Firstly, if you are being made the victim of domestic violence, and this has been the catalyst that has driven you toward divorce in the first place, then by all means, we encourage you to move out of your family home and seek safe refuge. In taking it one step forward, we ask that you reach out to us so that we may assist in petitioning for a temporary restraining order as soon as possible. But if you are not necessarily being put in immediate danger, we suggest you reconsider your move out of your marital property. In short, this may lead to potentially negative implications in your upcoming divorce proceedings. Read on to discover whether you can move out before your divorce is filed and finalized and how one of the seasoned Somerset County property division lawyers at the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC can guide you.
If you move out of your marital home, likely, you will temporarily rent an apartment unit until your divorce is settled. But before making this move, you must confirm that it will not affect your meeting the residency requirement for divorce in the state of New Jersey.
That is, you or your spouse must be a state resident for at least one year before you are eligible for a divorce filing here. This is all to say that it may be in your best interest to rent a place within this state’s borders for good measure.
Your moving out of your marital home before your divorce is filed and finalized may not change the fact that your name is still on the deed and mortgage. However, it may affect the New Jersey family court’s viewpoint of what is considered to be a fair and just distribution of it.
For example, the court may see that your spouse has contributed significantly more to your marital home’s upkeep since your move out. Namely, they may now be the only person who does the housekeeping and pays for small repairs here and there.
Their contributions may be made all the more apparent if all your children have remained in the family home since your move out. This may signal to the court that your spouse is more committed to the day-to-day care involved with raising your small children. You may not make your case any better if you fail to petition for a temporary parenting plan before your move out, to ensure you still get time with your children before your official custody order is finalized.
Lastly, if you move out while being the primary earner for your family unit, this may establish a precedent for the spousal and child support payments you will eventually owe. Therefore, under circumstances such as these, the court may feel more inclined to favor your spouse in property division, child custody, spousal support, and child support decisions.
We hope that this blog offers the insight you were searching for. For more information, we encourage you to contact one of the competent Somerset County property division lawyers from the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC today.