When family changes, the right counsel matters most.

Family law touches the most intimate parts of a life -- who your children live with on Tuesday nights, what your home is worth in a divided estate, who pays the mortgage next month, whether the person you used to trust is now someone you need to protect yourself from. The certified letter on the kitchen counter. The conversations you can't unhear. The fear that whatever you say next will be used against you.

These are not the cases we approach the way we'd approach a contract dispute. We listen first. We ask the questions that matter. And we tell you with care what New Jersey law actually allows you to do -- and what it doesn't -- so the decisions you make now hold up ten years from now.

What we handle

Our family-law practice runs from uncontested filings to multi-million-dollar equitable-distribution disputes. The matters below are linked to their own pages where the procedure, the deadlines, and the New Jersey statutes are explained at length.

Divorce & separation

• Divorce -- overview -- the full process from filing through judgment, including grounds, residency, and what to expect at each stage.
• Uncontested divorce -- when both parties agree on terms, a streamlined and lower-cost path with the same legal weight.
• High-net-worth and high-profile divorce -- business valuations, deferred compensation, trust assets, sealed-record practice for public figures.
• Post-divorce modifications -- when income, custody, or relocation changes and the order needs to change with it.

Children & parenting

Custody, parenting time, child support, paternity establishment, modifications, and the distinct framework for grandparent rights -- see our grandparent rights page for the Moriarty v. Bradt, 177 N.J. 84 (2003) source actual-harm analysis under N.J.S.A. 9:2-7.1 source and the parental-rights framework recognized in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) source .

• Child custody and parenting time -- joint legal custody, residential schedules, holiday plans, and what New Jersey courts actually weigh.
• Child support -- Child Support Guidelines calculations, deviations, college contributions, and modification under Lepis.
• Adoption -- stepparent, second-parent, agency, private, and adult adoption under the NJ Adoption Act (N.J.S.A. 9:3-37 source ) -- home studies, consent and surrender, termination of parental rights, and finalization.
• Paternity establishment and disestablishment -- Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity, genetic-testing actions, marital presumption analysis, Putative Father Registry, birth-certificate amendment under the NJ Parentage Act (N.J.S.A. 9:17-38 source ).
• Grandparent rights and visitation -- petitions under N.J.S.A. 9:2-7.1 source , the Moriarty v. Bradt source actual-harm standard, and de facto parentage analysis.
• High-conflict custody -- forensic custody evaluations under R. 5:3-3 source , parenting coordinators under R. 5:8D source , reunification therapy, alienation-conduct litigation, DCPP and domestic-violence overlay.
• LGBTQ+ family law -- same-sex marriage and divorce, gestational surrogacy under the NJ Gestational Carrier Agreement Act (N.J.S.A. 9:17-60 source ), psychological-parent doctrine under V.C. v. M.J.B., 163 N.J. 200 (2000) source , civil-union and domestic-partnership dissolution.
• DCPP / DYFS defense -- when the Division of Child Protection and Permanency opens an investigation: your rights, the process, and how to respond.
• Annulment -- NJ civil annulment under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1 source 's six statutory grounds (bigamy, consanguinity, nonage, impotence, fraud/duress, mental incapacity); void vs. voidable distinction; ratification analysis; sham-marriage / immigration-fraud annulments; civil vs. religious annulment.
• Military divorce -- Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq. source ) stays and default protections; Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (10 U.S.C. § 1408 source ) military retirement division; 10/10 rule for direct DFAS payment; 20/20/20 Tricare; deployment-period custody; MPDO drafting; Reserve/Guard considerations.
• Palimony & cohabitation agreements -- NJ palimony after the 2010 Statute of Frauds amendment (N.J.S.A. 25:1-5(h) source ); pre-2010 oral palimony under the Kozlowski v. Kozlowski, 80 N.J. 378 (1979) source framework; Maeker v. Ross, 219 N.J. 565 (2014) source prospective-application rule; modern cohabitation agreements; alternative theories (contract, unjust enrichment, constructive trust); cohabitation impact on existing alimony under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(n) source and Konzelman v. Konzelman, 158 N.J. 185 (1999) source .

