Safety orders and custody deadlines come first.
Domestic-violence, same-day custody, support-enforcement, and imminent-hearing issues should be flagged as urgent legal matters.
Passaic County divorce attorneys — Paterson Family Part.
Family Part representation across Passaic County — Paterson, Wayne, Clifton, Passaic City, Little Falls, Totowa, Hawthorne, Wanaque, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, West Milford, and the Northern Passaic municipalities.
Divorce representation in Passaic County
Passaic County matters span a broad economic range — Paterson, Passaic City, and Clifton urban-density cases; Wayne, Little Falls, Totowa, and Hawthorne suburban single-family-home cases; Wyckoff-adjacent and Northern Passaic (Wanaque, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, West Milford) cases involving larger residential properties and outdoor-recreation-area lifestyles. Diverse employment patterns — from healthcare-system employment, to financial-services commuter incomes, to retail and warehouse-distribution incomes — produce varied financial complexity across cases.
We represent Passaic County clients in every stage of the divorce process — initial complaint, Case Management Conference, custody mediation, Early Settlement Panel, economic mediation, trial, and post-judgment enforcement or modification.
The Passaic County Family Part
All Passaic County divorces are filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part — Passaic Vicinage, at the Passaic County Courthouse, 77 Hamilton Street, Paterson. The Vicinage handles complaint filings, motion practice, custody and parenting-time mediation, Early Settlement Panel, economic mediation, and final hearings.
Passaic County divorce services
Contested and uncontested divorce
New Jersey is a no-fault state under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2source. We handle uncontested matters and contested matters involving complex finances, custody disputes, business interests, and substantial retirement assets.
Equitable distribution across the Passaic range
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1source, the Family Part divides marital property and debt equitably — fairly, considering sixteen statutory factors, not necessarily equally. Passaic matters frequently involve healthcare-system employment retirement plans, financial-services commuter compensation, and small-business interests.
Alimony and spousal support
Alimony under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23source recognizes open durational, limited duration, rehabilitative, and reimbursement alimony, weighing the marital standard of living, length of marriage, earning capacity of each spouse, and other factors.
Child custody and parenting time
Custody decisions follow the fourteen-factor best-interests analysis in N.J.S.A. 9:2-4source. Passaic parenting plans face commuter realities specific to the county — Route 80, Route 23, Route 46, and Route 287 traffic patterns affect daily school-and-work logistics.
Child support — including high-income matters
Child support is calculated under the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines (R. 5:6Asource). The Guidelines schedule reaches a combined-net-income cap that is periodically adjusted; above the cap, the court applies the Guidelines amount up to the cap and then exercises discretion on the supplemental amount based on the children's actual reasonable needs. The current cap should be confirmed against the most recent Appendix IX-F update. See our child support page for additional detail.
Domestic violence and restraining orders
Under the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, a Temporary Restraining Order can issue the same day from a Family Part judge — or, after hours, from a municipal court judge — with a Final Restraining Order hearing scheduled within ten days. An FRO has indefinite effect unless dissolved or modified by court order.
Passaic County municipalities served
We represent Passaic County clients in Paterson, Wayne, Clifton, Passaic City, Little Falls, Totowa, Hawthorne, Wanaque, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, West Milford, Bloomingdale, North Haledon, Haledon, Prospect Park, and Woodland Park. We also handle statewide family law matters across all 21 New Jersey counties.
Frequently asked questions
▸ Where is the Passaic County Family Part?
All Passaic County divorce, custody, support, and domestic-violence matters are filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part — Passaic Vicinage — at the Passaic County Courthouse, 77 Hamilton Street, Paterson. The Vicinage handles complaint filings, motion practice, custody mediation, Early Settlement Panel, economic mediation, and final hearings.
▸ How long does a divorce take in Passaic County?
Uncontested matters can move efficiently once a complete marital settlement agreement is signed and filed. Contested matters move through Case Management, custody mediation, Early Settlement Panel, economic mediation, and, if necessary, trial.
▸ How is property divided in a Passaic County divorce?
Passaic County matters span a wide range — Paterson, Passaic City, and Clifton urban-density cases at one end; Wayne, Little Falls, and Totowa suburban cases in the middle; Wyckoff-adjacent and Northern Passaic cases at the higher end. Equitable distribution under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1source requires the court to divide marital property fairly using the statutory factors enumerated in the statute. 'Fair' is not synonymous with 'equal,' and the analysis is fact-specific.
▸ What is the residency requirement to file in Passaic County?
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-10source, a New Jersey court has jurisdiction over a divorce so long as either party has been a New Jersey resident for at least twelve months before filing. The county of filing affects venue, mediation referrals, and the bench you appear before — not jurisdiction.
▸ Does Simon Law Group serve Passaic County?
Simon Law Group's three offices are in Somerville, Morristown, and Flemington. We represent Passaic County clients in every stage of the divorce process.
▸ Do you handle custody and parenting time in Passaic County?
Custody decisions follow the fourteen-factor best-interests analysis in N.J.S.A. 9:2-4source. Passaic parenting plans face commuting realities specific to the county — Route 80, Route 23, Route 46, and Route 287 traffic patterns affect daily school-and-work logistics.
Related family law resources
- Family law overview
- Divorce process and stages
- Child custody and parenting time
- Child support
- Alimony and spousal support
- Divorce mediation
- Field Guide Volume 1 — Navigating Child Custody
Talk to a Passaic County divorce attorney
If you are considering filing for divorce in Passaic County or have been served with a complaint, schedule a consultation request. Call (800) 709-1131 or use the contact form. Your request is confidential, and someone from the firm will follow up promptly.
Reviewed by Joel A. Friedman, Esq., Family Law Attorney, Simon Law Group, LLC — May 2026
Geographic scope
Serving 5 New Jersey counties.
Consult
Contact the Firm
Confidential and no-obligation.
Consultation request. There is no charge to send this form or to talk through your situation.
Request received.
Your message went straight to our intake team. A real person reads every request that comes in, and you are never left waiting in a queue.
- Personal review. A member of our intake team reads your message and matches it to the right attorney.
- We reach out. Keep an eye out for a call, text, or email from our Somerville office, usually within one business day.
- Free consultation. If we can take your matter, we schedule time with the attorney who would actually handle it.
Please do not send additional confidential details until we confirm the firm can discuss your matter.
What Happens Next
What happens after you reach out.
- We make sure we're the right firm.
We start with the basics: what kind of matter, which county, and how urgent, before any detailed legal discussion.
- You choose how we follow up.
Call, text, or email, whichever you prefer. Text consent is optional.
- Hold the confidential details.
Do not send privileged documents or sensitive narratives until the firm confirms it can discuss the matter.
- We review and follow up.
Our team reviews your request for urgency, practice fit, conflicts, deadlines, and availability before confirming next steps.
Submitting a form, downloading a guide, texting, or calling does not create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship begins only after we review your matter and sign a written agreement.