Getting divorced can be expensive. Here are some tips on how to keep costs down and budget accordingly.
As a New Jersey divorce lawyer, I get that question a lot. While some expenses are straightforward (e.g., the fee to file your complaint with the court, an attorney’s hourly rate), predicting the total cost of a divorce often depends on five key factors.
Just because you’re getting a divorce, it doesn’t necessarily mean you both can’t communicate about the terms of your separation. In some cases, litigation in court can’t be avoided. However, the vast majority are resolved by the settlement agreement. The more you and your spouse can resolve issues amicably, the less you’ll spend on legal fees and court costs. If you can put your emotions aside and be open to compromise, you’re already ahead of the game!
Based on my personal experience, the average hourly rate of a matrimonial attorney typically ranges from $200 to $500, depending on location and experience. Most attorneys will request a retainer upfront; its amount is usually based on the attorney’s hourly rate, the number of hours the attorney anticipates he or she will spend on your case, and any potential costs paid from the retainer. Once the retainer is exhausted, you may be expected to pay an additional “replenishment” retainer. Prior to representing you, your attorney should provide a fee agreement outlining what expenses will be paid from your retainer and what you can expect to be billed for. Before you sign the dotted line, however, ask your attorney:
Instead of hiring separate counsel, some couples choose to use one mediator to resolve their disputes. Divorce mediation can be an excellent alternative to conventional litigation; however, keep in mind that a mediator is not your attorney, and he or she cannot advocate for you. Also, in New Jersey, a mediator cannot prepare or file the paperwork needed to actually complete your divorce, so you will likely still need to retain a separate attorney. That being said, if you can settle your case in mediation and then retain an attorney to review and finalize the paperwork, it may still be more cost effective than the traditional divorce process.
In addition to court costs, mediation costs, and attorneys’ fees, resolving your case may require expert opinions.
Believe it or not, many people stay married because the cost of a divorce is simply too prohibitive. The majority of couples are contributing two incomes to one household. Presumably, once divorced, you and your spouse will have the same amount of income coming in, with two roofs to support. Maintaining the same lifestyle you once enjoyed as a married couple may not be possible. Someone may have to get a second job to increase income or you both may have to downsize to reduce expenses.
If a divorce is in your future, you should certainly discuss all possible costs and expenses with your spouse and a qualified New Jersey family law attorney before starting the process. In the majority of cases, if you’re willing to compromise and take your emotions out of the equation, the better off you will be financially.
This post is not legal advice and does not create a confidential attorney-client relationship. It is being offered for informational purposes only.
If you or a loved one is contemplating getting a divorce in New Jersey, contact our office to schedule a consultation with Kristin Capalbo or a member of her team..
Deciding whether you should get a divorce is very personal and emotional. If you think a divorce may be in your future, it’s important to educate yourself before starting the process. Any choices you make today can have significant financial implications for your (and your family’s) future, and require careful consideration and expert advice.
Of course, you’ll have many questions: Should you move out of your home or ask your spouse to leave? Should you start to separate your finances or keep depositing your paycheck into your joint account? Should you have a trial separation or file in court right away? If children are involved, when do you tell them and what do you say? Are you allowed to move out of state or are you stuck living near your spouse forever?
Don’t panic! Before you let your spouse know that a divorce is on the horizon, it’s wise to get your questions answered and come up with a game plan for moving forward.
It’s important that you actually meet with an New Jersey divorce attorney who specializes in matrimonial law, as opposed to trusting information you find on the Internet.
While divorce websites can be helpful, unfortunately they don’t always get the law right. For example, in some states there is a mandatory separation period before you can file for divorce, while in New Jersey there is not. Yet, I just did a quick Internet search on the separation requirements in New Jersey, and the first three websites completely misstated the law. Think of it this way: If you were suffering from a medical condition, you could research your symptoms online, but this wouldn’t replace a doctor’s examination and diagnosis. Similarly, searching for answers to your legal questions online will not replace having an experienced divorce lawyer analyze the facts of your particular case.
In addition to meeting with a family law attorney, you may also want to meet with other professionals to assist you in the divorce process.
I am a lawyer, but not a tax expert. When you get divorced, there can be many tax implications involved. Who will claim the children on next year’s tax returns (and the daycare or college costs that will go with them)? How will your net income change if you are filing single instead of married? If you sell the house (or one spouse keeps the house) and you no longer have a mortgage and property tax deduction, how will this impact your bottom line? Accountants can help answer these questions so you can make informed decisions throughout the divorce process.
