Bergen County Family Law Blog

When most people hear the word alimony, they think of a man being ordered to support his ex-wife after their marriage ends. But the truth is, a family court judge can award alimony or spousal maintenance to either party as part of a divorce in New Jersey and the rest of the country.

In fact, a new survey of divorce attorneys reveals that more women are being ordered to pay their ex-husbands alimony and child support than ever before.

The survey was conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, which is a national group made up of about 1,600 family law attorneys. Of the attorneys polled, 56 percent said that they had noticed an increase in mothers paying child support to their exes over the past three years. Another 47 percent said that they had noticed more women paying alimony to their ex-husbands.

Most of us have either gone through a divorce or are close to someone who has. Even so, it can be hard to know what to say or do for someone who is seeing their marriage come to an end. That is why the Huffington Post recently published an article with tips on providing support to someone you care about who is going through a divorce.

1. Listen. The article said that lending an ear is often the most helpful thing to do for a person who is going through a divorce. Allowing your friend or relative to vent without making judgments will be greatly appreciated and can loosen the emotional strain of a divorce. The article also said not to worry about giving advice, merely listening is enough.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has asked the court to speed up her divorce from New Jersey Nets player Kris Humphries. Last week, Kardashian's attorney told the judge presiding over the case that her client would like to move forward with the divorce but Humphries is dragging his feet.

Humphries has made it clear that he would rather pursue an annulment. The difference between a divorce and an annulment is that a divorce ends the marriage while an annulment establishes that the marriage never existed in the first place. An annulment also requires proof that the marriage was entered into based on fraud.

Getting a divorce? Who gets custody of the beloved family pet? If that's a question that you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse are struggling to answer, you might want to ask your divorce attorney about seeking the help of a pet mediator.

The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article about this small but growing industry. Reportedly, more and more pet owners are hiring such mediators during divorce proceedings to help determine the new living arrangements for their dogs, cats and other pets.

According to a national survey, police are responding to more calls for domestic violence as a result of the poor economy. The Police Executive Research Forum discovered that 56 percent of the 700 police departments surveyed reported that the poor economy is resulting in more instances of domestic conflict. The research is part of examination into how law enforcement is being affected by the recession.

Police in the city of Camden, New Jersey, responded to 9,100 calls relating to domestic violence in 2011, which was up from 7,500 calls the year before. The city has an unemployment rate of 19 percent, one of the highest in the nation, and the police chief said that there's no doubt the economy has created turmoil in homes.

Many people in New Jersey have developed an online presence through social media websites and platforms. Between Facebook, Twitter, Friendster and others, there are a multitude of ways a person can interact with existing friends and even make new ones.

But when marriages turn sour and lead to divorce, social media can take an ill-fated turn toward becoming a liability for those who use it. With so much personal information divulged on these sites, more and more divorce attorneys are turning to social media to dig up information and build cases against their clients' ex-spouses.

Going through a divorce can be very difficult, both emotionally and financially speaking. Before reaching a settlement agreement, an individual might find it hard to scrape up enough money to pay the mortgage, attorney fees and other expenses that pile up during a divorce.

However, as a recent article from the Huffington Post pointed out, there are several steps individuals in New Jersey and elsewhere can take to stay on the right track financially while their divorce is in progress. Here are several of the steps:

Supporters of the Violence Against Women Act in New Jersey and elsewhere are hoping that a Senate debate can spur elected officials to reauthorize the legislation. The Act has been reauthorized twice before after first being adopted into law in 1994.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the reauthorization of the bill in February, and the Senate debate is expected to begin this week. The goal of the Violence Against Women Act is to encourage reporting and prosecution of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.