You may sweepingly assume that if you are appointed the custodial parent in your divorce case, the New Jersey family court will also grant you an alimony award. However, alimony is never automatically guaranteed. Instead, you must do your due diligence in proving to the court that alimony is an appropriate order given your financial background and other key details about your marriage. Rest assured, your attorney will work on your behalf to prove this point of yours. With that being said, please continue reading to learn what information to share with your experienced Bergen County alimony attorney from McNerney & McAuliffe so that you can manage to achieve a fair outcome in your spousal support case.
What financial information should I provide my attorney if I want alimony?
Primarily, when deciding upon an appropriate alimony order, the New Jersey family court will care about how your financial standing compares to that of your soon-to-be former spouse. This is to say that you should provide your attorney with as many relevant financial documents as you can get your hands on. Specific examples of records your attorney may ask you for include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Your recent pay statements, W-2s, or 1099s, and your tax returns from the last two to three years.
- Your separate and joint bank account, investment account, retirement plan, credit card, and personal loan statements.
- A detailed list of your current living expenses (i.e., mortgage, utilities, food, transportation, insurance, healthcare, childcare, education, etc).
- A detailed list of household support and lifestyle choices your spouse mainly funded (i.e., travel, dining, memberships, activity spending, etc).
- An honest account of your current employability or barriers to entering the workforce (i.e., educational degrees, certifications, work experience, etc).
- Notes of your spouse’s financial resources outside their primary wages or salary (i.e., bonuses, commissions, freelance work, investment income, etc).
Should I share details about my spouse’s behavior, misconduct, or financial control?
Besides finances, the New Jersey family court may show concern for the extenuating circumstances that played into your marriage and the ultimate breakdown of your union with your spouse. For example, you may have evidence that your spouse was economically abusive towards you. You may have written communication records of your spouse restricting you from seeking employment or denying your requests for login information for your financial accounts.
Secondly, you may have proof of your spouse’s financial misconduct during your marriage. This may be in the form of bank account statements that show they frequently withdrew significant funds to gamble, for instance. Or, credit card bills may display your spouse’s habit of purchasing excessive luxury goods that they could not reasonably afford. In this same vein, you may have already established your spouse’s affair as your grounds for divorce. Well, you may also have financial records to prove that they significantly supported the party they were seeing.
Please do not hesitate to work together with a skilled Bergen County family law attorney. The team at McNerney & McAuliffe will have your best interests at heart always and will fight for justice to reign in your favor.