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Didn’t tie the knot? You may still want an experienced family attorney to help you navigate the end of your relationship. Maybe you and your partner grew up watching your parents engaged in a non-stop fight all the time. Maybe one of you was just out of a marriage when you met, and the timing wasn’t right. Maybe you simply didn’t want to get married.
There are plenty of reasons people don’t tie the knot. However, that doesn’t change the fact that when navigating the end of your relationship, you may still want to utilize a Hackensack unwed couples lawyer. Let’s look at some of the reasons why:
Properties that are owned together are jointly owned. So, if you’re living with your long-term partner in a house that is titled in both your names or visit a summer home you’ve shared for years, suddenly, that property is subject to rules and regulations by the Court in terms of the dissolution of your relationship. What the Court assigns to each party may depend upon who put how much into the purchase, financial contributions to the property, and other facts in the relationship. A Hackensack unwed couples attorney can help you make sure your property rights are protected.
Certain assets, debts, and other financial obligations assumed during the relationship may also be subject to the Court’s decisions. If one party has financially supported the household while the other has, say, reared the children or tended to the household, temporary financial support may come into play. Oftentimes, people in a long-term relationship that is ending will wish they had, in fact, married, as, therefore, the rights, rules, obligations, and circumstances are more specifically defined by the Court. An unwed couples lawyer in Hackensack can help you make sure your financial rights and responsibilities are defined.
Just like a divorce, children are usually the most important and difficult part of an unwed couple’s relationship ending. Many unwed couples are surprised to discover that the State of New Jersey’s Child Custody laws and Child Support laws still apply to them, regardless of marital status. Therefore, the questions of primary custody, joint custody, and parenting time are all on the table, as well as child support and its attendant guidelines. Although you and your co-parent are not married, you are— and are likely to remain— co-parents, and thus, the financial stability of your children is of extreme importance to you, your family, and the Court. A skilled legal professional at our firm will fight for you to make sure you are entering this next chapter of your life with your children financially protected.
Leaving a long-term relationship (especially with children) without, say, the protections a Prenuptial Agreement or Cohabitation Agreement may offer can often feel scary. At O’Cathain Law Group, our motto is Move Forward— and that’s exactly what you’re doing. Do it together with a Hackensack unwed couples lawyer, so you’re walking into the next chapter with someone on your side. After all, a divorce by any other name is still… a divorce.
No matter your status, call, fill out the intake form, or email a dedicated Family Law paralegal to speak with a Hackensack unwed couples lawyer at O’Cathain Law Group.