Family Law

James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife spent this morning in settlement talks, making a last minute attempt to resolve their bitter breakup on the day the divorce trial was to scheduled to begin, court officials said.

The settlement talks began at 9:30 a.m., broke for lunch at 1 p.m. and focused on the contentious issues fueling the very public feud between Dina Matos McGreevey and the former governor, said Sandra Thaler-Gerber, spokeswoman for the state Superior Court in Union County. The talks were scheduled to resume at 2 p.m.

"We are trying to see if there will be a settlement," Thaler-Gerber said.

The former governor was scheduled to testify today as part of the trial's custody phase, which is not open to the public.

But the settlement talks have superseded the start of the trial, Thaler-Gerber said.

"Everybody is hopeful. You want there to be a settlement," Thaler-Gerber said.

McGreevey is seeking to have 50-50 custody of Jacqueline, asking the judge to have the girl alternate weeks living with him in Plainfield and her mother in Springfield. Matos McGreevey has asked to continue the couple's current arrangement: She gets custody while he gets liberal visitation rights, including alternating weekends and some holidays.

In addition to the custody issue, Matos McGreevey wants alimony and support. McGreevey is paying $2,500 a month in support, but Matos McGreevey wants any permanent amount to be higher. McGreevey claims he has very little money, makes $50,000 a year, and is unlikely to make more because he is a seminary student aiming to be a priest.

Matos McGreevey is a fundraiser for Columbus Hospital Foundation and earns $82,000 a year.

Matos McGreevey also sued McGreevey for fraud for not revealing to her that he was gay before they married. Matos McGreevey wants $600,000 in damages for the year she did not live in the governor's mansion.

The McGreeveys married in October 2000. They publicly separated in November 2004 -- three months after McGreevey resigned as governor and announced to the world that he is gay and that he had an affair with a male aide.

McGreevey, 50, filed for divorce in February 2007 after a settlement agreement fell apart. Matos McGreevey, 41, lives in Springfield. McGreevey lives in Plainfield with his partner, Mark O'Donnell.

From the Newark Star Ledger.