A trial not only is costly, but will require a significant time away from work and will be emotionally draining as well. Excerpted from Bergen County Early Settlement Panel , by Lorraine Brietman, Esq., published by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Bergen County, used with permission. In New Jersey, thousands of cases are added to the divorce docket every year. In Bergen County alone, some 2,600 cases were added last year. About the same number are disposed of annually.
Some cases are no-asset, uncontested matters, and other are dismissed because the parties reconcile.
However, most divorce litigation requires court intervention at some point - or at several points. The timetable for the average case anticipates its being concluded within a year of filing the complaint. Some matters, because of their complexity, the appearance of new issues, illness or for some other reason require a longer time to conclude. Sometimes the parties and their attorneys meet several times to work out an agreement. If a case is resolved by the panel, a judge will bear the divorce as an uncontested matter, with the terms of the settlement put on the record.