Understanding your options in divorce, custody, support, equitable distribution, and restraining order matters.
Consultations are by appointment and are charged at the firm's consultation rate.
Most people arrive at a family law matter under financial and emotional strain. Naming what you are worried about is a reasonable place to begin.
Property division, support, and custody are all decided under New Jersey statutes and court rules. What those provisions say matters more than what either party thinks is fair.
Litigation is sometimes necessary. Mediation and the collaborative process resolve many matters privately, and often at lower cost.
In any custody or parenting time dispute, New Jersey courts apply the best interests of the child standard.
Understanding the statutory factors that apply to your situation, and gathering the financial information the court requires, changes what is realistically available to you.
The Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. has represented clients in family law matters since 1997. The firm is admitted in five jurisdictions: New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Client communications are handled in English and Spanish.
A family law matter is rarely only a legal problem. Questions about where the children will live, whether the house can be kept, and what the household budget looks like afterward tend to arrive all at once. The firm's role is to explain how New Jersey law applies to those questions and to advocate for the client's position as the matter proceeds.
The firm handles both uncontested matters that resolve by agreement and contested matters that require discovery, motion practice, and trial.
New Jersey recognizes both no-fault and fault grounds. The no-fault grounds are irreconcilable differences lasting at least six months and separation of at least eighteen consecutive months. Fault grounds remain available. The firm handles uncontested divorce, contested divorce involving significant assets, and dissolution for same-sex couples.
New Jersey distinguishes legal custody from physical custody. Courts decide both under the best interests of the child standard, weighing statutory factors that include the parents' ability to agree and communicate, any history of domestic violence, the child's needs, and the stability of each home. The firm handles parenting time schedules, relocation applications, and modification of existing custody orders.
Child support in New Jersey is calculated under the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines, which apply an income shares model. The Guidelines operate as a rebuttable presumption, and a court may deviate where applying them would be inappropriate. The firm handles establishment, modification, and enforcement, including disputes over imputed income, overnight parenting time credits, work-related child care, and contribution to college costs.
New Jersey recognizes open durational, limited duration, rehabilitative, and reimbursement alimony. Following the 2014 statutory amendments, for marriages of less than twenty years the duration of alimony generally may not exceed the length of the marriage, absent exceptional circumstances. Awards are governed by statutory factors rather than a formula.
New Jersey is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. Marital property is divided in a manner the court finds equitable, which does not mean equally. The court weighs statutory factors including the length of the marriage, the standard of living established during it, the economic circumstances of each party, and each party's contribution to acquiring marital assets. Identifying which assets are marital and which are exempt is often where the substantive work sits, particularly with business interests, retirement accounts, and property owned before the marriage.
Restraining orders in New Jersey are governed by the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. A temporary restraining order may issue on an ex parte basis, with a final restraining order hearing scheduled shortly afterward. A final restraining order in New Jersey does not expire on its own. The firm represents both applicants and respondents. Both sides are entitled to counsel at the final hearing, and the consequences of a final order reach beyond the family case.
Many families resolve their matters outside a courtroom. In mediation, a neutral third party assists the parties in negotiating an agreement, and each party may be advised by their own attorney throughout. In the collaborative process, both parties and their attorneys agree in writing to resolve all issues without litigation.
Premarital agreements in New Jersey must be in writing, must have a statement of assets and liabilities attached, and require that each party have the opportunity to obtain independent counsel. Mid-marriage agreements are evaluated under a different and more demanding standard. The firm drafts and reviews both.
Family matters in New Jersey are heard in the Family Part of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court, in the county vicinage where the parties reside. There is no jury in the Family Part.
One party files a Complaint for Divorce or other family law complaint with the court, and the other party is served.
The party served files an Answer or a Counterclaim within the period set by the court rules.
The court holds a case management conference and issues an order setting deadlines, including for discovery.
The parties exchange Case Information Statements, tax returns, bank records, and other relevant documents. In contested matters this is where valuations, income analysis, and custody evaluations are developed.
In most divorce matters, the parties present the economic issues to a panel of neutral family law attorneys, who provide a non-binding settlement recommendation.
Where the matter does not resolve at the panel, courts commonly order economic mediation. Custody and parenting time mediation runs on a separate track.
Where settlement efforts do not resolve the matter, a judge hears testimony, reviews the evidence, and enters a decision.
Timelines vary by vicinage, by the complexity of the assets and custody issues, and by how much the parties agree on. Nothing on this page predicts the timing or the result in any particular matter.
The first step is a confidential discussion of the facts, the client's circumstances, and what the client is trying to achieve.
The firm sets out the avenues available under New Jersey law, with the considerations for and against negotiation, mediation, and litigation in the client's particular situation, so the client can make an informed decision.
Once a direction is chosen, the firm advances the client's position, whether in negotiation, in mediation, or before the court.
Owner and Founder · Former Prosecutor
Mr. Sris has practiced since 1997 and appears in family and criminal matters across the five jurisdictions in which he is admitted. Before entering private practice, he served as a prosecutor. That background is relevant to family matters carrying parallel criminal exposure, including restraining order proceedings and enforcement applications.
A neutral third party assists the parties in reaching an agreement. Mediation is confidential, and it is frequently faster and less costly than litigation. Each party may retain their own attorney for advice during the process.
Both parties and their attorneys agree in writing to resolve all issues without going to court. The approach uses a team structure and depends on full disclosure by both sides.
Where the matter cannot be resolved by agreement, litigation places the disputed issues before a judge, who enters a binding decision. The firm's attorneys try family matters when a case does not settle.
The firm discusses fees openly at the outset. Consultations are by appointment and are charged at the firm's consultation rate; the Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. does not offer free consultations. Fee arrangements for representation are set out in a written retainer agreement before work begins.
An attorney's role frequently involves de-escalating a dispute and finding an efficient route to resolution. Retaining counsel does not commit a party to litigation.
An undefined separation can be harder on children than a structured process that produces a clear and predictable arrangement between two households.
Deadlines in family matters are set by court rule and by the court's own scheduling orders. Understanding which deadlines apply to your situation is part of the initial assessment.
The matter begins with a Complaint for Divorce filed in the Family Part of the Superior Court in the county where you or your spouse resides. The complaint states the ground for divorce. Irreconcilable differences is the most common no-fault ground in New Jersey.
No. Irreconcilable differences lasting at least six months is a no-fault ground. Fault grounds remain available and are sometimes pleaded for strategic reasons, but they are not required.
No. New Jersey applies equitable distribution, which means the court divides marital property in the manner it finds equitable under the statutory factors. That may or may not be an equal split.
It depends on the ground pleaded, the county vicinage, the volume of discovery, and whether custody is contested. An uncontested matter with a signed agreement moves considerably faster than a contested matter with valuation issues. No page can give a reliable estimate for a particular matter.
Under the best interests of the child standard. A judge weighs statutory factors including the parents' ability to agree and communicate, any history of domestic violence, the child's needs, and the stability of each parent's home.
No single age gives a child the decision. Where a child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent decision, the court may consider that preference as one of several best interests factors.
Both parties may present testimony and evidence, and both may be represented by counsel. The court determines whether a predicate act of domestic violence occurred and whether an order is necessary for the protection of the applicant. A final restraining order in New Jersey does not expire on its own.
Yes. The Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. does not offer free consultations. Consultations are by appointment and are charged at the firm's consultation rate, which is provided when you call.
Contact the Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. to discuss your situation with a New Jersey attorney.
From its New Jersey location, the Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. provides statewide family law representation in New Jersey. The firm accepts matters in the counties and cities below.
