Jersey City and New Jersey Divorce Lawyer-5 Commonly Asked Questions

Posted on 06-28-2015 by Santo Artusa
Tags: Family Law , child custody , litigation , divorce , Trending News & Topics , child support , billable hours

Over the years as working as a matrimonial attorney in Jersey City, New Jersey, I have compiled a list of 20 of the most frequently asked questions in contested divorce actions. Today, I will focus on 5 of the commonly asked questions in divorce consultations. 

1. My husband is the principal earner, he left me and the children, what can I do? If you or your spouse have not filed for divorce, you should right away and along with that, file a motion for child support, spousal support and other relief that you may need. Filing for divorce or filing a motion does not mean that there is no chance of getting back together but you must act swiftly. 
2. I was served with divorce papers, now what? If you have been served with divorce papers, you have 35 days to submit: an answer, an answer and counterclaim, or an appearance to the court and you must provide your papers to the opposing side. Do not through the paper somewhere or in the trash, those 35 days are very important. 
3. I want to file for divorce and we do not agree on much, how does a divorce work? The first thing is to gather the information needed to file for divorce, then you and/or your lawyer will file in the appropriate county, pay the filing fee. Once a docket has been given to the case, your spouse must be served in person or if he agrees to service or has an attorney, the attorney can accept service. If your spouse files a response to the court, the next step is a case management conference. Depending on the county, you may have to appear where the issues of the case are told to the Judge. At this conference, deadlines will be given for discovery to be exchanged. Discovery can be a long and demanding process where parties can request relevant documents from the other side and also send written questions to the opposing side. After that, if the case does not settle and no motions have been brought seeking interim relief during the divorce, the parties and their lawyers will attend an early settlement panel. The Settlement panel is held at the courthouse where your attorney submits your case position to 1-3 volunteer attorneys who will provide their advice as to how the case should be settled. It is non-binding. If that fails, then the parties will attend an economic mediation session with an attorney or mediator to hash out the issues, again non-binding. If that fails, then a trial date will be set and then anything that is not settled, will be decided by a Judge. This can take one day or months. 
4. How much does a divorce cost? The range of costs for a divorce is too wide to provide an estimate without specific facts of a case. The attorney will use the upfront retainer, $3500-$50,000 to deduct legal fees from the retainer as work gets done. The attorney will provide you his or her hourly rates on the retainer. 
5. How long does a divorce take? Some divorces can be done in as little as two months (if all is agreed to) and as long as two years if there are many issues that have not been resolved and experts are needed. 

While these five questions are often asked, everybody has different concerns and issues that must be discussed in greater detail with the attorney. If you have a family law or divorce case in Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, Bayonne, Essex County or beyond, contact us today on 201-706-7910.  If you seek more information about divorce and family law, visit our website today.