Note: This guide will explain the divorce process, but the forms referred to here are available only in the print edition. For ordering information, visit the LSNJ.org publications page, e-mail publications@lsnj.org, or contact Legal Services of New Jersey at 732-572-9100.
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Preface
Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) coordinates the statewide Legal Services system in New Jersey, providing free legal assistance to low-income people in civil matters. Part of Legal Services’ mission is to make people more aware of their legal rights and provide helpful information if they choose to pursue a legal case on their own. Awareness may allow you to resolve some problems on your own, without the need for a lawyer, or to make better use of a lawyer if you have one.
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A Word of Caution About Using This Manual
This manual gives you general information about representing yourself in a divorce. This manual is written as if you are the spouse seeking the divorce. However, it also explains how to respond if your spouse has sued you for divorce. It contains forms and explains how to file for divorce in New Jersey based on separation, desertion, or extreme cruelty. The information, forms, and instructions in this manual are accurate as of May 2007. Before you take any of the steps outlined in this manual, you may want to speak to a lawyer to find out whether the law has changed since this manual was printed. You also should call the court to make sure addresses, fees, and court costs have not changed.
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Important Information About Doing Your Own Divorce
This manual cannot provide specific advice about your divorce. It is not a substitute for having an attorney. Only a lawyer can give you specific advice about your case and help you protect all of your rights. Getting a divorce in New Jersey can be a complicated process. In the situations listed under Getting Legal Advice, it may be best to have a lawyer represent you in your divorce.
If you have questions about the court or are having problems getting information from court staff, you may contact the court ombudsman. Each local county courthouse has an ombudsman assigned to the job of explaining court procedures, programs, and services; helping self-represented litigants; making referrals to social services or other local agencies; and resolving complaints. The ombudsman may not give you legal advice, but he or she may provide contact information to lawyer referral services and Legal Services in each county. A list of names and phone numbers of each county court ombudsman.
If you are receiving public benefits, we recommend that you call LSNJ-LAW™, LSNJ’s statewide, toll-free legal hotline, at 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529) for advice about how a divorce might affect your benefits. Hotline hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The term public benefits refers to financial assistance that some low-income families or individuals may be eligible to receive from local, county, or federal government. Public benefits include the different forms of welfare such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), General Assistance (GA), and Emergency Assistance (EA). Other benefits include food stamps (FS), Medicaid, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These programs all have limits on the amount of income a person can have in order to qualify for the benefits. If the income of a public benefits recipient increases, that recipient has a duty to report the increase to the public agency that provides the benefit. Failure to do this can result in sanctions or fines. For that reason, if you are receiving such benefits, you may want to consider asking an attorney about the effects of a divorce and property settlement on your continued eligibility for those benefits.
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Getting Legal Advice
If you fit into any of the situations listed below, it is strongly recommended that you get advice from a lawyer before you decide to handle your divorce on your own. These situations can involve complex issues, and having a lawyer is the best way to protect your rights.
- You have been injured by your spouse and have a claim against him or her for money damages. This is known as a Tevis claim.
- There is a history of domestic violence against you or another family member. If you are a victim of domestic violence, you should be especially cautious once you file for divorce because that is a time when violence is likely to escalate or start again.
- You and your spouse disagree about who should have custody of the children.
- You and your spouse own real estate together.
- You and your spouse have real or personal property of significant value.
- You are receiving public benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), General Assistance (GA), Emergency Assistance (EA), food stamps (FS), Medicaid, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and are concerned about how receiving alimony, property, or support from a divorce may affect your eligibility for those public benefits.
- You will be seeking alimony, also called spousal support.
- You or your spouse have a substantial pension.
- You or your spouse are involved in a personal injury lawsuit.
- You know the defendant is likely to hire or has hired a lawyer to contest the divorce or any agreements you have made.
- The defendant lives in a foreign country.
- The defendant is in the military.
Please note that it might be difficult to handle your own divorce if:
- You don’t know where your spouse lives and you don’t know anyone else who knows. (See Service on a Defendant Whose Address Is Unknown.)
- Your spouse is in the military or lives in a foreign country. A defendant who is in the military must have a lawyer representing him or her in a divorce. This manual does not provide instructions for handling a divorce when the defendant is in the military, and you should seek legal help if your spouse is in the military. Some information is provided on how to serve a defendant in a foreign country; however, you may want to seek legal help if the defendant does not live in the United States.
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Dispute Resolution Alternatives
Dispute resolution alternatives are ways of settling lawsuits other than by trials or hearings. The primary forms of dispute resolution are mediation and arbitration. Parties in a divorce may also rely on other skilled financial professionals (such as accountants) or mental health professionals (such as psychologists) to resolve specific issues related to a divorce.
You may read more about dispute resolution alternatives by reviewing Form 2A. You must get information about the alternate ways of settling lawsuits before you file your complaint or answer and counterclaim for divorce. The court now requires you to sign and file with your complaint or answer and counterclaim for divorce a special certification (sworn statement) claiming that you have received this information. (See Certification of Notification of Complementary Dispute Resolution (Form 2B).)
If there has been no domestic violence and you are comfortable meeting with your spouse and a third party to try to reach an agreement about property, support, custody, or parenting time (also called visitation) issues before you file your papers in court, you might consider seeking help from a mediator, arbitrator, or other skilled professional. Using the services of this independent third party to reach an agreement can save you money and time. Some mediators or arbitrators are also attorneys. However, an attorney who is acting as a mediator or arbitrator should never represent either of you in a divorce action and should not help you file for divorce. Even if you decide not to get a lawyer to represent you in your divorce, you and your spouse should each have your own lawyer review any settlement agreement that you reach through mediation or arbitration. Even if you resolve your differences through a dispute resolution alternative, you must still file papers with the court in order to get a divorce.
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How Can I Get a Lawyer or Mediator to Help Me?
If you are a low-income New Jersey resident, you may be eligible for legal help from a Legal Services office in your area. A list of Legal Services programs in New Jersey. You may also be eligible for free legal advice from LSNJ-LAW™, Legal Services of New Jersey’s statewide, toll-free legal hotline. The hotline telephone number is 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529). Hotline hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you are not eligible for assistance from Legal Services, the hotline will refer you to other possible resources. To obtain a private lawyer, call the lawyer referral service of your county bar association. A list of phone numbers of your county bar association’s lawyer referral service.
For more information about private mediators in New Jersey, call the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators at 1-800-981-4800, or go to their Web site. To learn more about court mediators, call (609) 984-4228 or go to Program for Mediation of Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases.
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Acknowledgments
For the first edition of this manual, Deborah Fennelly, senior attorney at LSNJ, did the research and initial writing, created all of the forms, and helped see the work through to conclusion. She made revisions and updates to this edition. Susan Perger, director of technology and publications, was responsible for editing, design, layout, and production. Special thanks to Maribel Whitfield, administrative assistant, for her help with the forms and to Tom Makin, LSNJ director of development and communications, and Tricia Simpson-Curtin for their help with editing and proofreading.
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Comments or Suggestions
We hope that this manual will be helpful to you. Please let us know if you have comments or suggestions that we might use in future editions. You can write to us or e-mail us at:
Legal Services of New Jersey
P.O. Box 1357
Edison, NJ 08818-1357
Melville D. Miller, Jr., President
Legal Services of New Jersey
Edison, New Jersey
May 2007
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