Social Security Benefits and Divorce

An individual is entitled to collect Social Security benefits based on his or her own earnings history, or 50% of the spouse or former spouse’s benefit, if it is greater than the individual’s, or 100% if the spouse is deceased. In the event that the individual is divorced, it must have been a marriage of…

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2012: Another New Year

According to the dictionary there are several definitions for the word, “resolution,” such as: 1. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something. 2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method,    procedure, etc. 3. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute;…

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Permanent Alimony Reform

Currently New Jersey still provides for permanent alimony under certain circumstances including long term marriage and/or a significant discrepancy in earning capacity between the parties.  According to a recent article by Elizabeth Benedict in the Huff Post, times they are a changing.  A grassroots movement in Massachusetts begun by an individual, Stephen Hitner, brought the…

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The Impact of Generosity in a Successful Marriage or Divorce

The New York Times recently reported on the role of generosity in a successful marriage.  The research came from a recent study of 2,870 men and women conducted by the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project (“State of Our Unions” report from the National Marriage Project). According to the research cited in the article, “[w]hile…

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