Harrison, NJ Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

How long you have to pay alimony is made up of a few different factors like how much each party earned, or is earning, how long was the marriage, are there children, etc.  Sometimes there is limited duration alimony like only a few years, if the marriage was short and both parties have earning potential there might not be any alimony.  Also you can negotiate a deal to divide assets in a certain was to avoid any alimony. 

Its hard to answer based on the information you provided.  If the firm represented you and they are holdilng onto money you are entitled to, they might try to resolve the matter by making you let them keep the money to satisfy the fee.  The firm can't "force" you to agree to that unless they have filed some kind of collection action and gotten a judgement against you.  

You will be entitled to a portion of his pension.  For a marriage of 8 1/2 years you will receive 50% of the pension deposits and growth from the date of marriage until the filing date of the divorce case.  There are two types of pensions: defined benefit and defined contribution.  If he has a defined benefit pension that means he will receive monthly pension checks.  You will receive one half of his monthly payment adjusting for any pension contributions he made before you married. You will receive your one half when he starts to receive his pension benefits.  That means when he retires.  If it is a defined contribution plan it is a retirement fund that he pays into like a 401K and it is like a savings account.  You will receive one half of the value of the account after deducting the total money he deposited before you married.  You would receive this money at or near the time of divorce and you transfer it into a retirement account.  If you deposit it into a non-retirement account then you will have to pay taxes and penalties on the money.  Once the money is in your account you can do what you like with it. As for medical insurance, it is not definite that he will have to continue to provide medical insurance for you.  The fact that you are disabled may change the situation but it depends on the nature of the disability, his earnings, what other assets and debts you and he have.  There is no definite answer to this question.  Because of the duration of the marriage you may be entitled to alimony depending on how much he earns and your earning ability.  If you are eligible for alimony you may be able to afford your own insurance or possibly have the insurance be part of the alimony package.