THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION PAGE 12 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026 theconnectionsnj.com Morristown | Princeton | Atlantic City Handling family law matters throughout New Jersey When It’s Your Move High-net-worth divorce is complicated. Division of assets, complex income, custody. The rules can seem tilted against you. Our attorneys have the legal know-how and national firm resources it takes to design a successful strategy.* Dedicated. Driven. Committed to helping you reach your goals. Eric Solotoff esolotoff@foxrothschild.com 973.994.7501 Jessica Diamond Lia jlia@foxrothschild.com 973.994.7517 *Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. f you’re going through a divorce in New Jersey, there’s one number you need to understand: 20 years. It’s one of the few brightline rules in family law, and it can significantly impact alimony outcomes. Since 2014, New Jersey has required marriages to last at least 20 years to qualify for open durational alimony-support that can last indefinitely, though typically ending at the payor’s retirement. When exactly does a marriage end for legal purposes? Generally, it’s the day someone files for divorce. Not when you move out. Not when you stop feeling married. The filing date. A recent New Jersey case illustrates just how important this distinction can be and how creative arguments about marriage length rarely work. The Case That Tried to Rewrite the Calendar In a 2023 divorce, a husband argued his 20-plus-year marriage should count as less than 20 years. The couple married in June 2003. He filed for divorce in April 2023, just shy of their 20th anniversary, but never served the papers. His wife filed in November 2023, after their 20th anniversary. The husband’s strategy? Claim the marriage “really” ended in May 2015 when he moved out, making it only 12 years, which is not long enough for open durational alimony. There was just one problem: his wife told a very different story. She testified that after the separation, they continued seeing each other regularly. He came over for drinks and yard work. They had intimate relations in 2020 and 2021. He stayed at the house for days and weeks, entertaining friends there. To anyone watching, they looked like a couple. The husband denied most of this, but the trial judge found the wife credible and the husband “less than credible.” Why This Matters to You The court awarded open durational alimony, and in a November 2025 opinion, the appeals court agreed. The reasoning: New Jersey courts determine marriage length based on the divorce filing date and consider the full picture of the relationship, not just living arrangements. The law recognizes that economic dependence, not where you sleep at night, drives alimony decisions. If you’ve been financially dependent throughout a long marriage, separate homes, while perhaps not irrelevant for other purposes, does not reset the clock. This case reinforces several important principles if you’re contemplating divorce: Timing matters. If you’re approaching the 20year mark, a few months’ difference in filing can have lasting financial implications. Actions speak louder than feelings. The husband’s belief that the marriage ended earlier didn’t matter because the couple’s behavior told a different story. Courts look at what you do, not how you feel. Credibility is everything. The trial judge’s assessment of who was truthful proved decisive. In divorce proceedings, consistency and honesty matter enormously. You can’t simply decide your marriage was shorter than it actually was. Understanding how these timelines work can help you make informed decisions about your future and protect your interests. Also, it is clear that feeling that your marriage wasn’t 20 years long does not make it so. For more information regarding divorce in New Jersey, contact Morristown-based Fox Rothschild Family Law attorneys Eric S. Solotoff at esolotoff@foxrothschild.com or 973- 994-7501 or Jessica Diamond Lia at jlia@foxrothschild.com or 973-994-7517. LAWYER’SVIEW When Does a Marriage Really End? A Recent Case Shows Why 20 Years Matters By Eric S. Solotoff and Jessica Diamond Lia The law recognizes that economic dependence, not where you sleep at night, drives alimony decisions. I
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