Middlesex County Divorce Law Blog

A fashion designer's $2 billion company was tangled in her divorce, which was put in motion five years ago. With the huge amounts of money and other assets floating around, a high-asset divorce filed in New Jersey can prove to be complicated. And that is certainly the case with designer Tory Burch, whose ex-husband was the chairman of her company even after the divorce.

However, that will soon change. Burch enlisted the help of Barclays Capital to sell off one-third of the company. This share of the company is the part that is owned primarily by her ex-husband. The bank will shop the deal around to prospective investors with a hefty press tag that falls in line with the recent $2 billion valuation of the company.

Heading into a New Jersey courtroom to settle a divorce can be challenging. Having the right attorney for the job is a top priority for both parties. People might think bringing aggressive lawyers into the court will yield more results for their bottom line. Others think that being represented by nice lawyers will soften the facts of the case that led to the divorce.

The truth of the matter is that neither of these options will lead the court to believe one way or the other. To get the most out of the settlement process, finding an attorney that is willing to work with you to understand and meet your needs is the most important. Versatility in the court room to adapt to changes in the case is another desirable characteristic.

Following another state's recent overhaul of its alimony system, New Jersey may take similar steps to change the way courts determine and award spousal support. Under the current system, an individual who is undergoing divorce may be ordered to provide his or her spouse with permanent alimony. Detractors of this system say that it unfairly punishes those who wish to end their marriages, turning what could be an easy and peaceful process into a dispute that leaves former spouses as lifelong legal enemies.

An organization called New Jersey Alimony Reform says the goal of the reform is to update what it sees as outdated rules that are still based on the assumption that a husband will provide a family's primary source of income.

Courts in New Jersey and across the country are focusing on the welfare of young children after their parents' divorce. With that, an increasing number of divorcing couples are now required to take divorce education courses before being allowed to separate. The classes aim to provide parents with the knowledge and skills needed to develop optimal parenting plans and to make sure their child's development is not negatively impacted by the divorce.

To make such courses easier to schedule, some courts allow parents to participate in online divorce education programs. While researchers have begun to study the quality of traditional divorce education programs, the effectiveness of their online counterparts is largely unknown.