ASSEMBLY, No. 79

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman KAVANAUGH and Assemblywoman CRECCO

An Act concerning alimony and amending N.J.S.2A:34-25.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.2A:34-25 is amended to read as follows:

    2A:34-25. If after the judgment of divorce a former spouse shall remarry, permanent alimony shall terminate as of the date of remarriage except that any arrearages that have accrued prior to the date of remarriage shall not be vacated or annulled. A former spouse who remarries shall immediately so inform the spouse paying permanent alimony. The court shall order an alimony recipient who fails to comply with the notification provision of this act to pay any attorney fees and court costs incurred by the recipient's former spouse as a result of such non-compliance.

    The remarriage of a former spouse receiving rehabilitative alimony shall not be cause for termination of the rehabilitative alimony by the court unless the court finds that the circumstances upon which the award was based have not occurred or unless the payer spouse demonstrates an agreement or good cause to the contrary.

    Alimony shall terminate upon the death of the payer spouse, except that any arrearages that have accrued prior to the date of the payer spouse's death shall not be vacated or annulled.

    Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit a court from ordering either spouse to maintain life insurance for the protection of the former spouse or the children of the marriage in the event of the payer spouse's death.

(cf: P.L.1988, c.153,s.7)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill amends N.J.S.2A:34-25 to provide that a former spouse who remarries while receiving permanent alimony would be required to immediately inform the payor spouse of the remarriage. Under the bill, the court would be required to order an alimony recipient who fails to comply with this notification provision to pay any attorney fees and court costs incurred by the payor spouse as a result of such non-compliance.

    This bill embodies Recommendation 16 of the report of the Commission to Study the Laws of Divorce, issued April 18, 1995.

Requires notification of re-marriage by ex-spouse receiving alimony.