Family Law

The train wreck divorce trial of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and his wife, Diana Matos McGreevey, has ended, with the ex-governor largely prevailing. The court ruled that McGreevey would not be required to pay alimony to his ex. McGreevey has been ordered to pay child support in an amount considerably less than his former wife requested. These two folks are poster children for what to try and avoid in a divorce proceeding. The New York Times has the story on the conclusion to this cringeworthy affair:

A judge ruled on Friday that former Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey, who resigned from office after admitting that he had an affair with a male aide, will not have to pay alimony to his former wife.

The ruling by State Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy granting Mr. McGreevey and his wife, Dina Matos, a divorce ended a frayed eight-year marriage that came apart when the governor stunned the state by announcing on national television that he was “a gay American.”

“No alimony - that’s what I’m talking about,” Mr. McGreevey’s lawer, Stephen Haller, said moments after the decision was read in court, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its Web site.

In addition to ruling out the payment of $2,500-a-month in alimony for four months that Ms. Matos was seeking, Judge Cassidy ordered Mr. McGreevey to pay $1,075 a month in child support for their daughter rather than the $1,750 she wanted.

In the stunning decision, which came in the aftermath of a bitter and very public court battle, Ms. Matos was told that she would receive none of the proceeds from Mr. McGreevey’s book, “The Confession,” which described his version of events that led to his resignation in August 2004.

Not long after Mr. McGreevey’s book was published, Ms. Matos came out with her own book about the mariage entitled “Silent Partner.”

The couple will share share custody of their daughter, 6.

Mr. McGreevey, who is a seminary student in New York, maintained that he will only earn $48,000 this year and that he was too poor to pay alimony. He now lives with his partner, a wealthy Australian businessman, in a 19-room house in Plainfield, N.J., with gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

Even before the ruling was issued, Ms. Matos, who lives in Springfield, issued a statement to The Associated Press. “Although the victimization continues, I am stronger for the experience,” she said.

Mr. McGreevey and Ms. Matos were married in 2000, and he was elected governor the next year. He has another daughter from a previous marriage, which also ended in divorce.

Source: The New York Times