With anticipating the divorce process to be emotionally draining for you and your family, you may hope to finalize it as soon as possible. However, please consider the fact that there may be a waiting period before you can legally file for divorce in the state of New Jersey. With that being said, read on to discover how long you need to be separated before you can get a divorce and how one of the seasoned Somerset divorce lawyers at the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC can help you with the timing of it all.
In the state of New Jersey, you have the option of filing for a no-fault divorce. In this way, you and your spouse may dissolve your marriage in a noncontentious way and without placing unnecessary blame on one another. To pursue this option, though, you and your spouse must prove that you have irreconcilable differences. But if this is difficult to ascertain, you and your spouse must be separated for 18 months. Only after these 18 months may you begin the divorce filing process.
It is worth mentioning that this 18-month separation must be continuous without being interrupted by cohabitation. Also, this separation must be mutual and voluntary. That is, you should not feel pressured or threatened by your spouse to move out of your shared home.
On the other hand, if you wish to file for a fault-based divorce, you may do so straight away. This is because New Jersey generally does not impose a mandatory waiting period when citing grounds for your divorce. Examples of fault grounds include adultery, abandonment, extreme cruelty, incarceration, institutionalization, etc.
Now that you better understand the waiting requirements for a divorce filing in New Jersey, you must know the residency requirements.
For this, you or your spouse must have been a New Jersey resident for at least one year before your divorce filing. If you are the one filing, you may submit your Divorce Complaint with the court in the county where you currently reside. But if you have not lived in the state since your separation, you may file your complaint with the court in the county where your spouse currently resides.
Of note, the only exception to this mandatory residency requirement is if your fault-based divorce is based on adultery. In this case, you may bring your complaint forward at any time.
We strongly encourage you to retain the services of one of the competent Somerset County family lawyers. You may do so by scheduling an initial consultation with the Law Offices of Kisha M. Hebbon, LLC today.