In a divorce, you sometimes have to confide in your attorney about very personal and private topics that you may have not even shared with your closest family members or friends. But your lawyer is not your friend. Your lawyer is there to guide you through the legal aspects of your divorce, not the emotional challenges you (and your children) may be facing. Having a therapist can help you through this often-difficult transition.
The process of getting a divorce in New Jersey does not have to be as overwhelming as it seems. With a cool head and proper planning, it can be approached like any major milestone. And once the process is complete, you can move forward toward reaching your goals and building the life you want.
If you or a loved one is contemplating getting a divorce in New Jersey, contact our office to schedule a consultation with Kristin Capalbo or a member of her team.
This post is not legal advice and does not create a confidential attorney-client relationship. It is being offered for informational purposes only.
White collar crime is not victimless, and there are severe and serious consequences for these actions. If you find yourself implicated in white collar crime in federal or state court in New Jersey, you need an attorney, quickly.
Stepping away from glitzy Hollywood renditions of swindling stockbrokers, there are many more everyday, common events where white collar crimes occur.
At its most basic, white collar crime is criminal activity involving fraud, finance, business, professionals or government, aimed at gaining access to money, assets or other entitlements that are not legally theirs. Fraud is an example of white collar crime. Fraud charges can include mortgage fraud, official misconduct, corruption, health care fraud, Medicaid fraud, election or voter fraud, check or wire fraud, cyberfraud or computer fraud, fraud in trading, as well as outright forgery.
White collar crime is also carried out through falsifying financial information, using insider access to trade, laundering money to conceal its illegal roots, and embezzlement. It may include wage theft, tax evasion, copyright infringement, bribery, illegal schemes like the Ponzi setup, and identity theft. These types of cases can lead to investigation or charges for criminal or civil racketeering, also known as RICO, and conspiracy.
White collar crime, is, in fact, a big deal.
Punishment for white collar crime can be any combination of prison, probation, paying fines and restitution, and performing community service. You may find yourself paying for the cost of prosecution, forfeiting the gains of the crime, and heading off to prison or stuck under house arrest.
Your freedom and financial future are on the line. If you are charged or convicted, your assets may be seized, impacting yourself and your family. It’s not just the related assets stemming directly from the crime, to be clear — if you are ordered to pay restitution, you may find your personal and familial property seized, or liens placed on future paychecks, to fulfill that obligation. Your vehicles and even your home may be at jeopardy.
White collar crime can lead to not only criminal convictions, but civil repercussions as well. Following the criminal process, those convicted of white collar crime can face civil lawsuits from the government, the victims of the crime, or both. It adds to the overall penalties brought forward from the criminal side of things, and only adds to the financial and reputation ruin.
Allegations of white collar crime can ruin your reputation and put a black mark on you and your company throughout the business world. A white collar crime allegation or charge can cause your business to suffer, and effect your family and your entire way of life as you know it. The sooner you can work to defend yourself, the better.
Whether you are suspecting you will be under investigation, are actively under investigation, or have been charged with white collar crime, it’s vital to your future to secure legal counsel to protect your rights.
Our team at Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski has experience handling white collar crime cases in federal court and state court. We treat you with respect during this stressful time, working to understand your perspective and your desires while putting together a cost-conscious, effective legal strategy. We get to work immediately to try to resolve the charges before the matter gets out of hand, but we are willing to pursue litigation as needed, as well as work to find alternative resolutions where practicable so your matter can be dealt with efficiently.
Our skilled attorneys are former prosecutors and government lawyers who seek and challenge evidence, pore over documentation including search and seizure warrants and records obtained, ensure that your rights were preserved and continue to uphold them, and find the areas of weakness in the government’s case. We maintain an informed, realistic, and, perhaps most importantly, transparent evaluation of each case with the client in question, so you will never feel like you don’t know what’s coming next. When you trust our team with your defense, you become part of our team.
If you need a New Jersey criminal defense attorney, Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski can assist you. Please contact Brandon D. Minde, a certified criminal trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court, Chair-elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association Criminal Practice Section, and Chair of the firm’s New Jersey Criminal Defense Practice Group. You can call Mr. Minde at (908) 272-0200 or submit our contact form for any inquiries.
