New Jersey Divorce Timeline

New Jersey Divorce Timeline

If you are preparing for a divorce or have already filed one, its timelines will be among your biggest concerns. The only problem is there isn’t a one-time-fits-all-all timeline. 

Instead, the timeline or duration of your divorce will depend on factors specific to your case, such as the type of divorce, the case’s complexity, and the level of cooperation among the divorcing parties. 

This guide looks into different steps of the divorce process and how each step affects its timelines, so keep reading to learn more. 

Starting the Process

One party to the divorce has to initiate the process by filing a divorce petition or complaint. In the petition, they must outline why they want a divorce and provide details about property division, custody, spousal support, etc. 

While it’s possible to navigate this process using the application alone, especially for an uncontested divorce, the risk of errors or missed steps can be high. For this reason, working with a lawyer is often the best option. 

Serving the Respondent

After filing a petition, you will have 10 days to serve the respondent and file a proof of service with the court. The respondent has 35 days from the service date to respond. If they fail to respond within this timeframe, the court can make a default ruling. 

“A default divorce is almost like an uncontested divorce. The court interprets the failure to respond as agreeing to the divorce terms by not responding to the petition within the stipulated time,” says Family Lawyer Galit Moskowitz of Moskowitz Law Group, LLC. “This type of divorce resolves in a significantly short time, often a few months.” 

If the respondent agrees with the divorce terms, it is an uncontested divorce. Both parties draft an agreement, and a judge reviews and approves it. In some cases, they may have to attend a hearing. 

Discovery

If it’s a contested divorce, the court may schedule a case management conference where all parties get a sense of the details of the divorce, after which it goes to the discovery phase. This is the phase where both parties exchange evidence and get to evaluate the other party’s case. 

Some divorcing couples find a compromise in this phase and settle. If not, the case proceeds to a negotiation or mediation phase guided by an early settlement panel.

The Negotiations and Mediation Phase

If divorcing parties can’t settle before the discovery deadline, they must appear before an early settlement panel. The panel consists of two to three neutral family lawyers or judges who help the parties go through the contested issues to reach a consensus. 

If you reach a consensus based on the panel’s recommendations, you sign a draft agreement, which the judge will later approve, sometimes within hours of signing. 

Trial

If everything else fails, these cases go to trial. At trial, the judge will hear both cases and rule on unresolved issues, such as child custody, visitation, child support, and property division. 

However, both parties have a right to an appeal if they agree with the court’s case handling. There are provisions for modifying some orders, such as child custody, child support, and spousal support. For example, if circumstances restrict one parent from having child custody change, the non-custodial parent can petition the court to modify the custody orders. Such change may sometimes accompany a modification of child support payment orders. 

The non-custodial parent pays the court-ordered child support to the custodial parent. So, when custodial arrangements change, it is only fair for child support payment orders to reflect the new arrangements.