Before You Can File At All
To use New Jersey's divorce law, at least one of you has to have lived in New Jersey for a year before the Complaint is filed.
The Complaint also has to state the grounds, which is the legal reason the marriage is ending. In practice these are almost always filed as irreconcilable differences, which does not require blaming anyone.
The Forms The Court Needs
Complaint for Divorce. The document that starts the case. It is filed in the county where you or your spouse lives. It names the grounds and says what you are asking the court for: alimony, child support, custody, a division of the property.
Summons. The formal notice served on your spouse. It tells them how long they have to respond.
Certification of Insurance Coverage. A list of every insurance policy in your name, including health, life, auto and homeowners.
Confidential Litigant Information Sheet. Personal details for the court's own use. It is not shared with your spouse.
Family Part Case Information Statement. The big one. A sworn statement of your income, your monthly expenses, your assets and your debts. Almost every money decision in the case gets argued off this document, so it is worth the time it takes to get it right.
Identity And Marriage Records
- Your driver's license or other photo identification
- Your marriage license and marriage certificate
- Any judgment from an earlier divorce
- Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
- Birth certificates for the children
Income And Employment
Support and alimony are both built on income, so this is the part that gets looked at hardest.
- Your last several pay stubs
- Tax returns for the past three years, with all schedules
- W-2s and any 1099s
- Income statements for any business you own or own part of
- Records of bonuses, commission, stock grants and deferred pay
- Anything showing benefits your employer provides
Accounts And Debts
- Bank statements, checking and savings
- Credit card statements
- Retirement accounts: pensions, 401(k)s, IRAs
- Brokerage and other investment accounts
- Loan statements, including car loans and student loans
- Life insurance policies with a cash value
Debt matters as much as money in the bank. Debt run up during the marriage is usually treated as marital debt, whichever name it sits in.
Property And Real Estate
- The deed to any property you own
- Mortgage statements and home equity lines
- Property tax bills
- Any appraisal you already have
- Titles to vehicles and boats
- Records for anything of real value, such as art or jewelry
Proving What Was Never Marital
New Jersey divides marital property by equitable distribution. Broadly, what either of you got during the marriage is marital, whoever's name is on it. What you owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or an inheritance, usually is not.
The catch is that you have to be able to prove it. That means the paper showing when the asset was acquired and where the money came from: the statement from the month before the wedding, the closing paperwork, the inheritance records.
An asset you cannot trace tends to get treated as marital. Old statements are the cheapest protection you will ever buy, so pull them while you still have access to the accounts.
If Children Are Involved
- What childcare costs, and who pays it
- Health insurance for the children and the premium
- Medical costs not covered by insurance
- School and tuition costs
- Activities, sports, camps and lessons
- Any existing custody or support order
A Practical Word
Gather what you can now, while things are calm. Once a case is filed, access to shared accounts can get complicated, and rebuilding records afterwards is slow and costs money.
Take copies, keep them somewhere only you can reach, and do not worry about having every last item before your first meeting. Come with what you have. The gaps can be filled in.
One thing to be clear about: gathering your own records is sensible. Taking your spouse's private files, or getting into their email or their phone, is not, and it can do real damage to your case.