MEETING OPTIONS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS: The Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen understands your concerns regarding the spread of the Coronavirus, and now offers different meeting options to our clients and those seeking legal representation. All meetings, including initial consultations, can be handled either through the phone, FaceTime, Zoom, or in person.

Articles Posted in Divorce

| by

One of the most popular movies of 2023 is Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer tells the story of Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was the research undertaken to develop the United States first atomic bomb during World War II. A question raised about the Manhattan Project at the time was how the endeavor affected the divorce rate among employees and their spouses. In this article, we discuss the impact of employment on marriage, using the Manhattan Project as an illustration.

Manhattan Project and Family Life

The project was so secretive that most of the workers didn’t even know what they were working on, and their families were kept in the dark about their work. Despite these challenging conditions and the high-stakes nature of the work, divorce rates among Manhattan Project workers were lower than the national average at the time, according to a study conducted during the early 1940s. In other words, researchers concluded that the impact of work on marriage in the case of the Manhattan Project was not as significant as anticipated or presumed.

Reasons Why Divorce Rates was Lower Among Manhattan Project Workers

The study on impact of employment on marriage found that divorce rates among Manhattan Project workers were about half the national average during the early 1940s. This was surprising, given the long hours, hazardous conditions, and isolation from family and friends that the workers experienced. However, some factors may have contributed to these lower divorce rates. For instance, the workers received good pay and benefits, which may have helped to support their families. Additionally, the close-knit community of workers on the project may have provided a support system for families. Continue Reading →

| by

Divorces are difficult and emotionally draining. Noting these realities, it is also understandable that many couples would like to try to find ways to avoid the costs associated with the traditional New Jersey divorce process. Some people attempt to pursue what oftentimes is called a do-it-yourself divorce. The stark reality is that not retaining the assistance of experienced legal counsel in a New Jersey divorce can have some significantly negative potential consequences.

There are five more commonplace dangers associated with a do-it-yourself divorce that could have long term consequences for you:

  • Making uninformed decisions
  • Inability to enforce court orders
  • Problems establishing residency requirements
  • Missing important paperwork
  • Lack of advocacy

Making Uninformed Decisions

Without proper legal advice or understanding of relevant laws, couples attempting a divorce on your own may make decisions that cost them more in the long run. Decisions regarding property division, child support, alimony payments and other vital matters should be made after careful consideration of all available options by those who understand the law and its implications. Continue Reading →

| by

If you are like most people heading towards or in the midst of a divorce, you have at least some type of social media presence. You may be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or some other platform. You may also be like many individuals seeking a New Jersey divorce and not fully appreciate the potential interaction between social media and divorce.

There are a number of ways in which the opposition in a New Jersey marriage dissolution case may take advantage of our social media activities to your detriment. With this in mind, there are a number of matters you need to bear in mind when it comes to social media and divorce and opposing counsel in your case.

Your Social Media Activity as Evidence in Your Divorce Case

Be well aware that if you find yourself in the midst of a contested divorce, your spouse’s attorney is likely to consider your social media activity. The reality is that time and again people getting a divorce take major missteps to their detriment through their social media usage. In other words, when it comes to social media and divorce, opposition attorneys are able to mine evidence from social media platforms that can then be used as evidence in the marriage dissolution proceedings.

A key point to keep in mind is that you may not even realize you have posted something detrimental to your position in your divorce case when you put it up. Creative lawyers can find evidence on your social media platforms that seems on the surface to be unthreatening to your positions in your New Jersey marriage dissolution case. Continue Reading →

| by

The end of your marriage has the potential for a certain amount of financial confusion, even financial turmoil. Even if you feel you obtained a fair settlement or judgment in your New Jersey marriage dissolution case, you may still have some issues related to divorce finances. There are a trio of keyways in which you can handle your finances following a New Jersey divorce.

