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. 

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. 

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) is a federal statute that provides unique benefits for railroad workers.  The 1974 Amendment to the RRA resulted in an annuity benefit system that is comprised of two main benefit components, generally referred to as Tier I and Tier II benefits.  In addition, railroad employees may qualify for additional annuity components (which are described below).  Under the RRA, railroad employees and employers pay taxes under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA), which are in lieu of, but similar to FICA contributions.

A railroad employee’s monthly annuity rate is computed  based upon length of service and earnings during their employment.  As a result, an RRA annuity cannot be segregated, nor can a separate account be established, as property to a former spouse.  (Note: an order dividing an employee’s “account” instead of “retirement annuity” is not valid under the RRA).  Moreover, the RRB cannot furnish the present value of future benefits although an estimate can be computed based upon an employee’s service and earnings.   However, the RRB does issue annual statements (BA-6 Forms) that reflect the employee’s creditable railroad service and compensation.

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.

The second problem arises in that the probate code explicitly denies the election share option to a surviving spouse if: (a) at the time of death the decedent and surviving spouse were living separate and apart in separate habitations; or (b) the decedent and surviving spouse had ceased to cohabit as man and wife as a result of circumstances that would give rise to a cause of action for divorce in New Jersey. N.J.S.A. 3B:8-1.  Thus, the surviving spouse is left to pursue relief by way of a constructive trust under quasi-contractual law, which may be established by the Court as a vehicle by which equity may be accomplished.

If your spouse or civil union partner should pre-decease you immediately preceding the commencement of divorce/dissolution litigation or in the midst thereof, it is strongly advised that you seek the advise of an attorney to ensure that your property rights are upheld and you receive proper distribution of the marital assets.

In order to do so, an application to the Court by the party who wishes to be come the guardian must be made.  Generally, when parties are in the midst of divorce litigation, the competent spouse is prohibited from becoming the guardian as it is usually deemed to be a conflict of interest.  Upon appointment of a guardian by the Court, the guardian may move forward on the incapacitated spouse’s behalf in order to negotiate and finalize the divorce proceedings. This includes, but is not limited to entering a Property Settlement Agreement and Final Judgment of Divorce.  This may even include filing the complaint for divorce on behalf of the incapacitated spouse. 

The laws of New Jersey recognize gay unions, whether marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships, so long as the rights and privileges under the laws of the state granting such a union are substantially similar to those provided to a married heterosexual couple.  Thus, not only will a same sex marriage or civil union from New Hampshire  be recognized here, but should the marriage or civil union disintegrate, New Jersey will also provide a forum for dissolution by way of divorce if the jurisdictional requirements are met. 

New Jersey is currently considering a new law to allow gay marriage in lieu of civil unions. A competing measure has also been introduced to constitutionally ban gay marriage in the state, which has been met with little support.

Which state is next?  Possibly New York, which passed legislation legalizing gay marriage in the state assembly in April of this year.

Generally, all carriers require notification of divorce within sixty days of entry of the final judgment, if not less.  For insurance purposes, divorce, like marriage and birth, constitutes a life change warranting modification of the persons eligible for benefits.  By failing to notify a health insurance or other insurance carrier of a divorce where the former spouse is no longer entitled to benefits constitutes, insurance fraud.  If you are contemplating divorce, it is important to speak with an attorney regarding your obligations to notify insurance carriers upon entry of the divorce judgment.  In addition, it is advisable to contact all insurance carriers to determine their notification requirements so that you can plan accordingly.

The laws of New Jersey recognize gay unions, whether marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships, so long as the rights and privileges under the laws of the state granting such a union are substantially similar to those provided to a married heterosexual couple.  Thus, not only will a same sex marriage or civil union from Vermont be recognized here, but should the marriage or civil union disintegrate, New Jersey will also provide a forum for dissolution by way of divorce if the jurisdictional requirements are met. 

New Jersey’s recognition of same-sex unions even reaches beyond the United States.  This issue was recently before the Honorable Mary C. Jacobson, P.J.F.P., of the New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County, who held that a same-sex couple who were married in British Columbia were entitled to a divorce in New Jersey based upon the principles of comity and ordered that the Plaintiff was entitled to pursue dissolution of her same-sex marriage to the Defendant by seeking a Final Judgment of Divorce.

The laws of New Jersey recognize gay unions, whether marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships, so long as the rights and privileges under the laws of the state granting such a union are substantially similar to those provided to a married heterosexual couple. Thus, not only will an Iowa gay marriage be recognized here, but should the marriage disintegrate, New Jersey will also provide a forum for these marriages to be dissolved by way of divorce if the jurisdictional requirements are met.

New Jersey’s recognition of same-sex unions even reaches beyond the United States. This issue was recently before the Honorable Mary C. Jacobson, P.J.F.P., of the New Jersey Superior Court in Mercer County, who held that a same-sex couple who were married in British Columbia were entitled to a divorce in New Jersey based upon the principles of comity and ordered that the Plaintiff was entitled to pursue dissolution of her same-sex marriage to the Defendant by seeking a Final Judgment of Divorce.

First, it is important that neither party be coerced or under duress when entering such an Agreement.  Second, there must be an adequate level of financial disclosure of all assets and debts, so that the agreement is reasonably “fair.”  Finally, it is important that both parties receive independent representation by counsel.
 

Pre-nuptial Agreements, while constituting a contract between two competent adults, are generally binding on both parties behalf when the above criteria is met.  However, they are still subject to the same loop holes of any agreement related to persons who are or plan to be married. Justification for modification of such agreements generally requires that changes be unanticipated, substantial and non-temporary.
 

In order to ensure that a Pre-Nuptial Agreement is properly executed and meets all requirements so that it may be enforceable if challenged, it is important that each party consult with an attorney, especially as each Agreement and enforcement thereof is fact sensitive and determined on a case by case basis.