Elizabeth.
Former Governor James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife settled child custody matters on Thursday as they moved closer to dissolving their marriage. The deal for custody of their 6-year-old daughter came on the third day of negotiations, which included some closed-door testimony before state Superior Court Judge Karen M. Cassidy, who was trying to avoid a divorce trial.
The couple and their lawyers are scheduled to return to the Union County Courthouse on Monday to begin settlement talks on remaining issues, including alimony and child support. Should those succeed, the final issue would be Dina Matos McGreevey’s claim of marriage fraud.
Mr. McGreevey left the courthouse Thursday evening escorted by two uniformed sheriff’s officers. Speaking of the custody agreement for his daughter, Mr. McGreevey said, “She’ll get a large amount of time to spend with her parents.”
Lawyers for both Mr. McGreevey and his wife said they could not disclose terms of the custody agreement because it was confidential. “It was an amicable settlement,” said John N. Post, lawyer for Ms. Matos McGreevey. “The judge was very, very helpful to both sides.”
The former governor and his wife split in 2004 after he resigned in disgrace over a gay affair. They had been married for four years.
Ms. Matos McGreevey has claimed she was duped into marriage by a closeted gay man who needed the cover of a wife to advance his political career. Mr. McGreevey has contended that she should have known he was gay and that the marriage was “a contrivance on both our parts.”
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