You Must Take Budgeting Seriously

A good percentage of married couples admit that they are not particularly diligent when it comes to regularly making and keeping to a budget. In some instances, the failure to budget may seem like it did not have a huge impact on your financial status while you were married.

When you divorce, you need to become far more serious about budgeting. The fact is that your financial status likely will or has changed because of the end of your marriage. And such an alteration very well may mean that you have less money coming in. With less money available, the necessity of budgeting seriously becomes highly serious and needs to be a priority in your life.

The bottom line is that you cannot follow what really is common practice among people across the country. That is taking some time to come up with a budget but not making a commitment to follow it. Continue Reading →

| by

For nearly everyone in New Jersey and across the United States, the use of different types of technology is ubiquitous. Many New Jersey marriage dissolution lawyers will tell you that technology of different types has contributed to more than a few couples seeking divorce. There exist a variety of ways in which technology potentially can and actually does harm marriages. Some of the more commonplace types of situations are explored in this article. Bear in mind that this is just an overview of some of the negative effects of the overuse and misuse of technology.

Rob a Married Couple of Valuable Time Spent Together

Perhaps the most frequently occurring way in which technology can have harmful effects on a marriage is robbing a couple of time together. Time and again, technology of different types can be found significantly occupying the time of one or both spouses, ultimately limiting time spent between the married couple themselves.

The typical course is for one or both spouses to gradually spend what ultimately becomes a damaging amount of time with some type of technology or device. Some describe it as putting a frog in water in which the temperature is gradually ratcheted up. The frog ends up dying in extremely hot water, not extracting itself from the situation until it is too late. Continue Reading →

| by

Steps-to-Grieving-a-Divorce-300x199

Several divorce therapists and other experts have determined that there oftentimes are seven steps associated with grief and divorce. This is based on the long-used stages of grief and loss paradigm long used regarding death and dying and other losses. The seven steps or stages of grief and divorce are:

  • Denial
  • Pain
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Guilt
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

Bear in mind that the seven stages of grief and divorce discussed here do not necessarily happen in the sequence in which they are presented in this article. In addition, there are instances in which a person may experience one of these states more than one time. It is also possible for a person to experience more than one of these stages simultaneously.

Denial

Typically, an initial stage experienced by some people (but not all) who face divorce is denial. A person in this stage cannot believe that his or her marriage is ending. Denial may be evident more often in the mind of the person who is being sued for divorce as opposed to the individual that filed the case. With that said, an individual who is the person who files a divorce complaint may also experience denial even if he or she initiated the marriage dissolution case in the first instance.

Continue Reading →

| by

High-asset or high net worth divorces have historically been those in which more than $1 million in liquid assets are involved. Given the skyrocketing values of property in recent years, simply owning a modest home in certain cities may be enough to technically qualify as a high-asset divorce. However, the typical high-asset divorce today involves multi-million-dollar property ownership.

The issues in a high-asset divorce are the same as in any divorce. Property and debts must be divided, alimony may be considered, and where children are involved, child support, custody, and visitation need to be addressed. The issue that usually makes high asset divorces more difficult, costly, and time-consuming is property division.

Spouses in high net worth divorces may own multiple properties or businesses, have investments, intellectual property, stocks, retirement accounts, and valuable items of personal property such as artwork, furniture, jewelry, and vehicles. There may be issues involving deferred compensation, stock voting rights, and real estate or business partnerships that can prove difficult to sort out. Continue Reading →

| by

shutterstock_240442219-300x199

In the United States, there are two different schemes through which a couple can obtain a divorced. These are a fault divorce and a no-fault divorce. A fault divorce requires a person seeking to end a marriage to demonstrate some type of “wrongdoing” (like adultery). A no-fault divorce doesn’t require a demonstration of wrongdoing. Rather, a person seeking a no-fault divorce typically must demonstrate irreconcilable differences, that the parties can no longer successfully live together as husband and wife. There are five important benefits associated with a no-fault divorce:

  • Designed to make divorce less emotionally charged
  • Crafted to be a faster way to pursue divorce
  • Intended to reduce costs associated with divorce
  • Enhances prospects for better communication between parties
  • Causes less stress for children

Designed to Make Divorce Less Emotionally Charged

Even a divorce considered “uncontested” has its share of emotions. When the need to prove some sort of fault in order to end a marriage is required, the level of emotions associated with a divorce naturally are apt to amp up.