If it wasn’t for good forehand on the tennis court, Bill Wertheimer may never have become a distinguished trial attorney and a consummate trial judge. He had gone through Lafayette College in the early 1960’s as a member of the tennis team and an ROTC Candidate. Rather than immediately fulfilling his obligation to serve after college, he took a three year deferment to attend George Washington University School of Law. Upon graduation, he went into active duty status and was assigned to a Mechanized Infantry Division in Germany as a First Lieutenant. Some months later, he interviewed for another infantry position with the European Command Headquarters. The officer interviewing him was an inveterate tennis player, and Bill got the job so the officer could have a doubles partner. This led to a transfer stateside to Fort Dix where he was able to finally put his legal training to use, as he was assigned as Chief Trial Counsel at “Courts and Boards.” Finally, in 1968, young Lieutenant William L’Estrange Wertheimer made his courtroom debut, prosecuting a soldier for willfully disobeying a command given by a superior. Asked whether he won his first case, Bill responds, in true Wertheimer fashion: “I was a prosecutor in the military. Of course I won.” The soldier did six months in the stockade and a trial attorney was born. Interestingly, in the course of his year and a half in Courts and Boards he also came in contact with a JAG officer and future colleague, Ross Anzaldi.
Wertheimer completed his required service and was discharged in 1969, becoming a clerk in the law firm of Lum, Biunno and Tompkins. Working for the Lum firm he was quickly thrown into the “Upper Court” as it was then known, trying Products Liability, Professional Malpractice as well as the occasional plaintiff’s case. One of the largest clients was the railroad companies and it became a specialty for Bill. A tireless worker, Bill was known as a ‘work hard play hard’ guy, and quickly rose through the ranks at his law firm, eventually becoming partner in 1976.
The year 1973 was a momentous time for the nation and for Bill Wertheimer. Spiro Agnew resigned, the Watergate scandal raged, the United States Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, Billy Jean King was the best tennis player in the world, Secretariat won the Triple Crown, and Bill Wertheimer was set up on a blind date with Kate Lynch. The two fell in love and married. Nearly forty years later, they are still happily married with two grown sons, each of whom also married an Irish girl named Kate, and two adorable grandchildren. Like all grandchildren should be, they are the ‘apple of Bill’s eyes.’
Getting married and having children did not slow Bill Wertheimer down as a litigator. He was constantly in court trying cases. One day in 1984 he was trying a case in Union County when Assignment Judge William Di Buono called him into chambers. Judge Di Buono wanted to know if Bill would consider a career on the bench. There were seven vacancies, and although Wertheimer wasn’t politically active, they were trying to put together a package. After discussing it with Kate, he agreed to be considered. Some months later he was approved, and came on the bench, along with Judges John Pisansky, Jack Boyle, James Walsh, Miriam Span, Walter Barisonek, and Albert Lechner. Twenty-Seven years later, he was the last of that illustrious group to retire.
In 27 years on the bench, Judge Wertheimer served with distinction in the Civil and Criminal Divisions. He was Presiding Judge of both, and did a short stint in the Appellate Division. He was in the Appellate Division for three months, and hated it, before asking to come back. He found the Appellate Division too ‘monastic’ in his words. Truth be told, he belonged where he was always happiest, in the courtroom.
The Honorable William L’E. Wertheimer was the consummate trial judge. He was always in charge of his courtroom. Having been a trial attorney, he was now a trial attorney’s judge. He believed strongly in letting attorneys try their cases. His feeling was that there was usually a good reason why an attorney did or did not ask a question, and he wasn’t going to interfere with their trial strategy by asking his own questions. He let them do their jobs. When attorneys were arguing motions, he would probe them to find the strengths and weaknesses of their positions, but he was careful not to embarrass them. He would go out of his way to attempt to make everyone comfortable, many times by using humor. That humor was most often directed at himself. Judge Wertheimer could sometimes give an attorney the ‘business’ but he was just as happy being on the receiving end. He was big enough, man enough and Judge enough not to be offended by anything offered in a good natured way.
Perhaps the thing people know the least about Judge Wertheimer is how selfless he is. The truth is that he had his time in and could have retired years before he did this past February. However, as most readers of this article know, we are in the midst of a critical shortage of Judges here in Union County. Judge Wertheimer could have retired and started his post-retirement practice, but refused to turn his back on his Assignment Judges and his colleagues by leaving the bench shorthanded. He thus hung in there until his mandatory retirement at age 70.
Having retired, Judge Wertheimer has joined the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski where he will focus on mediation and arbitration, and be available as a discovery master. He will also have more time to spend with his grandchildren and Kate. Alas, time has taken its toll on his right shoulder, so that magnificent forehand that spurred his career is no longer on display at the Westfield Tennis Club. Speaking for all of his colleagues as well as the many trial attorneys who had the honor of appearing before him, he is and will continue to be sorely missed.
