While you and your spouse may agree that staying in your marriage no longer serves your best interests, you may also concur that remaining friendly with one another is achievable and beneficial. Under these circumstances, you may find it easy to fall into no-fault divorce proceedings. Without the need for further introduction, please continue reading to learn the legal requirements for a no-fault divorce in New Jersey and how an experienced Morris County divorce lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help you execute this seamlessly and effectively.
What are the legal requirements for a no-fault divorce in New Jersey?
Whenever one spouse files a complaint for divorce with the New Jersey family court, they must disclose the legal reason behind it. So, if they cite no-fault grounds, they are essentially claiming that there was an irretrievable breakdown of their relationship with their spouse, and they believe there to be no reasonable chance at reconciliation. Further, this irretrievable breakdown must have lasted for the past six months or longer. Also, the two spouses must have lived separately for the past 18 months or longer.
This does not even cover the residency requirements to bring a divorce complaint forward. However, this applies to whichever divorce option you pursue in the state of New Jersey. Specifically, you or your spouse must have been considered a state resident for 12 consecutive months directly before your filing date, or better yet longer.
What happens if my soon-to-be former spouse disagrees with me?
If you wish to pursue a no-fault divorce, it is worth mentioning that your spouse must agree on this legal reason. From here, your spouse must also agree with all your proposed divorce-related terms stated in your complaint for divorce (i.e., child custody, child support, spousal support, property division, etc).
Otherwise, if your spouse disagrees with any of this, they may have 35 days to file an answer with the court to contest what was written in your complaint. Or, they may file an answer and counterclaim with the court and possibly claim fault-based grounds against you (i.e., adultery, abandonment, extreme cruelty, domestic violence, incarceration, etc).
In other words, your no-fault divorce may rapidly escalate into a contested divorce. This may require you to participate in trial proceedings so that the New Jersey family court can make a final judgment on these terms on both of your behalves. Before it gets to this extent, though, we encourage you to exhaust all alternative resolution resources, such as mediation, collaboration, or arbitration. This is because, unfortunately, we know firsthand just how emotionally and financially demanding a litigated divorce can turn into.
If you are ready to serve your spouse with a divorce petition, please first retain the services of a skilled Morristown family law attorney. Our team at Graves Andrews, LLC is ready and able to take on your case.
