Our Goals

There are two primary goals of New Jersey Alimony Reform - to achieve our legislative objectives by reforming the current, outdated almony laws, and to educate the public and bring awareness to this cause.

Legislative Objectives

Amend New Jersey's alimony laws so that judges have clear guidelines to:

• Support self-sufficiency and independence for the lower-earning spouse through alimony payments that continue over a transition period that is proportional to the length of the marriage. Read More

  We believe, very simply, New Jersey should encourage independence for divorcing couples. Alimony must serve as a transition to independence, not an “Award” and certainly not a lifetime entitlement - for one spouse never to have to work again.
  
  The objective of alimony should be to allow each party of the divorce to move-on with independent and productive lives.

• Alimony must be proportional to the length of the marrage. Why should anyone be forced to pay 50 or more years of lifetime alimony after having been married for just 10 years?
• Limit the amount of alimony awards. We believe there should be a reasonable limit, reasonable to both parties. Read More

  We believe there should be a reasonable limit to the amount of alimony awards. Reasonable to both parties.  Currently, alimony awarded by judges is haphazard and inconsistent across NJ. As a result, mediation on alimony between divorcing spouses is much more akin to legalized coercion than it is good faith negotiation. The outcome is increased litigation at the dire expense to both spouses; and a tremendous waste of the court system and judges - paid for by all New Jersey taxpayers.

• Current alimony payers should be considered in any new legislation. Read More

  Alimony Reform Legislation must be considered a change of circumstance so current alimony payers can modify their existing alimony arrangements. This will promote fair modifications for current alimony payers under the terms of any new legislation.

• Abolish"Double Dipping" - maritial assets must be counted once and only once. Read More

  If a retirement asset is equally split in a divorce, that asset must not be used additionally to pay alimony in retirement, or after job loss, or reduction in income. If alimony is paid the recipient must be viewed as having received their fair share of it. What remains for the payer, the savings and capital gains derived from THEIR income, must not be used to calculate the ability to pay alimony in retirement, or as a result of job loss, or income reduction.
  
  Although double-dipping is currently prohibited in the alimony statutes, judges routinely ignore it when ruling on alimony modifications.

• Grant the right to retire for alimony payers - no less than the same rights enjoyed by all other citizens. Read More

  We believe the laws should Grant alimony payers the right to retire. All citizens who have worked hard all of their lives and have saved their money, should enjoy a well-deserved right to retire in their old age. Why should alimony payers be stripped of this right simply for having been party to a failed marriage? Why should alimony recipients have their retirement guaranteed by “Free Income for Life” alimony, and not have the responsibility of saving for retirement just like everyone else?

• Provide equal and consistent treatment, where the outcome of an alimony case is not decided by the haphazard selection of the family court judge. Read More

  The current system, based on vague guidelines and the discretion of divorce judges, produces widely different and grossly inconsistent results across the State. Why should the outcome of divorce be like a game of Russian roulette? 

• Reduce expensive legal battles that cost all NJ taxpayers. Vague alimony guidelines and interpretations promote litigation and use court resources that are paid for by all New Jersey taxpayers.
• Maintain appropriate judicial discretion to fairly judge unique circumstances where the lower-earning spouse is physically or mentally unable to work to gain self-sufficiency, permitting alimony payments only until no longer needed. Read More

  We believe judges should have some power to make fair decisions in unusual circumstances where deviation from our proposed reform law is warranted.  But we also believe there should be the possibility for review of the process of these decisions - by a panel of judge’s or by a jury of peers.

Our Strategy

We aim to educate legislators to the injustice of current alimony laws and the real need to change them. We aim to raise public awareness of the injustices taking place in family court.

Three approaches will be used to achieve our goals.

1. Interact directly with legislators in one-one-one discussions,
2. Utilize the electronic, paper, and radio media to tell our story.
3. To recruit a large grassroots effort that will convince legislators that their voting constituents want reform of alimony laws.