New Jersey Lawyer & Attorney : Stark & Stark Law Firm : New Jersey Law Blog

There is no such thing as a right to equitable distribution of property during the dissolution of a domestic partnership. This right only accrues to individuals who have entered into marriage or a civil union. However, as dissolution of domestic partnerships occur in the Chancery Court, equitable principles are applied and joint property or property to which both parties contributed during the partnership, may be subject to partition, i.e., division. 

 

This issue was upheld on appeal in June 2008, wherein The Honorable John Tomasello, J.S.C. in Gloucester County, New Jersey awarded the division of a summer home the domestic partners had shared. The Order specified that interest in a house constituted the division of assets based upon equitable principles, and was not equitable distribution of property. 

 

If the partners in the foregoing matter had converted their partnership to a civil union upon enactment of same in New Jersey, equitable distribution of property could have been properly directed as this is one of the many rights and privileges from which civil union partners in New Jersey benefit. 

 

If you have questions regarding equitable distribution in domestic partnerships in New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, please feel free to contact me or schedule an appointment to meet with me in my firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey or Newtown, Pennsylvania offices. 

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Before the enactment of civil unions in New Jersey, the only option available to same sex couples was a domestic partnership, which provided limited benefits. Following the enactment of civil unions in New Jersey, the Domestic Partnership Act was revised such that these partnerships only became available to persons age 62 or older. Same sex couples who had entered into domestic partnerships prior to enactment civil unions in New Jersey had the option to maintain their domestic partnership status, or convert same to a civil union. 

 

Civil unions provide the same rights and benefits to same sex couples as marriage does to heterosexual couples. This includes a wide range of benefits including alimony, child support, and equitable distribution in the context of a divorce. If a couple with a domestic partnership does not convert the partnership to a civil union, they are not entitled to the rights and benefits, which would accrue as if they had a civil union. 

 

If you have questions regarding civil unions and domestic partnerships in New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, please feel free to contact me or schedule an appointment to meet with me in my firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey or Newtown, Pennsylvania offices. 

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I wanted to take this opportunity to share what I believe is a very important and timely YouTube message that was created by the Independence Business Alliance, Philadelphia’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce. As an active member of this organization I have seen firsthand the truly inspired and positive work our group is doing in the community. 

 

The video is titled “It gets better” and it was produced in the hopes that it reaches LGBT youth and lets them know that each and every person has a story, and that it does in fact get better. It is hoped that the video will inspire and encourage people to be proud of who they are and keep persevering since life does get better.

 

While there are other “it gets better” videos out there we believe that showing real people from the local area is key to inspiring kids to hang on and reach out if they need help. Many of the videos from other campaigns have been made by sports stars, and celebrities, which is fabulous, but their message doesn’t always translate to the average student. This video hopes to show that there are regular people in their community who have been in their shoes and have made it.

 

You can find the video here or by searching for “IBA it gets better” on YouTube.

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On his last night as Governor of the State of New Jersey, Governor Corzine has supposedly signed into law a bill prohibiting the enforcement of "palimony" agreements unless such agreements are in writing (S-2091/ACS for A4296, 3833 [Scutari, Cardinale, Stender,Carroll/Stender, Carroll]).  The passage of this bill has an important impact on non-dissolution family law, where persons in long-term committed relationships sans "marriage" had the potential to make a palimony claim based upon a promise to support if the relationship went south.  While palimony law is primarily contract based, the new bill will require any such "promise to support" to be set forth in writing.  It will be interesting to see if a mere letter or email will meet this new requirement or if same will be reduced to terms similar to pre-nuptial agreements.
 

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Under the new Rules 1:38-7 Confidential Personal Identifies must be redacted from all documents filed with the Court except a Case Information Statement, its attachments, and the Confidential Litigant Information Sheet. Litigants now must certify to the Court that no such identifiers are being filed outside of the afore referenced documents.
 
Personal Identifiers include:

• Social Security Number
• Drivers License Number
• Vehicle Plate Number
• Insurance Policy Number
• Active Financial Account Number
• Active Credit Card Number

You can however refer to an account by last 4 digits if necessary to distinguish from another account. What this means: Get out your black sharpie and mark up those docs before submitting them to the Court.

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This is the sixth and final installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.
 
ERISA does not apply to RRA annuities. Thus, the railroad Retirement Board (RRB)will accept a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) only if it provides for an annuity partition that is valid under the RRB’s regulations.  However, a QDRO is not required to effect an annuity partition if appropriate language is incorporated into the divorce decree or court-approved property settlement agreement.

If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.

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This is the fifth installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.
 
Although Tier I benefits are not divisible, an eligible divorced spouse can receive an annuity similar to the non-divisible Tier I annuity under the RRA.  This is in addition to any divisible portion of the employee’s Tier II annuity awarded by way of equitable distribution by Court Order.  Unlike an equitable distribution award, which provides the former spouse a share of the employee’s Tier II annuity, the payment of a Tier I type annuity to an eligible divorced spouse does not reduce the amount of the employee’s annuity.  This is similar to SSA benefits available to a former spouse where the parties had been married for 10 years or more.

If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.

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This is the fourth installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.

Below is a list of several other components related to the Railroad Retirement Act:

1. Supplemental Annuity:  Railroad employees who complete twenty five (25) years of service and commenced services before 1981 may receive a supplemental annuity under section 2(b) fo the RRA, which ranges between $23 to $43 per month.  This component is divisible upon divorce.
2. Vested Dual Benefit:  Railroad employees who meet certain vesting requirements and are fully insured under the RRA and SSA prior to 1975 are eligible for an additional benefit amount.  This component is divisible upon divorce.
3. Overall Minimum Increase:   If an employee’s annuity under the RRA is less than the amount that would be received under the SSA, the employee’s annuity may be increased so that the employee receives at least as much as would be received under SSA.  The amount of this increase is divisible.

If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.

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This is the third installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.

Tier II benefits are based solely upon railroad industry service and earnings (i.e. it does not take years/earnings outside of industry employment into account, unlike Tier I benefits).  Tier II benefits are calculated under section 3(B) of the RRA.  Tier II annuity benefits are divisible as property.  Moreover, of all RRA annuity components, Tier II benefits are the only benefits that may continue to be paid to a former spouse after the death of the employee.


If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.

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This is the second installment of a six-part blog series focused on the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA). You can read the full series here.

 

Tier I annuity benefits are determined according to earnings and career service.  To qualify for Tier I benefits, an employee must have worked a minimum of ten (10) years in the railroad industry.  Tier I benefits become payable when the employee reaches the retirement age as established by the Social Security Act (SSA), or reaches the age of sixty (60) and has thirty (30) years of service.  Tier I annuity benefits are non-divisible and thus not subject to equitable distribution upon divorce.

 

Tier I annuity benefits represent the same benefit amount that the SSA would provide the employee upon retirement.  The Tier I component of an employee’s RRA annuity is calculated by applying the benefit formula of the SSA to the employee’s earnings record.  An employee’s earning record includes both rail industry earnings and any earnings from employment covered by the SSA.

 

If you or your spouse have been railroad employees and thus may be eligible for a RRA annuity, it is strongly recommended that you speak to a legal professional to ensure that these unique benefits are properly accounted for and distributed incident to a divorce.

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