Money & property

• Equitable distribution -- marital versus premarital property, the sixteen statutory factors, and how courts actually divide assets in practice.
• Alimony -- open-durational, limited-duration, rehabilitative, and reimbursement alimony, including how each is calculated and how it ends.
• Property settlement agreements -- the contract that governs support, property, and parenting obligations after the judgment, and a document that needs careful review before signature.
• Post-judgment modifications -- modifying custody, alimony, child support, and parenting-time orders after the divorce is final, under the Lepis v. Lepis, 83 N.J. 139 (1980) source substantial-change-in-circumstances standard. Equitable distribution generally is not modifiable except through narrow Rule 4:50 source paths.

Protection & resolution

• Domestic violence -- TROs & FROs -- filing or defending against a Temporary or Final Restraining Order under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.
• Mediation -- when both parties want resolution without trial: a faster, less expensive, more private path.
• Pre-nups, post-nups, and cohabitation agreements -- the contracts that protect both partners, drafted before the marriage or executed during it.

Looking for principled answers to the questions clients ask most? Visit our New Jersey Divorce Law FAQ →

Key terms

Family law terms that shape the case

New Jersey divorce and custody cases turn on a mix of court forms, statutory standards, and settlement language. These short definitions make the rest of the page easier to follow, and each links to the practice page where the term is explained in full.

Complaint for divorce

The pleading that starts a New Jersey divorce and states the grounds, usually irreconcilable differences.

Case Information Statement CIS

The sworn financial disclosure that drives alimony, child support, and equitable distribution in contested family cases.

Equitable distribution

New Jersey's system for dividing marital assets and debts fairly, not necessarily equally, under statutory factors.

Marital Settlement Agreement Property Settlement Agreement

The written contract resolving divorce issues such as property, alimony, support, custody, and parenting time.

Legal custody

Decision-making authority for major issues such as education, non-emergency healthcare, and religious upbringing.

Residential custody

The parenting arrangement that determines where a child primarily lives and how overnights are allocated.

Parenting time

The schedule for when each parent has the child, including regular weeks, holidays, school breaks, and vacations.

Best interests of the child

The custody standard requiring courts to evaluate the child's safety, stability, relationships, needs, and statutory factors.

Child Support Guidelines

The New Jersey rules and worksheets used to calculate baseline child support from income, parenting time, childcare, insurance, and related costs.

Alimony

Spousal support based on need, ability to pay, marital lifestyle, duration of marriage, earning capacity, and statutory factors.

MESP Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel

A county courthouse settlement program where volunteer matrimonial attorneys review submissions and recommend divorce settlement terms.

Pendente lite

Temporary relief entered while a case is pending, often covering support, parenting time, bills, or possession of the home.

Post-judgment modification

A request to change custody, parenting time, support, or alimony after final judgment because circumstances materially changed.

Temporary Restraining Order TRO

An emergency domestic-violence order entered before the final hearing, often without the defendant present.

Final Restraining Order FRO

A domestic-violence order with indefinite effect, entered after a hearing if the court finds a predicate act and need for protection.

DCPP Division of Child Protection and Permanency

New Jersey's child-protection agency, formerly known as DYFS, which investigates abuse and neglect allegations.

Lepis modification

A post-judgment support modification framework based on a substantial change in circumstances.

Mediation

A settlement process where a neutral professional helps parties resolve divorce, custody, or support issues without trial.

New Jersey family law -- in practice

The section below is what we tell every prospective client before they hire us. It is the procedure, the statutes, and the controlling appellate authority you should understand before you sign a complaint or a settlement. The order is not accidental: a New Jersey divorce moves through grounds, then financial disclosure, then the settlement panel, then -- only if those fail -- a contested track for property, custody, or protection. Reading it in sequence is the closest thing to seeing your own case mapped before it begins.

The grounds -- and why most New Jersey divorces don't need them.

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2 source , New Jersey recognizes nine grounds for divorce: irreconcilable differences, separation for at least eighteen consecutive months, extreme cruelty, adultery, desertion, addiction, institutionalization, imprisonment, and deviant sexual conduct. In practice, many New Jersey divorces are filed on the no-fault grounds of irreconcilable differences. You do not have to prove anyone did anything wrong. You do not have to be living separately when you file. You only have to attest, under oath, that differences between you and your spouse have caused a breakdown of the marriage and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

The Case Information Statement -- the most consequential document you'll ever sign.

