New Jersey divorce — the questions clients ask first.

New Jersey recognizes nine grounds for divorce under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2. The most commonly used today is irreconcilable differences (no-fault), which requires only that the differences have continued for at least six months and appear to be unresolvable. Fault-based grounds — adultery, extreme cruelty, desertion for twelve or more months, separation for eighteen or more consecutive months, addiction, institutionalization for mental illness, imprisonment, and deviant sexual conduct — remain available but rarely produce a different outcome on equitable distribution or alimony except in narrow circumstances (e.g., the dissipation of marital assets in support of an affair). Most divorces filed in New Jersey today proceed on no-fault grounds.

Timeline depends entirely on whether the spouses agree on the terms. An uncontested divorce — both spouses agree on equitable distribution, alimony, custody, and support, and a Marital Settlement Agreement is signed before filing or shortly after — can be finalized in 8 to 12 weeks once the complaint is filed. Contested divorces move through Case Management Conferences, the Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel under R. 5:5-5, custody mediation, and economic mediation before reaching trial, and typically run 12 to 18 months. Matters with business valuations, complex retirement assets, executive compensation, or contested custody evaluations can run longer.

New Jersey follows equitable distribution under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1, which requires the court to divide marital property fairly using sixteen statutory factors: length of the marriage, age and health of each party, income or property each brought to the marriage, standard of living established during the marriage, written agreements, economic circumstances going forward, contributions to education or earning power, contributions as a homemaker, value of the property, tax consequences, debts and liabilities, present value of the property, the need of a custodial parent to occupy the marital residence, and other relevant factors. Premarital assets remain separate; their appreciation during the marriage may be marital. Inherited and gifted assets are generally separate unless commingled.

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23, New Jersey recognizes open durational alimony (no fixed end date, typically reserved for marriages of 20+ years and terminating presumptively at the payor's full Social Security retirement age); limited duration alimony (a defined term not exceeding the length of the marriage); rehabilitative alimony (supports a spouse through specific education, training, or re-entry steps); and reimbursement alimony (compensates a spouse who financially supported the other's education or training). The court weighs fourteen statutory factors including the marital standard of living, need and ability to pay, age and health, earning capacity, and parental responsibilities.

Custody decisions in New Jersey follow the best-interests-of-the-child standard set out in N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, which sets out a non-exhaustive set of statutory factors the court must weigh (as amended by P.L. 2025, c.316) — the parents' ability to communicate and cooperate, the child's relationship with each parent and siblings, the safety of the child and the parent, the stability of each home, the fitness of the parents, geographical proximity, the time spent with the child before and after separation, the parents' employment responsibilities, the age and number of children, and the preference of the child when of sufficient age. Custody has two components: legal custody (decision-making authority over education, healthcare, religion) and residential custody (where the child primarily resides). The Family Part typically refers contested cases to Custody and Parenting Time Mediation.

New Jersey law does not require attorney representation for an uncontested divorce. In practice, the Marital Settlement Agreement is the contract that governs property division, alimony, custody, support, retirement-account division (typically by Qualified Domestic Relations Order), the marital home, and tax responsibilities for years after entry of judgment. The agreement is exceedingly difficult to undo. An attorney review at minimum — even on an uncontested matter — helps ensure the agreement is fair, complete, and enforceable, and that no rights were waived inadvertently.

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-10, at least one spouse must have been a bona fide New Jersey resident for the twelve consecutive months immediately before filing the complaint. The sole exception is where adultery is the alleged ground — no waiting period applies in that case so long as the act occurred in New Jersey or one spouse is a New Jersey resident at the time of filing. The complaint is typically filed in the county where either spouse resides; if the spouses live in different New Jersey counties, the filing spouse may choose either county.

Child support in New Jersey is calculated under the Child Support Guidelines, codified at R. 5:6A and Appendix IX. The Income Shares Model considers the combined net income of both parents, the number of children, the overnights of parenting time, health-insurance premiums for the children, work-related childcare costs, and other add-ons. The Guidelines cap combined parental net income at approximately $187,200 per year (adjusted periodically). Above the cap, the court applies the Guidelines amount to the cap and exercises discretion above based on the children's actual reasonable needs and the factors in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23. Support is modifiable on a showing of substantial changed circumstances under Lepis v. Lepis.

Custody, parenting time, child support, and alimony provisions of a divorce judgment can be modified on a showing of a substantial change in circumstances under Lepis v. Lepis, 83 N.J. 139 (1980). Common modification grounds include a significant involuntary income change, job loss lasting more than ninety days, the alimony recipient's cohabitation under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(n), voluntary retirement at or after full retirement age, a material health change, or a relocation request. Equitable distribution of marital property under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1 is generally final once the judgment is entered and is not modifiable on changed circumstances — the limited exceptions are fraud, mutual mistake, or newly discovered assets that were concealed.

The marital home is usually the most significant asset in a New Jersey equitable distribution. Three resolutions are common: (1) sell the home and divide net proceeds after closing costs and any deferred maintenance; (2) one spouse buys out the other's equity interest using cash, refinance proceeds, or offsets against other assets; or (3) one spouse retains exclusive possession for a defined period — often until the youngest child reaches a milestone (graduating high school, turning 18, or finishing college) — after which the home is sold and the proceeds divided. The court considers the financial ability of each spouse to maintain the home, the needs of any minor children, and the overall structure of the equitable distribution. Tax issues — capital-gains exclusion under § 121 of the Internal Revenue Code, Realty Transfer Fee, and timing of the sale — should be coordinated with a CPA.