New Jersey Divorce Blog

Almost all New Jersey parents want what's best for their children. The problem, however, is that parents don't always agree on how to do this. And when parents are separated or divorced, coming to an agreement on raising the children may be difficult or impossible for the parties to do on their own.

A few weeks ago, we told you about the factors that New Jersey courts take into account when they are making decisions regarding child custody. Not only will the court seek to make decisions in the best interest of the child, the court has guidelines to follow in making this determination. The two parties each have the opportunity to make arguments to the court, and the court will seek to impose a solution that will serve the child's best interests.

When the rich and famous get divorced, there quite frequently is a fight over how the assets should be divided and whether there should be alimony obligations. Often, there are hard feelings after the process is done, and much of the couple's private business was discussed at length in the media. Not all celebrity divorces are like this, however. Movie star Drew Barrymore recently reflected on her divorce and how she moved on after her apparently fairy-tale marriage came to an end.

Barrymore separated from her husband, Will Kopelman, after three years of marriage. The couple has two daughters together. Barrymore pointed out that during their marriage, she read an article saying that she had gotten the happy ending she had sought - but then her marriage ended.

Whenever a business owner, a high-income earner or a high-value asset owner divorces, there can be thousands and even millions of dollars at stake in the asset division. After the asset division, there often are large amounts of money involved in alimony payments as well. New Jersey spouses will want to remember that continued receipt of alimony can hinge on the living situation of the receiving spouse.

Last month we told you about a case that may be impacted by New Jersey's new law on the effect of cohabitation on the right to receive alimony. An ex-husband claimed that his ex-wife and her boyfriend were cohabiting, and therefore the ex-husband should no longer have to pay alimony to the ex-wife under the new law. The ex-wife claimed that she and her boyfriend were not cohabiting, and therefore the alimony payments should continue.

One term you may have heard thrown around lately when it comes to parents and divorce is birdnesting. Birdnesting is a living arrangement strategy that some parents have been turning to in the wake of a split.

Generally, in a birdnesting arrangement, the kids continue to live in the family home and the parents rotate living with them. Sometimes, in these arrangements, the parents get a shared apartment that they rotate using when it is not their “turn” to live with the kids in the family home.