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Does Adultery Impact Divorce Proceedings in New Jersey?
You may be wondering what your divorce proceedings will look like if adultery is causing the dissolution of your marriage in New Jersey. For more information on what impact adultery will have on your divorce proceedings in New Jersey, please read on, then contact an experienced Ocean County contested divorce attorney today. Here are some questions you may have:
What grounds for divorce does New Jersey offer?
In the Garden State, spouses can cite fault or no-fault grounds when going through a divorce. Spouses may cite no-fault grounds in the event of physical separation for eighteen consecutive months or more, or irreconcilable differences for at least a year. On the other hand, when a spouse commits certain marital misconduct, i.e. adultery, the other spouse can file on fault grounds.
Should I cite fault grounds if my spouse committed adultery in New Jersey?
When a spouse commits adultery, the state does not require either party in the marriage to cite fault grounds in their divorce. In fact, even if the marriage is ending as a result of adultery, many couples choose not to cite fault grounds. Furthermore, they may also choose to participate in various alternative methods, such as:
- Mediation
- Arbitration, or
- Collaborative divorce
These options allow for the couple to better preserve their privacy because the grounds cited might otherwise become a matter of public record and may require proof.
Does adultery affect the outcome of my divorce in New Jersey?
Because all divorces are different, determining whether citing adultery will affect the outcome of your divorce will ultimately depend on whether or not you have a skilled Ocean County divorce attorney working on your behalf. Nonetheless, some of the common ways adultery can impact your divorce proceedings include:
- Division of assets: In the vast majority of cases, citing fault grounds will not alter the division of assets.
- Child custody: In most instances, unless the act of adultery endangered the safety of your child in some way, it will have no effect on determining child custody.
- Child support: Unless your spouse receives less parenting time in your child custody agreement, necessitating an increase in child support, adultery will not affect the determination of child support.
- Alimony: Depending on whether the adulterous spouse is financially independent or not, the court may award him or her less alimony or order them to pay more in alimony, but only in certain cases.
Before you make any major decisions regarding how you wish to proceed with your divorce, you should speak with someone from our firm first.
Contact our experienced Ocean County firm
If you need a divorce and family law attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey, contact the Law Office of Sarina Gianna, LLC today to schedule a consultation.