An issues that frequently arises is the treatment of an inheritance received by a spouse during the marriage. The basic rule is that any property received via gift or inheritance during the marriage is exempt from equitable distribution. When advising people, to the end of that sentence, I usually add something like, “provided that it
So, You Think You Don’t Have to Share That Inheritance?
One of the more complex issues we see when addressing alimony and equitable distribution relates to inherited assets and the money (distributions, investment experience, interest, etc.) that emanates from them. Under New Jersey law, inherited assets remain the exempt, separate property of the spouse who inherited same. It cannot be distributed in whole or in
Who Has the Burden of Proving the Premarital Value of a Business?
We often deal with cases in which one or both spouses own a business. In many of those cases, a spouse received their interest in a business prior to the marriage, either from a family member, or otherwise. With regard to premarital assets and/or any other assets that a party claims is exempt, that party
Equitable Remedies for Ex-Spouses Who Lost Their Share of a Military Pension Due to the Military Spouse’s Receipt of Disability Benefits
Divorces involving a spouse in the military generally involve unique issues. In the recently published decision of Fattore v. Fattore, the Appellate Division held that the trial court cannot replace, “dollar for dollar”, an ex-spouse’s benefit from a military pension that was lost after the military spouse elected to receive disability benefits. Doing so
New Guidance on the Distribution of Deferred Compensation That Vests Post-Complaint
The issue of the division of deferred compensation in divorce – more particularly, unvested deferred compensation, is often one that is hotly disputed. This is in part because there is not a lot of case law on the issue. The case law is clear that deferred compensation (eg. stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, REUs, etc.)
You Know Why You Should Settle Your Retirement Alimony Case – Now What?
Last week, I blogged about whether you should settle your retirement alimony case and the ingredients that might go into that decision. To be honest, this “why you should or should not settle” question is only the beginning of what you might be facing when you decide it is time to retire and terminate your
How Not to Settle Your Case
Several years ago I did a post on this blog of the same name and then updated it some time later. The list then, as re-compiled below, are things to do if you really don’t want to settle your case. As I said before, everybody is entitled to their day in court if they want
Mind Your Manners
Credibility is key when it comes to matrimonial litigation – from your initial filing through the last day of trial. In our practice, we can often make educated guesses of the range for equitable distribution and alimony from the initial consultation based upon the many statutory factors that a court has to consider and some
You Can’t Disregard the Partnership Agreement When Valuing a Business
In 2014, I authored a post on this blog entitled Stern Revisited – Using the Shareholder Agreement to Determine Value. I noted then that it seemed that after the Appellate Division’s decision in Brown v. Brown which changed the landscape by doing away with discounts and essentially ushered in more of a value to the
Supreme Court of New Jersey Addresses Equitable Claims and Remedies (while reinforcing a potential palimony loophole through the proverbial “black hole”)
What rights do people have to an equitable distribution of assets stemming from a period prior to the marriage itself? If there is no right to equitable distribution under those circumstances, then what rights exist and what remedies can be implemented to protect those rights? In Thieme v. Aucoin-Thieme, a post-Judgment dispute involving several