DISCLAIMER The comments on this blog are the opinions of the blogger based on personal experience as a defendant in a divorce case. Please note that the information here does not constitute legal advice. I am not a lawyer. It is strongly recommended that you hire a family law attorney, licensed to practice in your state, to represent you and to help guide you through the complicated process of divorce.
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A Certification of Verification and Non-Collusion must be attached to your Answer and Counterclaim. For a legal definition of collusion and some interesting background information, see this entry in The Free Dictionary online.
The Certification of Verification and Non-Collusion is required by NJ Rule 5:4-2(c) which states:
There shall be annexed to every complaint or counterclaim for divorce, dissolution of civil union, termination of domestic partnership, or nullity an oath or affirmation by the plaintiff or counterclaimant that the allegations of the complaint or counterclaim are true to the best of the party's knowledge, information and belief, and that the pleading is made in truth and good faith and without collusion for the causes set forth therein.
I photocopied my Certification of Verification and Non-Collusion from LSNJ's Divorce in New Jersey: A Self-Help Guide, which was available in the law library at the courthouse where I go. It is one of the few forms written for the defendant in the LSNJ guide.
The same type of form is available free on several websites. Unfortunately, everything I found online is written for the plaintiff, not the defendant. You can preview an example here on Wikiforms.org. Of course, a defendant's certification would replace the word plaintiff with defendant and the word complaint with counterclaim.
I also found the same certification statements in Sphinx Legal's File for Divorce in New Jersey at my local library. In the 2nd Edition, it's on page 190, but once again it's written for the plaintiff.
On the NJ State Judiciary website, the form is available only in connection with other types of cases (not divorces).
So, I would recommend the form in LSNJ's Self-Help Guide, if you have access to it. It's on the last page of Form 14D - Answer and Counterclaim.
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