In any New Jersey matrimonial matter where alimony, child support, or equitable distribution is at issue, both parties must complete and file a Case Information Statement under R. 5:5-2 source . The CIS is a sworn financial disclosure. It captures every income source, every asset, every debt, every monthly expense -- and your spouse's lawyer will read it line by line. The numbers in this document drive the alimony calculation, the child-support guideline, and the equitable-distribution analysis. Sloppy CIS work can materially affect support, property division, and settlement leverage.

The Early Settlement Panel -- your first real test.

Under R. 5:5-5 source , every contested matrimonial case in Somerset, Hunterdon, Morris, and surrounding counties is sent to the Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel -- the MESP. Two volunteer matrimonial attorneys read both sides' submissions in advance, then meet with both parties and counsel for a half-day at the courthouse to recommend a settlement. The MESP is non-binding, but the recommendation carries weight. Many New Jersey divorces resolve at or around this stage. Going to MESP unprepared -- without a tightly drafted memo, without a firm understanding of your CIS, without a settlement strategy -- is one of the costliest mistakes a litigant can make.

Equitable distribution -- and what "equitable" really means.

N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1 source lists sixteen factors a court must consider when dividing marital property. New Jersey is not a community-property state. "Equitable" does not mean "equal." It means fair, given the length of the marriage, the contributions of each party (financial and otherwise), the age and health of the parties, the standard of living established during the marriage, the income and earning capacity of each party going forward, the value of separate property each party brings out, debts and liabilities, the present value of the assets, and the tax consequences of the proposed distribution. In a thirty-year marriage where one spouse stayed home raising children, "equitable" might be 50/50 or it might tilt toward the homemaker. In a five-year second marriage with a substantial premarital business, it might be very different. The factors are real. The math is the case.

Custody and the best-interests analysis.

New Jersey applies a presumption of joint legal custody and a best-interests standard for residential custody under N.J.S.A. 9:2-4 source . The court evaluates a non-exhaustive set of statutory factors -- as amended by P.L. 2025, c.316 (effective January 20, 2026) -- including the parents' ability to communicate and cooperate, the child's relationship with each parent and siblings, the child's needs, stability of the home environments, the fitness of the parents, geographical proximity, the extent and quality of time spent with the child before and after separation, and others. Discovery in contested custody matters can reach social-media posts, direct messages, and digital communications that parties believed were private -- addressed in the FAQ below.

Domestic violence -- TROs, FROs, and what most people get wrong.

The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19 source et seq., defines predicate offenses -- assault, terroristic threats, harassment, stalking, criminal sexual contact, and others -- that can support a Temporary Restraining Order. A TRO is issued ex parte (without the defendant present) and is converted into a Final Restraining Order, or dismissed, after a plenary hearing that the statute directs be held within ten days, though courts adjourn for good cause. An FRO has indefinite effect unless dissolved by court order and can carry serious consequences -- firearms forfeiture, fingerprinting, employment implications, and immigration consequences. We represent both petitioners and defendants. The hearing matters more than people realize.

Call first. Then preserve what matters.

Family-law matters are document-driven, but you do not need to gather everything before speaking with counsel. Contact us as soon as divorce, custody, support, or safety concerns are on the table. While we review your matter and schedule the consultation, these steps help protect the record.

1. Pull three years of joint financial records.

Tax returns (federal and state), pay stubs, bank statements, retirement accounts, mortgage and credit-card statements. These feed the Case Information Statement under R. 5:5-2 source -- the most consequential document of the case. Whoever has the documents controls the narrative.

2. Document the current parenting pattern.

Who picks up from school, who handles meals and bedtime, who attends doctor visits, who covers overnights. Under N.J.S.A. 9:2-4(c) source , the existing pattern of care is one important part of the best-interests analysis. Write it down -- dated daily -- privately.

3. Pull all three credit-bureau reports.

Marital debt is allocated under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1 source ; undisclosed debts discovered mid-case can affect credibility and allocation. Pull the reports before any joint accounts are closed or modified.

4. Photograph the contents of the marital home.

Every room, every closet, every vehicle. Date-stamped on your phone. Tangible personal property has a way of disappearing during separation; photographs locked to a cloud account on your phone establish what existed at the date of complaint.

5. Open an individual checking account.

At a different bank from any joint account. Re-route at least one paycheck before filing or being served. Cash in the household becomes evidence; cash in your individual account funds the filing fee and the initial retainer.

6. Contact counsel before you escalate the conversation.

"I'm thinking about divorce" or "I want custody" or "I'm filing a restraining order," said to the other side before counsel is engaged, can trigger protective behaviors -- money moved, accounts closed, retainer paid to opposing counsel. Call first so the opening moves are deliberate, not reactive.

