Even though our Morristown divorce and family law firm focuses on providing constructive and creative solutions to our clients’ divorces and family law matters, it is important to remember that not every divorce, or every aspect of your divorce, can be decided through negotiation or alternative methods like mediation or arbitration. Certain situations, and the beliefs or attitudes of some parties, will require your divorce attorney to pursue more aggressive negotiation tactics, and possibly have the court decide certain matters rather than reaching a solution between the two parties and their divorce attorneys.
Presenting of evidence and arguments to a family court, countering the evidence and arguments made by the opposing party, and ultimately having the matter decided by a judge, is what is known as litigation. In today’s article, we will discuss when litigation during your divorce may become necessary, and why it is important to retain the services of a divorce attorney who is proficient at negotiation for when the parties are more amicable, and proficient at litigation for when a divorce becomes more contested.
Madison Divorce Lawyers and “Disclosing and Dividing Marital Assets”
One commonly litigated areas in any divorce is that of the equitable distribution of marital assets. In order to determine, through agreement or through litigation, the proper distribution of marital assets, this process requires full and accurate disclosure of both party’s individual financial information as well as that of the marriage as a whole. There may be times when a spouse who is much more financially savvy than the other will attempt to hide assets from this disclosure, or obscure the data in such a way that benefits them significantly. When this happens, the only way to ensure that ALL requested financial information is released and accurately disclosed is through court orders, motions, and a more aggressive strategy in general.
There are so many potential ways to divide marital assets, especially when it comes to more complex assets such as vacation homes, commercial properties, privately-owned or family-owned businesses, retirement plans, and even marital debt. In these cases it can be extremely difficult to divide these assets in a way which is fair to both parties, protects the integrity of the assets being divided, and leaves each party satisfied that they retained the specific assets that they wanted to.
Under these circumstances, divorce litigation is especially common, and sometimes necessary, when deciding how to divide marital assets during divorce.
Randolph, NJ Divorce Attorneys and “Working with Difficult Partners”
Divorce litigation is also common when one party to the divorce is particularly unreasonable or stubborn. As the saying goes, “a fair bargain leaves both sides unhappy.” Yet, some people are simply unwilling to accept that they cannot get everything they want as part of their divorce settlement agreement.
The divorce process is all about compromise and finding fair solutions. So, if your spouse is simply unwilling to do either of those things, and insists on resolutions which are clearly one-sided or completely unreasonable, it is important that you retain the counsel of a Randolph divorce attorney who is not afraid to then take the matter to court, and is comfortable explaining to a judge exactly how and why the proposed solutions are unfair to you, their client.
Denville Divorce Lawyers and “Sticking it to the Ex”
Finally, there are certainly situations in which one party of the divorce feels particularly aggrieved by the actions of their spouse, and simply wishes to “hold their feet to the fire” through lengthy and stressful divorce litigation. While such a course of action can severely hurt a family’s finances (often more is spent on legal fees than is actually gained through the litigation), and can also hurt the family unit as a whole, i.e. any children the couple may have, some people simply do not care or feel too hurt to care, and pursue this kind of litigation anyway.
When this is the case, it can often be better for you and your Denville divorce lawyer to attempt to diffuse the situation, rather than “fight fire with fire” by countering with even more litigation. Many times, by having your attorney represent you and remove you and the emotions you have towards your spouse from the situation, this can calm the circumstances down considerably, allowing cooler and more reasonable heads to prevail.
Contact Our Morris County Divorce Litigation and Negotiation Attorneys Today
At Jacobs Berger, our attorneys have extensive experience successfully and fairly resolving divorces through negotiation, litigation, and divorce mediation for clients in towns across New Jersey and Morris County, including Madison, Randolph, Denville, Florham Park, Hanover, Dover, and Morristown.
Our firm is uniquely suited to providing you and your family with the well-rounded, knowledgeable, and effective legal service that you need and deserve because we understand that while our goal is always to find constructive solutions to divorce and family law issues through negotiation, there are also many situations in which we will need to advocate for you and your family’s rights and futures in a court of law, and that we must always be prepared to do so if necessary.
To speak with our legal team today in a comprehensive and confidential consultation regarding your divorce, your options for resolving your divorce such as negotiation, mediation, and litigation, and how exactly our unique approach and our experienced attorneys can help you to do so, please contact us online, or through our Morristown, NJ office at (973) 710-4366.
