Officially Law: Christie Signs Major NJ Alimony Reform

Alimony Reform in New Jersey Signed in Law

Alimony reform in New Jersey has been a hot topic this year, and last week Governor Chris Christie signed a batch of finalized bills into law. The included alimony reform package will utterly change how alimony will be awarded in new divorce cases, which specially gives a written ruling award analysis. Major points of the law include alimony no longer exceeding the length of a relationship when a marriage or civil union lasts less than 20 years. More factors of the reform comprise of a judge’s ability to modify alimony awards, specially if a payer becomes unemployed or reaches full retirement age, among other situations.

If you’re in need of a family law attorney in Bergen County, you can contact us or call (201) 678-9007 to schedule a free consultation today.

Christie Signs Alimony Reform, Other Measures Into Law

Source: NJLawJournal.com

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sept. 10 signed a host of bills into law, including an alimony reform package and a measure that allows couples to dissolve their marriages through a mediation-like process.

A845/971/1649 makes drastic changes to the way alimony is awarded in divorce cases, and is designed to give judges, lawyers and litigants a set of guidelines to follow when determining how much alimony should be awarded and for how long.

In any case in which a party asks for alimony, a judge will be required to issue a written ruling explaining his or her analysis of relevant factors in determining whether there should or should not be an award of alimony.

If the marriage or civil union lasts less than 20 years, alimony will not exceed the length of the relationship, but for exceptional circumstances.

In addition to the factors already in the statute, judges will have to consider the ages of the parties when they were married and when the relationship ended, the need for separate homes, the ability of both parties to maintain a standard of living, the dependency of one party on the other, whether one party has particular health problems and other relevant issues.

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