And the one thing not to do -- don't move out before talking to counsel.

Leaving the marital home before custody and possessory rights are addressed can compromise both. There are limited exceptions -- domestic violence, safety risks to children -- but in the routine case, premature departure is among the costliest errors in a New Jersey family-law matter.

How fees work in a New Jersey family-law matter

Every family-law matter is different, but our pricing approach is direct. For uncontested divorces and prenuptial agreements, we offer flat-fee engagements quoted at the consultation. For contested matters -- divorce, custody, alimony, equitable-distribution disputes -- we work on a written retainer with an hourly rate disclosed before the engagement begins, billed in tenth-of-an-hour increments, and reviewed monthly. We explain the fee structure before engagement and give a realistic cost range when the facts allow one.

• Initial case evaluation -- confidential consultation request.
• Uncontested divorce -- flat fee, quoted at consultation.
• Prenuptial agreement -- flat fee, quoted at consultation.
• Contested matters -- retainer-based; written fee structure provided in writing at engagement.

Fees are only half of the cost question. The other half is what a matter costs when it is handled in pieces -- a divorce at one firm, an updated will at another, a beneficiary form no one revisited. Family law rarely ends at the judgment, and the next section is the part most clients do not see coming.

Family law and estate planning, together.

Divorce silently invalidates parts of your old estate plan and leaves other parts dangerously active. Beneficiary designations on life-insurance policies and retirement accounts do not automatically update on divorce. A power of attorney naming your spouse continues to operate until you revoke it. Guardian nominations for minor children, trustee selections, and trust funding all need to be revisited. Because Simon Law Group handles both family law and estate planning, the divorce attorney and the estate-planning attorney can coordinate the legal work instead of forcing you to bridge the gap between separate firms. See our Divorce and Estate Planning page for the full overlap.

Frequently asked questions

Your family-law team

Simon Law Group's family-law practice is led by Joel A. Friedman, Esq., who has focused on New Jersey family law for over two decades. Joel handles divorce, custody, support, alimony, equitable distribution, and restraining-order matters from the first intake call through settlement, trial, and post-judgment proceedings. He is supported by Managing Partner Britt J. Simon, Esq. on coordinated family-law-and-estate matters where the divorce and estate plan need to move in lockstep, and by Erik Frins, Esq. and John E. Malchow, Esq. when a family matter touches civil litigation, personal injury, or bankruptcy. The team strategizes together throughout the matter; the family bench draws on civil, injury, and bankruptcy expertise when your case touches those areas, with attorney oversight throughout the engagement.

Talk with a New Jersey family-law attorney.

Whatever you are facing, contact us promptly. Call (800) 709-1131 or use our contact page to schedule a consultation request. We will ask short questions about the legal issue, the timing, the county, and the safest way to reach you. We will tell you in measured terms what we think your options are. And we will be honest with you about whether the matter is one we can take.

Divorce and family law, town by town

We represent clients in divorce, custody, support, and related Family Part matters across central and northern New Jersey, appearing in the vicinage where each matter belongs. Find your community below.

Bergen County

• Alpine
• Englewood Cliffs
• Ridgewood
• Saddle River
• Tenafly

Hunterdon County

• Alexandria
• Clinton Township
• Flemington
• Frenchtown
• High Bridge
• Lebanon Borough
• Lebanon Township
• Milford
• Oldwick
• Raritan Township
• Readington Township
• Tewksbury
• Three Bridges
• Whitehouse Station

Mercer County

• Hopewell Borough
• Hopewell Township
• Lawrenceville
• Pennington
• Princeton
• West Windsor

Middlesex County

• Cranbury
• Plainsboro

Monmouth County

• Colts Neck
• Fair Haven
• Holmdel
• Middletown
• Rumson

Morris County

• Chester
• Harding Township
• Long Hill
• Mendham
• Mountain Lakes
• New Vernon

Somerset County

• Basking Ridge
• Bedminster
• Bernards Township
• Bernardsville
• Bound Brook
• Branchburg
• Bridgewater
• Far Hills
• Franklin Township
• Green Brook
• Hillsborough
• Manville
• Montgomery
• Peapack-Gladstone
• Raritan Borough
• Somerset
• Somerville
• Warren Township
• Watchung