New Jersey Divorce & Family Law Attorney
Comprehensive Divorce & Family Law Services in New Jersey
Divorce and family disputes can be overwhelming and highly emotional. As New Jersey family law attorneys, we provide clear guidance, strategic planning, and focused representation in every stage of the Family Court process. Whether your case involves divorce, custody, support, or domestic violence, our goal is to protect your rights and help you move forward with clarity and stability.
Family matters require steady judgment and a clear plan. We explain your legal options, outline realistic outcomes, and create a strategy tailored to your priorities; whether that involves negotiation, mediation, or litigation. Our firm combines experience with a practical, results-driven approach.
Family Law Matters We Handle
Divorce
Divorce is one of the most demanding legal processes a family can experience, particularly when children are involved. Our firm provides steady, strategic guidance through every stage of a New Jersey divorce—from filing or responding to a Complaint for Divorce, to negotiating settlements, to preparing for court when litigation becomes necessary. We handle all core issues of a NJ divorce, including equitable distribution of assets and debts, custody and parenting time, child support, alimony, and separation-related planning.
If you’re considering divorce or have already been served with papers, acting promptly is essential. New Jersey’s procedural deadlines and financial disclosure requirements directly affect your rights and long-term outcomes. Our focus is to protect your interests, simplify the process wherever possible, and move your case forward with clarity, structure, and purpose.
Child Support
New Jersey law requires both parents to contribute to their child’s financial needs, and child support ensures that children receive consistent resources for housing, food, clothing, medical care, education, and everyday expenses. Our firm assists parents in all aspects of child support matters, whether you are seeking to establish support, modify an existing order, enforce payments, or address support issues connected to custody and parenting-time changes.
We represent both custodial and non-custodial parents in child support disputes, including cases involving the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines, imputed income, special-needs considerations, college contribution, arrears, and paternity matters. Our approach is strategic, detail-driven, and focused on ensuring that child support orders are fair, accurate, and aligned with your child’s best interests.
Child Custody and Parental Time
Child custody and parenting-time matters in New Jersey require a clear strategy and a strong understanding of state law. When parents separate, the court must determine how legal custody, residential custody, and parenting-time schedules will work in a way that protects the child’s stability.
We assist New Jersey parents with initial custody determinations, modification applications, parenting-time disputes, enforcement actions, and cases involving interference with custody. Whether you are seeking joint legal custody, sole legal custody, or need a structured parenting-time plan, I provide guidance grounded in New Jersey custody standards and the best-interests-of-the-child factors.
Alimony/ Spousal Support
This support is paid for the benefit of the former spouse. In New Jersey, the purpose of alimony or spousal support is to allow the divorcing couple to maintain a lifestyle as close to as possible to the type of lifestyle they had during the marriage. New Jersey statutes provide for different types of alimony to be awarded:
- Limited duration Alimony: provides for an alimony award for a certain predetermined amount of time.
- Rehabilitative Alimony: is meant to allow the lower income spouse time to reestablish them financially. For example, it can be paid so that the spouse may either obtain job training, an education or job experience or become more self-sufficient, or to a mother of small children for a period until children attend school.
- Reimbursement Alimony: is again a limited duration or lump sum alimony award meant to reimburse the former spouse for expenses they incurred during the marriage. This type of alimony would be applicable in a case where one spouse worked to put the other spouse through school.
- Permanent Alimony: Until September of 2014, New Jersey allowed permanent alimony. Permanent alimony has been replaced with “Open Duration Alimony” which allows the paying spouse more leeway in changing amount and duration based on certain circumstances.
Divorce Mediation
When considering divorce, it is important to understand the many options available in resolving your matter. Litigation is not always right for everyone. In entering divorce mediation, the parties voluntarily agree to meet with a neutral third party to help them reach a resolution in their divorce. This process is voluntary and confidential. The mediator does not make decisions for you but instead facilitates proper communication between you and your spouse to aid in the resolution process. Unlike litigation, the final decisions are made by you and your spouse. This process is often less stressful and more cost-effective than traditional litigation.
Our office provides different types of mediation packages to suit your needs. For more information about our mediation services contact our office.
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a serious crime in our society. To combat this ongoing problem, the Legislature has enacted The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 1991. The Act provides for two forms of relief to a victim of domestic violence, first in the form of civil relief, which is obtaining a restraining order, and secondly in the form of criminal relief, which allows a victim to file criminal complaints against the batterer. If you are a victim of domestic violence or have been accused of domestic violence our office can help you.
Post-Judgment Modifications & Enforcement
After
- Modification of Child Support.
- Change of Custody/ Parenting Time.
- Emancipation Actions.
- Modification of Alimony.
- Enforcement Actions.
Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Aggrements
- Prenuptial Agreement: For unmarried couples that want to protect their assets, finances and marital obligations.
- Postnuptial Agreements: For married couples, a postnuptial agreement can be useful in situations where there is a significant change in the marriage.
- Domestic Partnership Agreements: If you are planning to live together but not get married and meet certain requirements a domestic partnership agreement can help you protect your interest.
Office Locations
Our Attorneys
Fabiola Ruiz-Doolan, Esquire
Managing Attorney
Marina Ginzburg, Esquire
Senior Attorney