People often ask me: “What is a New Jersey divorce trial like?”
My short answer is: You probably don’t want one.
A trial can be expensive, stressful, time-consuming and unpredictable. Once it begins, you and your spouse are asking a judge who does not know either of you to make decisions that may affect your children and finances for years.
But sometimes a divorce simply cannot be settled. When that happens, you need to know what to expect.
Before a case reaches trial, the spouses will usually exchange financial information and settlement proposals. They may also participate in custody mediation, the Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel and economic mediation.
Even when those efforts fail, settlement discussions may continue right up until the trial begins. That is what lawyers mean when they say a case settled “on the courthouse steps.”
The pressure of an approaching trial sometimes helps both sides make the compromises necessary to reach an agreement.
If they still cannot agree, the trial begins.
A New Jersey divorce trial is usually decided by a Superior Court judge, not a jury. Each side presents witnesses, documents and other evidence supporting its position.
The issues may include:
The exact structure depends on the issues in dispute.
One attorney begins by questioning a witness through direct examination. The other attorney then has an opportunity to cross-examine that witness.
This continues until both sides have presented their testimony and evidence.
If you testify, your attorney will ask questions designed to explain your position to the judge.
In a financial case, you may be questioned about your income, expenses, property, debts and marital lifestyle. Your Case Information Statement will often be an important part of that testimony.
In a custody case, the questions may focus on your relationship with your children, each parent’s involvement, the children’s needs and the parenting arrangement you believe would serve their best interests.
Then your spouse’s attorney gets to question you.
Cross-examination is rarely as dramatic as it appears on television. There are usually no surprise confessions or courtroom fireworks.
A good cross-examination is often about exposing a few weaknesses, inconsistencies or missing facts that cause the judge to view the evidence differently.
Some trials require expert witnesses.
Depending on the case, these may include:
Experts can help the judge understand complicated financial, employment, property or parenting issues. They can also add significantly to the cost and length of a trial.
There is no standard answer.
A relatively focused trial might require only a short hearing. A complicated case involving custody, a business, disputed income or substantial assets may require multiple trial days.
Those days are not always scheduled consecutively. A trial can therefore take much longer to finish than the actual number of courtroom days might suggest.
That is one reason settlement remains worth exploring even after trial preparation has begun.
After all testimony and evidence have been presented, the attorneys may give oral closing arguments or submit written summations.
The judge then evaluates the testimony, decides which witnesses were credible, applies New Jersey law and issues a decision.
At that point, the judge may be deciding nearly every unresolved part of your future, including your parenting schedule, support obligations and division of property.
Both sides must follow that decision unless it is later changed or successfully appealed.
Divorce trials are not usually won through one brilliant question. They are built through preparation.
That means:
After trying New Jersey divorce cases for decades, I can tell you that the work completed before anyone enters the courtroom often matters more than the dramatic moments people imagine happening at trial.
A divorce trial gives you a way to resolve issues that cannot be settled. But it comes with a loss of control.
A negotiated agreement allows you and your spouse to shape the result. At trial, a judge makes those decisions for you.
Sometimes trial is necessary. But before taking that step, you should understand the cost, the time, the uncertainty and exactly what you are asking the judge to decide.
Steve