“Get” Jewish Bill of Divorce and New Jersey Divorce Law

There is often justifiable confusion regarding the enforceability of a so-called Get, or Jewish Bill of Divorce. A Get is a religious divorce document often issued by a Rabbinical Court referred to as a “Beth Din.”

In New Jersey, male litigants have often used the Get as leverage to obtain a more favorable resolution of their civil divorce case. For example, the higher-earning spouse will refuse to pay a reasonable sum of alimony by denying his spouse a Get, as the Wife will not be able to remarry in the Orthodox Jewish religion without obtaining a Get from the Beth Din.

New Jersey Law and Get

New Jersey divorce courts have been hesitant to involve themselves in the matter of parties seeking to obtain a Get, either during litigation or after the civil divorce case has been settled in Family Court.

In cases where one party has requested that the New Jersey Family Court compel his/her spouse to obtain a Get once the civil divorce has been finalized, the trial court held that this would be a violation of the First Amendment. The Appellate Division affirmed that ruling, stating that forcing a spouse to enter a Get, which is based on “willing consent,” would be a clear attempt to choose for parties which aspects of their religious beliefs should be embraced and/or rejected, and would be an unacceptable First Amendment violation.

Separation of Church and State in a Divorce

The Appellate Court explicitly noted that the actions of a civil court should not impact upon the religious choices made by individuals on their own, and such action is why the First Amendment exists concerning religious protections, specifically the Establishment Clause.

The State may not place its support behind a particular religious belief, no matter the fairness involved, and such action would result in a government becoming inappropriately entangled in individuals’ religious affairs and voluntary choices.

An interesting layer to the Get discussion is where parties to divorce litigation mutually agree to have a Rabbi arbitrate their matter, including financial issues. Our courts have held as recently as 2020 that such awards are binding on parties and that if both parties consent to have the Beth Din decide their matter outside the scope of the New Jersey Family Court system, the ruling of the Beth Din panelists will be deemed enforceable.

When negotiating or discussing a Get as part of a New Jersey divorce matter, it is important to discuss various related issues with an experienced family law attorney.

Please contact the Siegel Divorce Law Office to discuss this issue further if it pertains to your case.