Courts have long recognized the legitimacy of non-traditional and unique family situations. When a child is born out of wedlock, courts have extended the rights and privileges of a child-parent relationship in spite of the lack of a formal marriage. In In the Matter...
Alimony
Divorce and Life Insurance
Life insurance is an interesting product for consumers. It's designed not to benefit the consumer himself/herself, but his/her beneficiaries after he/she passes away. It's even more interesting when a divorce is involved. When a spouse is listed on a life insurance...
Cohabitation is More than Just Living with Another Person
The New Jersey courts have long recognized and respected the terms of a marital settlement agreement (MSA) so long as it is valid. They are taken as expressions of the parties' wishes and will honor it as long as there is not a reason to disregard it. A cohabitation...
Does Alimony Stop On Retirement? As Usual in the Law, It Depends.
A recent New Jersey Appellate Court case, Landers v. Landers, is the first "published" decision to explain how to properly apply the September 2014 changes to New Jersey's alimony laws. The change that the Landers case ruled on was about alimony payments when the...
When Love Ends in New Jersey, What’s Left? Maybe Palimony
A recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision has provided much needed clarity on a 2010 change to the "palimony" law, which said that those agreements for support were unenforceable unless in writing.More and more couples are choosing to live in a traditional family...
Cohabitation and Alimony How to Deal with a Sneaky Ex-Spouse
For many people engaged in a bitter divorce, paying alimony may seem like salt in a fresh wound. While alimony was created to allow a financially-dependent spouse to maintain the same standard of living as before the marriage's dissolution for a period of time - some...