Princeton Junction, NJ Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

If your mediation "agreement" has not been reduced to a WRITTEN AGREEMENT, then legally speaking, there is no enforceable agreement at all. The failure to get an attorney to create the written agreement may have been done intentionally as a plan.

Thank you for your question.  I understand how concerned you must be about your home.  It is important to determine how far behind the mortgage payments on your home are at the current time. I suggest giving the mortgage company a call to determine the exact amount of the mortgage arrears, if they have actually filed a foreclosure complaint yet with the Court and when the last full payment was paid.  This will help you determine the timeframe you have to attempt to rectify the situation and move forward accordingly. Unfortunately, because you mentioned your bank account was a joint account, there is nothing you can do directly to stop your husband from taking funds from the same.  Having said that, through the divorce process, you can obtain on Order to prevent this type of dissipation of marital assets in fairly short order.  This Order would prohibit your husband from giving funds away and would also require that he work towards a resolution of the foreclosure problem, whether it be by paying the mortgage arrears or listing the home for sale, to name a few options.  Please understand there are no clear cut remedies without Court intervention and it is important to protect yourself.  I strongly urge you to schedule a consultation with a family law attorney to assess the most effective path forward to protect your assets during the divorce process.  

Answer: A New Jersey court technically does not have jurisdiction over real property outside of the state and any order equitably distributing such property will only be as effective as a court in another state or country determines it to be in the event that it is met with a challenge. Within the U.S., this is usually not a problem, as a court of one state typically honors and defers to divorce agreements from other states. However, there is a likelihood that you would have difficulties trying to enforce an American divorce decree purporting to distribute real property in India in an Indian court of law in the event that your spouse challenges it. You should consult with an experienced matrimonial attorney in both New Jersey and India to find out what your rights are. Additionally, in order to be eligible to file for a divorce in New Jersey, you need to have resided here for at least one year prior to filing. You should consider meeting with an attorney well-versed in these areas. I recommend you seek a law firm that concentrates in family law. This concentration allows the attorneys to better understand the issues and complexities of you matter.