How Do I Divorce My Spouse Who’s in Jail?

Between the crime your spouse was found guilty of and the time they have to spend in jail to pay for it, you may feel there is no way to repair your marriage in the fallout. This may lead you to believe that the best way for you and your shared children to move on in a healthy, civil way is to, sadly, divorce your spouse. With that being said, please follow along to find out how to handle a divorce from your spouse serving time in jail and how one of the proficient Somerset divorce lawyers at the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC can help you navigate this rather unique process.

Is my spouse’s jail time a valid ground for divorce?

Notably, in the state of New Jersey, you are allowed to cite fault grounds for your divorce. In pursuing a fault-based divorce, you must prove that your spouse’s actions or behaviors led to the ultimate breakdown of your marriage.

Therefore, you may claim that your spouse receiving a jail sentence of 18 months or more caused the rift in your relationship. Or, you may argue the actions they committed to get this jail sentence in the first place led to your detachment.

For example, your spouse may have been penalized for drug possession. So your problem may have originally resided in their voluntary addiction to narcotic drugs for at least one year during your marriage. Or, the fact that they have had to be institutionalized for their substance abuse issues. Lastly, it may be the fact that they exhibited extreme cruelty toward you and your shared children while they were under the influence of drugs.

How do I handle a divorce from my spouse serving time in jail?

The process of initiating, undergoing, and finalizing a divorce may be slightly skewed if one spouse is serving time in jail. But the result is always the same, securing a copy of your final divorce decree. Without further ado, the general sequence of events you may be expected to mind is as follows:

1. Request a copy of your spouse’s mittimus for commitment to jail from the New Jersey criminal court.
2. Submit your divorce filing, mittimus, and filing fee to the New Jersey family court.
3. Hire the New Jersey sheriff’s office to serve your divorce papers to your spouse in jail.
4. Inform the jail where your spouse is located that they may need to appear in divorce hearings.
5. Follow the court’s schedule for when your spouse in jail needs to be transported for divorce hearings.

Evidently, your former spouse being away may put a complicated spin on what would have been a relatively straightforward divorce case. But rest assured, one of the talented Somerset County family lawyers has undoubtedly handled a case like yours before and will thereby know exactly what to do. So there is no mistake in reaching out to the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC today.