Legal landscape note: This article was originally published in 2014 and describes the law as it stood at that time. New Jersey law changes frequently.
Update: This post reports news from September 2014, when New Jersey's alimony reform was signed into law. The law has continued to develop since then. Two changes are worth noting in particular. First, for divorce or separation agreements executed after December 31, 2018, federal tax law changed: alimony is no longer deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient. Second, the cohabitation provisions discussed below have been shaped by a decade of caselaw -- most notably Cardali v. Cardali, 255 N.J. 85 (2023), in which the New Jersey Supreme Court clarified what a movant must show to obtain discovery on a cohabitation claim. If alimony is an issue in your case, get advice based on the current law, not this snapshot.
If you pay alimony in New Jersey, or expect to receive it, September 2014 redrew the map. On September 10, 2014, Governor Chris Christie signed New Jersey's alimony reform package (A845/971/1649) into law, making significant changes to how alimony is awarded in divorce cases. The headline change: "permanent" alimony was replaced with "open durational" alimony, and for marriages or civil unions lasting less than 20 years, the term of alimony may not exceed the length of the relationship except in exceptional circumstances. The changes were prospective and did not disturb settlements or orders already in effect.
The reform also required judges to issue written rulings explaining their alimony analysis, added new statutory factors (the parties' ages, the need for separate homes, health issues, and dependency, among others), and made retirement and job loss more meaningful events: alimony may be modified or terminated when the payer reaches full retirement age, and a payer who involuntarily loses a job may apply for modification after 90 days of unemployment.
On cohabitation, the law authorized judges to suspend or terminate alimony when the recipient enters a cohabitation relationship, judged by factors such as intertwined finances, recognition of the relationship among family and friends, its duration, and shared household responsibilities -- and a judge may not reject a cohabitation claim solely because the couple does not live together full time.
The same bill-signing session produced A1477, which established a collaborative, mediation-like process for dissolving a marriage without court intervention, joining several other jurisdictions that allow such a process. Both sides must make timely, full, and candid disclosure of relevant information, communications remain confidential, and if the process fails, the collaborative lawyers must withdraw and both parties retain new counsel.
Based on reporting by Michael Booth, "Christie Signs Alimony Reform, Other Measures Into Law," New Jersey Law Journal, September 12, 2014.
An Illustrative Decision Point
Consider a hypothetical payer approaching retirement under an alimony order entered before the 2014 reform, while the recipient disputes that retirement should change support. The statute's current language is only one part of the review. The agreement date, order terms, retirement facts, finances, and later decisions interpreting the reform may determine which arguments are available.
Bring the judgment, settlement agreement, modification orders, recent income information, retirement records, and the communications raising the requested change. Counsel should first identify which law and agreement language control, then decide whether the evidence supports negotiation, an application to modify, or no filing at that time. This example is hypothetical and does not predict modification or termination.