Tool · New Jersey

What is actually on the table

New Jersey divides marital property equitably, which is not the same as equally. Before any split makes sense you have to know what is even in the pool — and unlike the split itself, that question has rules. List what you own, and this sorts it.

Step one

What you own

Owned before the marriageInheritance or gift from outside the marriageA gift between the two of youMixed into joint finances, or grew during the marriage

Equitable distribution in New Jersey does not mean half

People arrive at a New Jersey divorce believing everything is split down the middle. That is the rule in community property states. New Jersey is not one. New Jersey divides marital property equitably — fairly in the circumstances, often close to even, sometimes not, and never automatically. Which is why a calculator that returns “50/50” is answering a question New Jersey never asked.

Courts do three things, in order

New Jersey has followed the same three steps since Rothman v. Rothman, 65 N.J. 219 (1974): identify which property is subject to distribution, determine what it is worth, then allocate it equitably. Most arguments that feel like they are about fairness are really stuck on step one — and step one, unlike step three, has rules a piece of software can apply.

What is marital, and what stays exempt

As a general rule, property either spouse acquired during the marriage is subject to equitable distribution regardless of whose name is on it. Property owned before the marriage is generally exempt, and so are gifts and inheritances received from someone outside the marriage.

The exemption is easier to state than to keep. Depositing an inheritance into a joint account, using premarital savings for a down payment on a house you both own, or the growth of a premarital asset that both spouses worked to build are all situations where an exemption can be lost in whole or in part. And one exception catches almost everybody: a gift from one spouse to the other is not exempt. Interspousal gifts are marital property.

The sixteen factors

N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1 lists what a court weighs: the duration of the marriage; the age and health of the parties; what each brought to the marriage; the standard of living established; any written agreement about distribution; each party's economic circumstances when the division takes effect; income and earning capacity, including time out of the job market and custodial responsibilities; contributions to the other's education or earning power; each party's contribution to acquiring, dissipating, preserving or appreciating the marital property, expressly including the contribution of a homemaker; tax consequences; present value; the need of a custodial parent to occupy the marital home; debts and liabilities; the need for a trust fund for medical or educational costs; the extent to which a party deferred career goals; and anything else the court finds relevant. Read that list and the absence of a formula explains itself — several of those are not numbers.

The assets that need a lawyer whatever the totals say

A marital home, a pension or retirement account, a business either of you owns, and anything part premarital and part marital. They fail for the same reason: the divorce judgment does not itself accomplish the transfer. A judgment does not move a deed or refinance a mortgage. Retirement accounts generally need a separate order that the plan administrator has to accept. Business valuation is expert work. And the line between exempt and marital inside one commingled account is exactly the thing a court would want evidence about. An agreement that divides a pension in language a plan rejects is worse than none, because you find out years later.

If your finances are simple, this is mostly writing it down

Two incomes, a car each, a shared account, no house and no pension in play — couples in that position routinely divide things themselves, write it into a settlement agreement, and a court approves it. That is the situation this software is built for, and the distribution section of your agreement is largely a record of what you already decided. If one of the four assets above is on your list, get a New Jersey family lawyer to draft that piece. Not the whole divorce. The piece.

Common questions

Is New Jersey a 50/50 divorce state?

No. New Jersey is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. Marital property is divided equitably — fairly in the circumstances, weighing the sixteen factors at N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1. That is often close to even, but nothing requires an equal split.

Is my inheritance subject to division in a New Jersey divorce?

Generally no, if it came from someone outside the marriage and was kept separate. But commingling it — depositing it into a joint account, or using it for a jointly owned asset — can bring some or all of it into the marital estate.

Is property I owned before the marriage protected in New Jersey?

Generally yes, if it stayed separate. Where a premarital asset was mixed into joint finances or grew during the marriage through both parties' efforts, part or all of it can become subject to equitable distribution, and identifying the separate portion requires tracing.

Does it matter whose name is on the account or title?

Not by itself. Property acquired during the marriage is generally subject to equitable distribution regardless of which spouse's name is on it.

Is a gift from my spouse considered marital property in New Jersey?

Yes. The exemption covers gifts from third parties, not gifts between spouses. An interspousal gift is marital property and goes into the pool.

How is a house or a pension divided in a New Jersey divorce?

Not by the divorce judgment alone. Transferring a home requires a deed and usually a refinance the keeping spouse must qualify for, and dividing a pension or retirement account generally requires a separate order the plan administrator will accept. Both are worth an attorney's drafting even in an otherwise amicable divorce.

Where this comes from

Clear Parting Docs is not a law firm and none of this is legal advice about your case. It is general information about New Jersey practice, with its sources named above so you can check it. Whether any of it applies to your marriage is a question for a New Jersey attorney.