New Jersey State Divorce Law:
In order
to file for a divorce in New Jersey, either Spouse must have been a Resident
of the State for at least one year (12 months) before filing the action. The only
exception to the one-year residency requirement is when
the grounds for divorce are for Adultery. In cases of
adultery, the requirement is that at least one spouse must be a
No-Fault Divorce Cause of Action in NJS:
Fault
Divorce Causes of Action (ADIDIAC)
1. Adultery
2. Desertion/Abandonment
4. Deviant
Sexual Conduct
6. Addiction
7. Cruel and Inhuman Treatment
No-Fault
Divorce Cause of Action:
A
No-Fault Divorce is where both the husband and wife must have lived separately
in different houses for a period of at least 18 consecutive months and has
not expectation to reconcile. In
order to qualify for the No-Fault Divorce, there must be a
reasonable expectation of Irreconcilable Differences.
To qualify under this ground of No-Fault Divorce, a
complaint for divorce can now assert the existence of Irreconcilable Differences,
which have caused a breakdown of the marriage for six or more months. No separation requirement, meaning that two
people can now file for divorce under this cause of action if they still live
together. Also it may be appropriate to
allege in certain situations such as when two people have simply grown apart
and wish to end their marriage. However, the couple still wishes to reside
together until the divorce is finalized. This ground for divorce eliminates the need
for spouses to allege wrongdoing on their spouse’s part.
The Legal
Requirements Necessary to File for a No-Fault Divorce for Irreconcilable Differences
Are as Follows:
Fault Divorce Causes of
Action (ADIDIAC):
The courts have held that “adultery exists when one spouse
rejects the other by entering into a personal intimate relationship with any
other person, irrespective of the specific sexual acts performed; the rejection
of the spouse coupled with out-of-marriage intimacy constitutes adultery.” The New Jersey Court Rule requires that the
plaintiff in an adultery divorce case state the name of the person with whom
the offending conduct was committed. This
person is known as the correspondent. If the name is not known, the person who files
must give as much information as possible tending to describe the adulterer. Note: There is no waiting
period.
Desertion is the willful and continuous Abandonment by one
party for a period of 12 or more months. Under this fault divorce cause of action, the
party alleging desertion must satisfactory provide a proof that the parties
have ceased to cohabit as husband and wife for a period of 12 months or more. It does not matter if the parties involved
continue to live in the same house. Also, Desertion
may be claimed after twelve or more months for lack of sexual relations.
Divorce may be claimed base on institutionalization of one
spouse for psychological or mental illness for a period of 12 or more consecutive
months after getting marriage and before filing of the divorce complaint.
However, the primary issue in this institutionalization
ground for divorce is whether or not the institutionalized spouse is able to
function as a working partner in the marriage.
Divorce claim may be based on Deviant Sexual Conduct, which occurs
if the defendant spouse engages in abnormal sexual act without
the consent of the plaintiff spouse.
Divorce may be claimed on the ground of Imprisonment
or incarceration where one spouse had been imprisoned for a period of 18
or more months after the marriage. In
fact, the parties claiming divorce base on imprisonment or incarceration did
not resume cohabitation after the imprisonment.
Divorce may be claimed on the basis of Addiction
to alcoholic beverages or controlled dangerous substances. Addiction
involves a dependence on a narcotic or other controlled, dangerous substance or
a habitual drunkenness to alcoholic beverages for a period of 12 or more
consecutive months immediately before filing the complaint. The party spouse alleging divorce based on
Addiction must provide evidence to show that the use of
alcohol and drugs was persistent and substantial. This is not a common ground for divorce.
Divorce may be claimed on the ground of Cruel and Inhuman Treatment (Extreme
Cruelty) of one spouse by the other.
Cruel and Inhuman treatment or Extreme Cruelty includes any Physical
or Mental Cruelty which makes it unreasonable or improper to expect
that the individual spouses will cohabitate with each other. The courts are very liberal as to what types
of conducts constitute extreme cruelty.