veterans, Divorce & Adjusting To Family Life After Active Service

veterans & divorceAlthough a veteran’s return from active service should be a happy time, it can also be a challenging adjustment for a family. According to a study from Brigham Young University, “combat experience is an important risk factor for divorce or separation.” The study found that combat veterans’ first marriages are 62% more likely to end in separation or divorce than those of non-veterans. The reasons behind these statistics? Read more

Lifetime Alimony for Long-term Homemakers: Does This Still Exist in New Jersey?

housewives and alimony

This week marked National Housewives Day (November 3), now sometimes referred to as National Homemakers Day, in recognition of the fact that a “homemaker” is not always a “wife.” Traditionally, of course, a housewife was the person who ran the household while the husband went off to work each day to bring home the bacon. How difficult the job of housewife was depended on a slew of variables, such as how much bacon the husband brought home, how big the house was, how much if any extra help was available, and how many children there were to attend to. For most, however, the job was very difficult indeed—more difficult in fact than many 9-5 jobs.

While the number of traditional homemakers may have decreased in recent decades (even with some househusbands joining the ranks) the job today is as challenging as ever. In honor of these hardworking homemakers, today we are going to provide an update on a couple of questions of great importance to any homemaker facing separation or divorce: Read more

3 Hidden Costs of Alimony

hidden costs of alimony

If you are in the process of getting a divorce, or if you think divorce might be on the horizon for you in the near future, you might also be coming to terms with the impact this development could have on your future finances. Perhaps your spouse has a much higher income than you do, or perhaps you are a stay-at-home parent or homemaker with no current income of your own at all. Maybe you’re thinking of asking for alimony and are wondering if the payments will really make up for the household income you will lose through divorce.

Even if you’re pretty sure that your soon-to-be-ex can afford to pay you a decent amount of spousal support, there are some potential costs to consider when trying to calculate exactly how much you will need: Read more

Divorce Horror Story: What If Your Divorce Turned Out to Be Fake?

help for divorce scam victims Like many couples who decide to divorce, Carol and Larry were concerned about the time and cost that would be involved in the process. Married for 13 years with no children, both spouses had full-time jobs, separate retirement accounts, and owned a home together. The split had been mutual and both had already begun dating.

As they looked around at their divorce options, Larry found an interesting ad on Craigslist that promised a legal New Jersey divorce for the flat rate cost of $399. According to the ad, the divorce would be “facilitated” by a local paralegal and was completely legitimate and binding. The website linked to from the ad even showed photos of divorce decrees signed off by a Superior Court Judge.

Move on with their lives for the low cost of a few hundred dollars? Larry and Carol felt like the fates were smiling on them.

They couldn’t have been more wrong. Read more