A good divorce lawyer in Teaneck should tell you early which issues will actually decide your case: custody, support, alimony, or how the marital estate gets divided. At Cowen & Jacobs, a woman-owned firm practicing family law in Bergen County since 1981, you have that conversation with one of the two attorneys who will handle your case.
Teaneck divorces are filed in the Family Division of Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack. Our office sits across the plaza from the Justice Center, so hearings and emergency applications never cost you a lost day.
Every case turns on its own facts, but divorces for Teaneck residents and their neighbors in Englewood tend to raise a few issues that generic advice skips.
For observant Jewish couples, a civil divorce does not end the marriage religiously. Courts generally won’t order a get, but spouses can address it in their settlement, ideally before the civil case closes. Sara Jacobs also speaks Yiddish.
Foreign pensions and property abroad must be disclosed and valued like any other asset. If a parent may relocate a child overseas, the parenting plan should address it upfront.
A schedule that ignores New York City commutes rarely survives. For parents in Teaneck and Fort Lee, we build overnights and pickup times around real work hours.
An uncontested divorce, where spouses agree on custody, support, and property, often finishes in six to eight months. A contested case usually takes up to a year or longer, especially when business valuations or custody evaluations are involved.
Many Teaneck parents come to us for custody and support matters that never involve a divorce. When divorce is on the table, these are the issues it settles.
Judges apply the best-interest factors in N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, including each parent’s ability to communicate and cooperate, the child’s needs, and the stability of each home. We address both legal custody, meaning major decisions, and physical custody, meaning where the child lives, so your child custody position is grounded in how your family actually works.
Support is calculated under the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines from both incomes and the overnight split. Judges can deviate when the guidelines produce an unfair result, as with very high incomes or unusual expenses, and we make sure child support figures include childcare, insurance, and extracurricular costs.
Courts weigh the factors in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(b), including the length of the marriage, earning capacity, and the marital lifestyle. Since the 2014 amendments, open durational alimony is generally unavailable for marriages under 20 years, so limited duration, rehabilitative, or reimbursement alimony often applies instead.
New Jersey divides marital property fairly, not automatically 50/50, using the factors in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23.1. When one spouse controls a business, equity compensation, or accounts the other has never seen, we bring in forensic accountants to find and value what is really there, and our high-asset divorce work covers the more complex estates.
An agreement can be set aside if it was signed without full financial disclosure or under pressure. We review how it was negotiated and signed to determine whether it will hold.
When safety is at risk, it comes before everything else. We help clients pursue temporary and final restraining orders and account for them in custody and housing decisions.
Divorce orders can change when circumstances do. We handle support and custody modifications, enforcement when a former spouse stops complying, relocation requests to move a child out of state, and appeals.
Most divorces never reach trial. The right path depends on how much you and your spouse still trust each other’s numbers.
Barbara Cowen is listed by the New Jersey Courts as a Bergen County family law economic mediator, and Sara Jacobs spent fourteen years as a Bergen County Superior Court arbitrator. That experience on the neutral’s side helps us judge early what a case is realistically worth to settle.
Divorce in Teaneck rarely follows a template. A spouse may commute into Manhattan, family may live abroad, or a religious divorce may need to run alongside the civil one. Clients choose us because we have handled these situations in Bergen County for decades and give them a straight answer from the first call.
Yes, if you meet the one-year residency requirement, a Bergen County court can grant the divorce. Ordering support or dividing property may also require jurisdiction over your spouse, which depends on their ties to New Jersey.
Yes. Many spouses file while sharing a home. Who stays, who pays the mortgage, and the interim parenting schedule can be set by agreement or an early motion.
A spouse cannot block a divorce by ignoring it. If they do not respond after service, the case can proceed by default, though it may add steps and time.
Agreement on the big issues still leaves room for costly gaps, such as how a pension is divided or what happens if someone relocates. A lawyer makes sure the Marital Settlement Agreement is complete and enforceable.
Any court papers, recent tax returns and pay stubs, a rough list of assets and debts, and any prenuptial agreement. Partial information is fine to start.
Are you ready to get started on your case with a consultation? With over 35 years of experience, our attorneys are ready to fight for you. Reach out to us today to see what Cowen & Jacobs can do for you.
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We represent clients in Teaneck, Hackensack, Englewood, Fort Lee, Paramus, and communities throughout Bergen County, as well as Passaic, Hudson, and Essex Counties.
Barbara was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1981 after earning her J.D. cum laude from Pace University School of Law, and began her career clerking for the Hon. Arthur Minuskin in Bergen County Superior Court. She leads the firm’s divorce practice, from custody and support to mediation and post-judgment enforcement, and serves on the Bergen County Ethics Committee.
Sara was admitted in 1984 and holds an LL.M. from NYU School of Law. Beyond her years as a court arbitrator, she co-chaired the Bergen County ADR Committee from 1989 to 2000, which shapes how the firm approaches negotiation and settlement.
Temporary arrangements made in the first weeks of a divorce often become the terms you live with. A free, confidential consultation shows you which decisions are still open and how to protect them.
We are here for you and ready to help you resolve your legal issue. For a consultation discussing your case, call Cowen & Jacobs today.
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