How is marital fault considered in a New Jersey divorce case?
In the New Jersey courts marital fault such as adultery is not relevant when it comes to dividing up the marital assets. However, any type of economic misconduct, such as hiding assets is treated much more seriously by the family courts. The most common type of economic misconduct is the dissipation or the wasting of marital assets. The family courts only consider marital misconduct only when it has significant economic impact on the marital estate. For example, the adulterous conduct of a husband may be irrelevant to a divorce case. However, if marital funds were squandered at the Borgata casino by a cheating husband with his girlfriend then this factor may certainly be considered by the court. In New Jersey the black letter law is that marital misconduct, such as adultery, should not be considered when determining the equitable distribution of marital property. However, the New Jersey courts now seem to be moving in the direction that marital fault should be considered “if and only i
