Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey

Equitable distribution - divorce

My husband of 17 years walked out of our marriage on 1/1/00. I later found that he had been having an adulterous affair with a woman from his work & he is now living with her. He confessed to me & our son that he was using cocaine & taking money from our joint accounts to support his habit, although he does not admit to this in court documents. He contributes nothing towards child support (we have one son, age 17 & a court order for child support in force as of 10/00, but nothing has come from it yet) and nothing towards bills from our marital home or joint credit card debt. I have been responsible for paying all of these bills, as well as sole support of our son, for the past year. There is approximately 16,000.00 in equity in our home. I don't want to lose it, although it has been a struggle making the mortgage, and I am actually a few months behind. Can the court make me split up the home with my husband, based on the above? If so, will he at least be held responsible for repayment to me of 1/2 of the past year's expenses I've incurred, and will I really get it?


Asked on 1/08/01, 6:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Beverly Muller Beverly Sharps Muller, Esquire

Re: Equitable distribution - divorce

hi - if you already have a lawyer, you should probably ask her/him your questions. if not, the house is an asset that is usually split 50/50 in a divorce. the child support order can be enforced by a wage execution through the probation dept., if there isn't an order for one already. you should probably get your lawyer to file the complaint for divorce, along with a motion for alimony pendente lite, and contribution to the mortgage, etc. feel free to call me at 609 263-0089, if you have any other questions. good luck !!

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Answered on 1/12/01, 11:41 am


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