Divorce FAQs

Are you thinking about getting a divorce? Use our handy FAQs to answer any questions you might have. If you are ready to discuss your options for divorce, contact Rebel Brown Law Group today. We offer free consultations and proudly represent clients in New Jersey!

Can I get divorced while I am still living with my spouse?

Yes. On January 20, 2007, Governor Corzine signed into law a change in the New Jersey Divorce Laws called irreconcilable differences. This is true no fault law. It required no period of separation.

New Jersey Statute 2A:34-2 i, states: “Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of six months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. ”

We both want a divorce, does that make my New Jersey divorce uncontested?

No. New Jersey Divorce Law requires that all of the issues from the marriage be resolved at the time of the divorce. If you have children all issues of child support and child custody must be resolved. Also of the property and debt acquired during the marriage, regardless who’s name it is in must be divided in some way.

If you are entitled to alimony, this must be set on or before the divorce is final. All marital issues, including life insurance, medical insurance must be resolved. If you do not have an agreement on these issues, you do not have an uncontested divorce.

What are the reasons I can get divorces under New Jersey Divorce Law?

New Jersey Statute 2A:34-2. Divorce from the bond of matrimony may be:

Adultery;

• Willful and continued desertion for the term of 12 or more months, which may be established by satisfactory proof that the parties have ceased to cohabit as man and wife;
• Extreme cruelty, which is defined as including Law any physical or mental cruelty which endangers the safety or health of the plaintiff or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect the plaintiff to continue to cohabit with the defendant; provided that no complaint for divorce shall be filed until after 3 months from the date of the last act of cruelty complained of in the complaint, but this provision shall not be held to apply to any counterclaim;
• Separation, provided that the husband and wife have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; provided, further that after the 18-month period there shall be a presumption that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation;
• Voluntarily induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug as defined in the New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, P.L.1970, c.226 or habitual drunkenness for a period of 12 or more consecutive months subsequent to marriage and next preceding the filing of the complaint;
• Institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months subsequent to marriage and next preceding the filing of the complaint;
• Imprisonment of the defendant for 18 or more consecutive months after marriage, provided that where the action is not commenced until after the defendant’s release, the parties have not resumed cohabitation following such imprisonment;
• Deviant sexual conduct voluntarily performed by the defendant without the consent of the plaintiff;
• Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of six months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

Amended 1971, c.212, s.2; 1971, c.217, s.11; 2007, c.6.

How long do I have to live in New Jersey before I can get a divorce here?

You or your spouse must have lived in New Jersey for 12 consecutive months before the filing of the divorce complaint.