Irreconcilable Differences

On January 22, 2007, Governor Corzine signed the "Irreconcilable Differences" divorce bill. Clients who choose grounds (i) under Statute 2A:34-2(i), attest that they are filing for divorce arising from "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." Under these new grounds, couples can file for a divorce in New Jersey, while continuing to reside together. It has been my experience that most complaints for divorce are based upon Irreconcilable Differences. To some degree, I believe that this has lowered the acrimony associated with divorce. In the past, parties had to chose from one "no-fault" ground for divorce (i.e., 18 month separation) or a list of fault based grounds. In order to qualify for the no-fault ground, the parties had to be separated for one and a half years. Many parties did not qualify and were forced to pick a fault ground, usually "extreme cruelty". This required parties to list nasty things about the other in order to proceed with a divorce if they had not been separated for the requisite time. The new law allowing them to plead Irreconcilable Differences has improved the civility and reduce the acrimony associated with what is usually, one of the worst times in a person's life.