New Jersey Grounds for Divorce

Understanding what is necessary in order to file for divorce is often the first thing people who are thinking about ending their marriage begin to research. It is important that you understand the various requirements from the state of New Jersey when it comes to initiating a divorce action. You might have your own reasons for initiating a divorce in New Jersey, but the state will require that you file on either fault or no-fault grounds. Your divorce lawyer can tell you more about what’s involved.

Being armed with information and scheduling a consultation with an experienced divorce attorney are extremely powerful before engaging in the process of filing for divorce. First of all, you can only initiate a divorce complaint in New Jersey if one of the spouses has been a resident of New Jersey for a minimum of one year before filing. The only exception to this is if you are filing on grounds of adultery. There is no one-year residency requirement mandated before you are initiating it on adultery grounds. There are nine different grounds recognized for divorce in the state of New Jersey. The primary grounds are irreconcilable differences and separation and these are known as no-fault grounds.

The remaining seven grounds for filing for divorce in New Jersey have to do with allegations of fault including adultery, extreme cruelty, addiction, desertion, imprisonment, institutionalization, or deviant sexual conduct. Depending on the factors of your case, it may make sense to file on fault grounds. Consulting with an experienced divorce lawyer at the onset of your divorce petition decision can arm you with the information you need to decide whether or not it’s right to file on fault or no-fault grounds.

The lawyers at Davis & Mendelson are here to help you figure out what you should do next to protect your interests. Call us at 866-560-9512 or fill out our convenient online contact form to get started today.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney/client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.