Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. Whether you’re a regular football fan or not, you’ll likely join in some festivities. Unfortunately, your thoughts may drift to other unpleasant matters. Things not going well in your marriage? Is it your own home team that’s destined to break up? More than likely, your divorce won’t be based on your spouse rooting for the opposition. While that might add to your feeling that you two have irreconcilable differences, there’s generally more to it.  Generally speaking, many couples find it’s time to separate when you just can’t get along about anything. The advantage of filing for a no-fault divorce based on irreconcilable differences means you don’t need to play a blame game. Think about it. You and your spouse can agree on one thing. Your disagreements make it difficult to stay together. In the meantime, back to the Super Bowl. No doubt your menu will include wings and pizza and some possible beer binges. The problem? Unlimited alcohol releases inhibitions – and not necessarily in a good way. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol consumption substantially increases the risk of intimate partner violence. Unfortunately, just a few beers or glasses of wine can also escalate the severity of the conflict. For you, it might just take that one act of domestic violence to call it quits on your marriage. There’s always the chance that it’s highly coincidental that you’ve decided to wait until after the Super Bowl to file your divorce action. It’s also telling that more divorces are filed in January to bring in the new year.

Super Bowl: All About Winning?

When it comes down to it, the Super Bowl is all about winning. This year, there’s tremendous controversy about bad calls in the games leading up to the big one. Think about how that could apply to a marital breakup and why it’s so important to retain an experienced family law attorney.  First, consider your own home team. If you have minor children, you have special considerations. These include making arrangements as far as:

• Custody
• Parenting Time
• Child Support
• College Tuition

When parents divorce, their children often lose a part of them. That’s not to say that staying together for the sake of your kids makes sense for any of you. However, parents become their own team captains. In best case scenarios, it works out better if you work out the game plan together. (And no, that’s not always possible.)

Financial Concerns

Financial concerns dominate many divorce actions. The alimony laws have changed substantially over the last few years. You may not realize that New Jersey has added new terminology. For example, do you know the meaning of Open Durational Alimony? You’ll also want to learn how your assets and debts are divided. Equitable distribution dictates a concept of fairness – rather than an equal division. In a football game, there are clear winners and losers. However, this is where the analogy between the Super Bowl and divorce ends. All things considered, that’s because your marriage wasn’t a game from the beginning. Perhaps a quote from a baseball legend offers some food for thought. It was the great Yogi Berra who said “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.”

Contact Us

If you need legal advice concerning a divorce, the Law Offices of Sam Stoia can help you. We don’t charge for our first meeting. Give us a call to learn how the process works and how we can assist you through it.