Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

Re: alimony

Your friend needs to ask his lawyer or to hire an attorney; there is just too much at stake for him to be relying upon free advice.

Gary Moore

Re: alimony

Alimony is based on many factors, as set forth in New Jersey statute, as follows: (1) The actual need and ability of the parties to pay;(2) The duration of the marriage;(3) The age, physical and emotional health of the parties;(4) The standard of living established in the marriage and the likelihood that each party can maintain a reasonably comparable standard of living; (5) The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties;(6) The length of absence from the job market of the party seeking maintenance;(7) The parental responsibilities for the children;(8) The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment, the availability of the training and employment, and the opportunity for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;(9) The history of the financial or non-financial contributions to the marriage by each party including contributions to the care and education of the children and interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities;(10) The equitable distribution of property ordered and any payouts on equitable distribution, directly or indirectly, out of current income, to the extent this consideration is reasonable, just and fair; and (11) Any other factors which the court may deem relevant. With regard to pendente lite (or temporary - prior to final determination) alimony, Courts usually attempt to maintain the status quo, although there is an interesting case that was recently decided which seems to indicate that if the party requesting alimony had changed the status quo, then perhaps that person is not entitled to pendente lite alimony. In any case, every alimony determination is complicated and very fact sensitive. A careful review of your circumstances would be necessary before your question could be clearly answered. Keep in mind that this advice is based purely on the little bit of information that you have given to me. There certainly may be other factors that would change my opinion. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. Since it appears that you have not retained an attorney, you may want to contact an attorney (either me or someone else) to discuss your matter in more detail. Only then will you be able to rely on the advice. If you call me, [856-546-8010] mention Law Guru and your first one hour consultation will be free. Good luck! Rob Gleaner