Hackettstown Family Law Blog

If you have small children and will soon be facing a divorce, you probably want to do everything in your power to make the divorce as painless for your family as possible. In fact, even couples who don't have children may want to get their divorce over with quickly and smoothly instead of fighting over every detail.

A lot of people are under the inaccurate impression that the only way to get a divorce is to litigate or let your spouse ride roughshod over all of your preferences and wishes. In reality, there are several alternative dispute resolution options available to those who want to end their marriage. Three of these options are increasingly common in modern divorces.

Change is a rule of life. We have to be adaptable to change. When it comes to court rulings, however, change can be a difficult thing.

Such was the status of divorce decrees years ago when the court’s rulings were difficult to change. However, in 1980, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that courts not only must determine custodial support, child support and related orders, but also can revise these order under special circumstances.

You and your former spouse have a child who wishes to attend college. You know that college tuition proves incredibly costly, and you worry that your ex-spouse will have no interest in helping pay the excessive fees. Luckily, in the state of New Jersey, you and your former spouse both face requirements by law to continue to provide for your child’s education – even when he or she reaches the age of 18.

New Jersey law considers children over the age of 18 unemancipated, meaning that their education expenses will still fall largely on the individual parents. The law will end when your child receives their desired post high school degree, whether the degree is a 2-year or traditional 4-year college education.