How does Equitable Distribution work in the State of New Jersey?
Our founder attorney Sarah J. Jacobs, Esq. with nearly 20 years of experience, and certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney and Qualified as a Family Law Mediator, explains in this video the proper concept of Equitable Distribution.
New Jersey, when dealing with distribution of assets and liabilities defines itself and its process as an equitable distribution state. Equitable does not mean community, marital, or equal distribution. Equitable means that assets and liabilities may not be divided 50/50 down in the middle. There are a lot of factors that at court litigants and attorneys have to consider when looking at how to distribute both assets and liabilities. Things like are assets inherited, were they co-mingled with pre-marital assets and post-divorce assets, where there has been a gift to the marriage from either party´s family or gift to an individual from either party´s family. These are the types of things that lawyers, litigants, and the court has to consider when figuring out how assets are divided.
Does Equitable Distribution mean a 50/50 Separation?
A lot of times people have the initial assumption that everything is going to be divided 50/50 and that there is no other opportunity for what is known as an inadequate split of assets or liabilities. However, it is important for an attorney to understand where did the assets come from, where were the debts accumulated, what time frame did these occur in, were they utilized for the marital enterprise or are they a dissipation of enterprises´ assets such that once a spouse should be afforded a credit or the other spouse is unreasonable spending.
What Type of Information Do I Need to Provide?
There is a lot of nuance in these complex distribution cases and it is important that a litigant is as transparent with an attorney as possible providing as much documentation, history, and information as possible so that the attorney can appropriately review and determine whether there are any real legal sound bases for making a claim that assets should be divided in a matter other than 50/50. It is important that you come to strategic planning sessions or go to court armed with as much information as possible so that you, your lawyer, and a court can reasonably understand what is an appropriate distribution.
Consult Our Morristown Asset Division Attorneys Today
At Jacobs Berger, our attorneys have extensive experience helping clients and families to fairly and creatively resolve family law matters of all kinds in towns across New Jersey and Morris County, including Morristown, Madison, Randolph, Dover, Denville, Florham Park, East Hanover, and the surrounding communities.
To speak with a qualified member of our attorney team today regarding your Assets Distribution in a strategic planning session, please contact us online or through our Morristown office at (973) 710-4366.
