Woodstown, NJ Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

The most recent NJ Appellate Court decision on this issue is Mandelbaum vs Mandelbaum, where the husband claimed that the parties were not properly married and therefore wife was not entitled to benefits of their 20+ year marriage. The trial and the appellate courts disagreed with the husband and said that a court of equity will not permit the husband to disavow wife's entitlement to the benefits of their marriage ( ie alimony, equitable distribution, etc). The fact that your husband wants to annul your marriage does not mean that you have to agree to it. My suggestion is that you have a consultatoin with a family law specialist to discuss your rights. If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of the partners in Diamond & Diamond, please call Angela at 973-379-9292 to arrange it.

If the $50K was a gift to your wife, you have no right to it. If it was a loan to "both of you", probably. You need to have evidence that the money was a loan or gift to both of you to have any right to it. Good luck

Thank you for your question. Generally speaking, upon divorce a spouse is entitled to half of the “marital coverture” of any retirement plans. This means the income added to the plan from the date of marriage to the date of complaint. Each plan can be a little different in their rules, and pensions are tricky because they are defined benefit plans, not defined contribution plans like 401(k)s. When the tie comes to split any retirement assets, lawyers will consult or engage an actuary. During the negotiation phase of a divorce, parties are allowed to agree that one person gets a larger share of the equity in the home, or some other asset, in exchange for waiving rights to the pension.  You have options, but the best course of action is to consult with an experienced matrimonial attorney, who can advise you based on your unique situation.