The Pot and The Kettle

Former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey recently dropped this divorce bombshell on his soon to be ex-wife, Dina Matos McGreevey:

Former Gov. James E. McGreevey has revised his divorce lawsuit against his estranged wife and is now seeking sole custody of the couple's 5-year-old daughter -- and child support.

The new documents make no mention of a "matrimonial settlement agreement" that McGreevey's original divorce filing said had resolved all issues of custody and support.

This doesn't sound like the amicable divorce Jim painted a picture of in his earlier complaint.

So why the change? Maybe it has to do with the fact that Jim has said that he and his partner, Mark O'Donnell, "plan to enter into a civil union after the divorce is finalized."

According to John Eory, a partner at the law firm Stark & Stark in Lawrenceville (and an instructor in divorce law somewhere), this may be helpful in Jim's plight for sole custody (via the Star-Ledger):

"If he's claiming he's better fit to be entrusted with the residential care of his child, I'm presuming he's prepared to go to the mat to do that," Eory said. He said McGreevey might argue that he can provide a "stable nuclear two-parent household ... (and) offer benefits to the child that she can't get in a single-parent home."

Because Jim McGreevey is our favorite New Jersey drama icon of the moment, in a way we want his divorce to be as tawdry as his past life. But we realize that at the center of all this is 5-year old Jacqueline. For her sake, we hope they can strike a deal.

Labels: Dina Matos McGreevey, divorce, Jim McGreevey, New Jersey