Bling it on: Why you shouldn’t fight over valuables — and how to avoid the battle

Division of assets during divorce can lead to some pretty nasty arguments. But when divorcing couples fight over “stuff”, whether it’s valuables or tchatchkes, it’s almost always a battle over intangibles. Memories, family associations, and ideals about love and marriage are at the heart of such arguments. In the confusion and turmoil of divorce, people will battle blindly to hold on to physical “anchors” they associate with emotions — even if it makes matters worse!

One way to avoid such arguments is to limit the number of things you are willing to fight over. Here’s a process to try (and if you can get your spouse to do the same, it will work even better): Read more

CBS 2 TV: The New ‘Social’ Face of Divorce

If you are like most people, you have probably checked out an old boyfriend or girlfriend on Facebook or Twitter. But as Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC’s Bari Weinberger and other legal experts discuss in a new CBS 2 News TV report, this seemingly harmless behavior is going a lot further — and leading to the end of more and more marriages. According to Bari Weinberger, too few people realize that what they post, tweet, and text can and will be used against them in divorce court. “The evidence is shocking and the courts are starting to rely heavily upon it,” she confirms for CBS reporter Kristine Johnson. Read more

Divorce—A Healing Process? Sometimes, Yes.

There are dozens of books and web pages about how to heal from a divorce. What few people talk about is how a divorce can itself be a healing process. Here are a few circumstances where that might be true — situations where a married couple might actually begin a healing process by splitting up: Read more

How to File for Divorce When Your Spouse Doesn’t Want One

Filing for Divorce in New Jersey
Divorce is rarely easy. However, it’s surprising how hard it can be for couples to part ways when one spouse wants out and the other doesn’t. Part of the reason for this is that most people simply don’t know much about how divorce laws work or, even, how to begin proceedings for filing for divorce, so they struggle to find their way through the process — held hostage, sometimes, to their own mistakes and misunderstandings. Read more

Social Media and Divorce: When Posting Comes Back to Haunt You

Social Media and Divorce
She’d been separated from her husband for eons, and their divorce wasn’t making much headway. So when Tricia’s boyfriend proposed elopement after a whirlwind courtship, she agreed. After all, she figured, she lived two states away from her soon-to-be-ex husband and they weren’t on speaking terms—plus she’d blocked him on Facebook, so he couldn’t see her posts. He’d never find out. And she and her boyfriend could simply “renew their vows” at a later date to make it legal, right?
Read more

Peaceful Divorce: How to Live Happily Ever After Even when Your Marriage Fails

It’s often taken for granted many times that divorce is a time of turmoil, anger, regret, hostility, and stress. Does that have to be the case? Recently, a “peaceful divorce movement” has developed to try to limit some of the emotional harm that divorce does to families. The goal is to enable couples, particularly couples with kids, to “un-couple” without ripping apart the legacy of their lives together. Family gatherings or childrens’ functions become a great deal more enjoyable when you don’t have to dread the presence of your former spouse. Read more

Take These 5 Steps Before Filing For Divorce

There is plenty of step-by-step advice out there on how to file for divorce. But in our experience, there’s almost no discussion of the preparations you need to do before filing. Filing for divorce is like skydiving: there’s an awful lot of logistical planning to do in the weeks and months prior to the jump.

So before you start filling out forms, consider these five steps: Read more

Divorce After 50 — What’s Different About It?

New Jersey Legal Relationship Agreements

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a divorce boom among the over-50 crowd. “Gray divorce” is on the increase in spite of an overall trend of lower divorce rates. Although the WSJ’s article was exploring why this trend is happening, we’d like to point out that there are some unique factors in later-life divorce that might make a difference in how you go about a post-50 split. Read more

Alimony Reform Close, But What Can You Do Now to Reduce Spousal Support?

Alimony reform is in the air in New Jersey. Following the lead of Massachusetts and Florida, legislation is being introduced to overhaul the state’s current rules for awarding spousal support, which many say are outdated for today’s economic conditions. Read more

Divorce Tax Mistakes to Avoid

Financial Information

Ending a marriage is difficult enough. But if you’re recently separated or divorced, you have the added burden of figuring out a new and more complicated tax situation. In our founding partner’s most recent Huffington Post piece (see below for the link), Bari Weinberger gave us answers to the top four tax questions she gets asked by clients who are in the process of divorce. We’re following up with three more common mistakes divorced taxpayers make on their taxes and how to avoid them. Read more