Divorce in New Jersey

1. Waiting period

   Not yet verified

   We list a rule only once we can quote it from New Jersey’s statute or court rules.

2. Residency requirement

   1 year (except adultery)

   Except for a divorce based on adultery, one spouse must have been a bona fide New Jersey resident for the year before the case is filed.^[1]

   N.J.S.A. 2A:34-10 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “except that no action for absolute divorce or dissolution of a civil union shall be commenced for any cause other than adultery, unless one of the parties has been for the 1 year next preceding the commencement of the action a bona fide resident of this State;”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, fault grounds also exist

   New Jersey allows divorce for irreconcilable differences that have caused the breakdown of the marriage for six months with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, or after 18 months living separately; fault grounds such as adultery and extreme cruelty also exist.^[2]

   N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(i) and (d) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “i. Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of six months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.”

   “d. Separation, provided that the husband and wife have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation;”

4. Property division

   Equitable distribution

   On a divorce judgment the court may make awards to effectuate an equitable distribution of property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, excluding property received by gift, devise or inheritance (other than gifts between spouses).^[3]

   Community property in New Jersey: the statute quoted →

   N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(h) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “the court may make such award or awards to the parties, in addition to alimony and maintenance, to effectuate an equitable distribution of the property, both real and personal, which was legally and beneficially acquired by them or either of them during the marriage or civil union.”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Not yet verified

   We list a rule only once we can quote it from New Jersey’s statute or court rules.

6. Alimony

   Court decides, within limits

   New Jersey courts choose among open durational, rehabilitative, limited duration and reimbursement alimony after weighing 14 statutory factors; there is no amount formula. For marriages or civil unions under 20 years, total alimony generally may not last longer than the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances.

   Alimony in New Jersey, with the statute quoted →

7. Divorce rate

   2.3 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   New Jersey’s courts granted 2.3 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.0 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 5.5 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in New Jersey divorced in the past year (±0.6; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[5][6]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in New Jersey: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in New Jersey →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in New Jersey (987) ÷ population (9,500,851, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[4]