Property Distribution

New Jersey Law Governing the Distribution
of Marital Property

In a divorce in New Jersey, property acquired during the marriage needs to be divided fairly, either by voluntary agreement of the parties or by order of the trial judge. Unless shown otherwise, the Court will presume that both husband and wife made a substantial financial or non-financial contribution to the acquisition of income and property while the parties were married to each other. In making an "equitable" distribution of marital property, the court shall consider the following factors:

1. The duration of the marriage
2. The age of the parties
3. The physical health of the parties
4. The emotional health of the parties
5. The income brought to the marriage by each party
6. The property brought to the marriage by each party
7. The standard of living established during the marriage
8. Any written agreement made by the parties before or during the marriage concerning an arrangement of property distribution
9. The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property becomes effective
10. The income of each party
11. The earning capacity of each party, including:
    1. educational background
    2. Training
    3. employment skills
    4. work experience
    5. length of absence from the job market
    6. custodial responsibilities for children
    7. the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage
12. The contribution by each party to the education, training or earning power of the other
13. The contribution of each party to the acquisition, dissipation, preservation, depreciation or appreciation in the amount or value of the marital property
14. The contribution of a party as a homemaker
15. The tax consequences of the proposed distribution to each party
16. The present value of the property
17. The need of a parent who has physical custody of a child to own or occupy the marital residence and to use or own the household effects
18. The debts and liabilities of the parties
19. The need for creation, now or in the future, of a trust fund to secure reasonably foreseeable medical or educational costs for a spouse or children
20. Any other factors which the court may deem relevant

In every case, the court is required to make specific findings of fact on the evidence relative to all issues pertaining to asset eligibility or ineligibility, asset valuation, and equitable distribution, including specifically, but not limited to, the factors listed above.

Our law firm handles a significant number of divorce cases. Please feel free to
contact us if we may be of service to you.

This article is not intended to be viewed as legal advice. Every case is different, and the reader should be advised to contact an attorney for complete legal advice on a given issue.