One of the more important benefits associated with a no-fault divorce is that this type of marriage dissolution case has a greater possibility to be less emotionally charged. Ramped up emotions in a divorce case oftentimes results in parties making decisions based on their passions rather than reflective deliberation. In the end, intelligent, reflective, less emotional decision making in a divorce proceeding is to the ultimate benefit of both spouses. Continue Reading →

| by

shutterstock_1539651929-300x169

During the early stages of a divorce case, the parties to a marriage dissolution are required by law and order of the court to provide a verified listing of assets and debts. The parties must provide their respective list to the “opposing side” and file a copy with the court as well. A verified listing of assets and debts means that it is filed with the court under penalty of perjury. In New Jersey, this list of assets and debts are included in a Case Information Statement that is required to be filed with the court.  Unfortunately, referenced to a perjury penalty sometimes is not sufficient to prevent a spouse in a divorce from filing an incomplete accounting of assets. There are five signs that your spouse may be hiding assets in a divorce case:

  • Spouse has a history of dishonesty when it comes to finances
  • Spouse has a history of keeping you in the dark regarding finances
  • Spouse owns a business
  • Spouse has made threats associated with property
  • Asset list provided by spouse appears incomplete

Spouse has a History of Dishonesty when it comes to Finances

You may be married to a person who has a history of being dishonest with you in regard to financial issues. The reality is that many divorces arise out of disputes associated with property and debts. If your spouse has an established track record of being less than transparent in regard to assets, you would be prudent to start from the position in your divorce case that your spouse’s asset disclosures are likely to be incomplete.

Spouse Has a History of Keeping You in the Dark Regarding Finances

In many marriages, one spouse plays a primary role in overseeing the couple’s finances. This may have been the proverbial natural state of your marriage. You were responsible for certain matters and your spouse for others, including finance management. Your spouse may not have been dishonest regarding finances in the past, you just were not fully involved with such matters. If your spouse kept you in the dark regarding financial matters during the marriage, that practice may carry forth into the divorce, when your spouse may have an eye on keeping a larger share of property than he or she is entitled. Continue Reading →

| by

 

shutterstock_1010429098-300x187

Marriages made for and on TV generally do not last, and one of the most successful media-created marriages will soon come to an end. The Bachelorette Ashley Hebert dated 25 men during the TV series in 2011. In the end, she chose J.P. Rosenbaum, and he proposed to her on the final series episode. In 2012, they were married during a two-hour television special.

In July 2014, they moved from New York to Miami after real estate entrepreneur Rosenbaum received a job offer. The couple has two children. Their son, Fordham, is 6 and a daughter, Essex, recently turned 4.

While the couple stayed out of the spotlight for the most part, in 2017 they appeared on Marriage Boot Camp, another TV reality show. At the time, Rosenbaum said, “We have small issues like every couple has.” Ashley added that the couple agreed to be on the show to improve their relationship “even more.”

They renewed their vows during a trip to Aruba in 2018. In late 2019, Rosenbaum was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that damages nerves causing muscle weakness and, on occasion, paralysis. After months of therapy, he appears to have substantially recovered. Continue Reading →

Member Of
Super Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Attorney

Peter Van Aulen was selected to the 2016 and 2017 Super Lawyers list. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Peter Van Aulen has received a rating by Martindale Hubbell. A description of the rating methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Peter Van Aulen is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Matrimonial Attorney.

Contact Information
Office Location
50 Market St
Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
Phone: 201-845-7400

The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2023, The Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design