Family Law in NJ: Grounds for Divorce

When filing for divorce in New Jersey, you must include the grounds, or reason for, the divorce in your petition. There are two types of grounds for divorce, fault and no-fault. In a no-fault divorce, the filing party does not have to prove that the other did anything wrong.  There are seven fault grounds for divorce in New Jersey, and two no-fault grounds. No-fault grounds include:

a. Separation, provided that the husband and wife have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; provided, further that after the 18-month period there shall be a presumption that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; and

b. Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of six months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

Other grounds for divorce in New Jersey include:

a. Adultery;

b. Extreme cruelty, which is defined as including any physical or mental cruelty which endangers the safety or health of the plaintiff or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect the plaintiff to continue to cohabit with the defendant; provided that no complaint for divorce shall be filed until after 3 months from the date of the last act of cruelty complained of in the complaint, but this provision shall not be held to apply to any counterclaim;

c. Willful and continued desertion for the term of 12 or more months, which may be established by satisfactory proof that the parties have ceased to cohabit as man and wife;

d. Voluntarily induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug as defined in the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act or habitual drunkenness for a period of 12 or more consecutive months subsequent to marriage and next preceding the filing of the complaint;

e. Institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months subsequent to marriage and next preceding the filing of the complaint;

f. Imprisonment of the defendant for 18 or more consecutive months after marriage, provided that where the action is not commenced until after the defendant's release, the parties have not resumed cohabitation following such imprisonment; and

g. Deviant sexual conduct voluntarily performed by the defendant without the consent of the plaintiff.

 For further details visit Family Law Attorney New Jersey or wants an appointment contact Hackensack Divorce Lawyers here: 3 University Plaza, Suite 350 Hackensack, NJ 07601
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NJ Family Law Common Terms Defined

NJ Family Law Common Terms Defined

IV-D Court – Court which provides services pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, usually to establish or enforce child support.

Affidavit - a written statement made under oath or sworn before a notary.

Arrearage - the amount owed for back child support or alimony, oftentimes referred to as arrears.

Best interests of the child - in child custody or relocation proceedings, Courts use this doctrine to make decisions concerning custody of the child, visitation rights, and/or whether to permit the relocation.  In New Jersey, a list of factors is used to help make the determination.   

Child support guidelines – guidelines the Court follows when awarding child support.

Citation – an order to appear in Court and show cause for violating an order of the Court. In family law, this is generally issued when a non-custodial parent has stopped paying child support.

Common law marriage – a type of marriage in which the parties become legally marriage after a certain period of time of living together as husband and wife, representing themselves as a married couple, and intending to be married. New Jersey does not recognize common law marriages that were not valid on or before November 30, 1939.

Dissolution - the legal end of a marriage or civil union.

Emancipation – releasing a minor or adult child from the custody, care, and control of his or her parents. In family law, the non-custodial parent generally petitions the Court for emancipation, usually to terminate his or her child support obligation, once the child is capable of being self- supporting.

Equitable Distribution - Distribution of the marital debts and assets during a divorce. Equitable distribution is presumed to be an equal division unless there is legal justification for an unequal distribution.

Foreign Support Order – a child support order issued by a Court of another state.

Guardian – a person is legally charged with the custody and care of an incapacitated adult or a minor child.

Guardian ad litem – a person appointed by the Court to act on behalf of a child and represent his or her interests in a custody case.

Legal custody – the right of a parent to make major decisions for their child, such as those concerning schooling, health care, and religious activities.

Marital property – property the Court determines to be owned jointly by the parties, regardless of how it is titled.

Obligee - a person to whom money, such as child support or alimony, is owed.

Obligor - a person who is ordered by the court to pay money, such as child support or alimony.

Petition - a written request to the court for legal action, which begins a court case.

 Physical custody – the right of a parent to have a child living in their home. The parent who has physical custody is generally referred to as the custodial parent, and the parent who does not have custody, as the non-custodial parent.

Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) – an order of the Court that provides instructions to a retirement plan’s administrator on paying a former spouse his or her awarded portion of the plan.

  

Sources:

N.J. Stat. § 37:1-10

 For further details visit Family Law Attorney New Jersey or wants an appointment contact NJ Bergen County Family Law here: 3 University Plaza, Suite 350 Hackensack, NJ 07601
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Invitees under New Jersey Premises Liability Law

In New Jersey, a property owner’s responsibility to another party depends in part upon that party’s classification, based upon his or her right to be on the land. There are three classifications, which are, trespasser, licensee, and invitee. A trespasser has no right to be on the property, and is owed the least amount of care by the property owner. A licensee is a step up from a trespasser, as he or she has the owner’s consent to be on the property, but has no business purpose for being there. Social guests are considered licensees. A business invitee is owed the most duty of care. In order to be considered a business invitee, one must be on the premises for the benefit of the landowner, lessee, or occupant.

A party’s classification must be consistent with his or her primary purpose for being on the property.  To this end, it has generally been held that a social guest remains such despite the performance of services beneficial to the property owner in the course of the visit. On the other hand, when a person, even a family member, is invited solely for the purpose of performing or assisting in the performance of services, and not to attend the social gathering, the person is an invitee. The fact that the services are performed gratuitously does not negate the status of the person doing them as an invitee.

The duty a property owner owes to an invitee is to use reasonable care to make the premises safe, including reasonable inspection to discover dangerous conditions in the property. One exception to this, however, is landowners who invite third parties onto their land for purposes of picking or gathering agricultural or horticultural products. In this case, the landowner is not liable for injuries resulting from the natural risks, which are characteristic of agricultural or horticultural land. The gist of premises liability is the fact that a person injured did not act merely of his own volition, but that he or she entered the premises, having been led to believe, by the property owner, that said premises were intended to be used in the manner in which he or she would use them, and it would be safe to do so.

New Jersey premises liability law imparts upon a landowner or possessor or property a duty of care to third parties based on whether the party is classified as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. A property owner who fails to safeguard invitees against dangerous conditions of the property may be liable for injuries resulting from such failure.

Sources:
N.J.S.A. § 2A:42A-10
Butler v. Acme Markets, Inc., 445 A.2d 1141
Creamer v. Levy and  Blumenfield, 155 A. 446
Daggett v. Di Trani, A.2d 809, (App. Div. 1984).
Pearlstein, supra, 52 N.J. Super. at 458.

For further details visit Family Law Attorney New Jersey or wants an appointment contact Personal Injury Lawyer in New Jersey here: 3 University Plaza, Suite 350 Hackensack, NJ 07601
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(201) 771-1808