Avalon, NJ Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

You usually do not change the property settlement agreement (PSA) after the divorce.  If there is a change in circumstances that gives rise to a cause of action for a change in alimony or child support, then that part of the judgment of divorce is modified, but not usually the poperty settlement agreement.  Unless you discover assets or debts that were not considered at the time you signed the PSA. 

You have to look at what's equitable distribution.  You speak of liability for the mortgage.  What about the proceeds of the sale?  Is there equity in the property or does the value of the mortgage exceed the value of the property?  Usually, she might be entitled to the appreciation in the value of the property, but the recent drop in property values means that there is possibly no appreciation anyway, just liability for the mortgage.  If that's the case, the mortgage debt, or a portion of it, might be part of the overall settlement. 

You will be entitled to a portion of his pension.  For a marriage of 8 1/2 years you will receive 50% of the pension deposits and growth from the date of marriage until the filing date of the divorce case.  There are two types of pensions: defined benefit and defined contribution.  If he has a defined benefit pension that means he will receive monthly pension checks.  You will receive one half of his monthly payment adjusting for any pension contributions he made before you married. You will receive your one half when he starts to receive his pension benefits.  That means when he retires.  If it is a defined contribution plan it is a retirement fund that he pays into like a 401K and it is like a savings account.  You will receive one half of the value of the account after deducting the total money he deposited before you married.  You would receive this money at or near the time of divorce and you transfer it into a retirement account.  If you deposit it into a non-retirement account then you will have to pay taxes and penalties on the money.  Once the money is in your account you can do what you like with it. As for medical insurance, it is not definite that he will have to continue to provide medical insurance for you.  The fact that you are disabled may change the situation but it depends on the nature of the disability, his earnings, what other assets and debts you and he have.  There is no definite answer to this question.  Because of the duration of the marriage you may be entitled to alimony depending on how much he earns and your earning ability.  If you are eligible for alimony you may be able to afford your own insurance or possibly have the insurance be part of the alimony package.