Blog Posts in November, 2016

HOLIDAYS IN DIVORCE OR CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES

For many families, holidays are a fun time of year, full of traditions, family gatherings, and memories. For families engaged in a custody dispute, however, holidays can be complicated . The goal of any custody order is to protect the best interest of the children, but with holidays, that can become quickly problematic when families celebrate holidays separately. The way in which to handle ...

WHAT IF MY EX WON'T LET ME HAVE THE CHILDREN?

Although every parent wants what is best for his or her children, it is an unfortunate reality that at some point during the children’s lives, the parents will disagree about what is best. This is true for couples who are still together, and the issues are often compounded for divorced or separated parents. On some occasions, these disagreements may culminate in one parent refusing custody or ...

CHILD'S PREFERENCE IN CUSTODY DECISIONS

Child custody is typically the most essential and central issue in any divorce with children. Parents who have never been married are equally concerned with obtaining a custody order that benefits their children. It is no surprise that parents often want to know at what age a child can make the decision of where he or she lives. The simplest answer to this question is when the child is no longer a ...

RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

Litigation over issues of child custody can be a highly emotionally charged process. Both parents want what is best for their children, and it is optimal if the parents can come to an amicable agreement regarding what best suits their children. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, and that is when a trial court will have to make the decision on who has custody, how often parenting time will ...

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY EX-SPOUSE REFUSES TO SELL THE HOUSE?

The entry of a final divorce decree means the end of a marriage. However, the provisions of a final decree often leave the two parties tied together in other ways, such as child custody, child support, alimony. How to handle the division of the marital residence is no exception. It is not uncommon for the trial judge to order the spouse who is still living in the house to put the house on the ...

2014 NEW ALIMONY CHANGES

Alimony is an area of law that was developed long ago to help a wife support herself after a divorce. Law and society has come a long way since then, and it is much more the norm for women to work outside the home, and often generate as much income (o more) as their husbands. In 2014, Governor Chris Christie signed the New Jersey Alimony Reform Act , which made some important changes to alimony in ...

BUILDING YOUR CASE FOR MODIFICATION OF CHILD CUSTODY

After a divorce or child custody case is over, it is quite common that the parties will have to return to court in the future to adjust a child custody arrangement. This is especially true if the children are very young when the first order is entered. As time passes and children grow, their needs may change. The needs for a toddler are very different from the needs of a teenager. When requesting ...

PETS AND DIVORCE

With so many households having domesticated animals, it should come as no surprise that pets are often an important issue in divorces. Pets are considered property, and will be awarded to one of the spouses. Courts will not enter a pet visitation order absent a previous agreement of the parties. However, judges do not ignore that family members have real emotional attachments to the pets. There ...

THE END OF CHILD SUPPORT

A common false perception is that child support will always automatically stop when a child reaches the age of eighteen and no longer in school. Although that is currently the state of the law in New Jersey, that will soon change. A new law has been enacted in New Jersey that changes the rules. Under the new law, child support may not automatically terminate until a child reaches the age of ...

MOVING MONEY, CHANGING LOCKS, AND BEGINNING A DIVORCE

Separation from a spouse is a painful time, but for many couples, once the inevitability of a pending divorce is established, they are eager to start separating their lives and finances. There are rules regarding how the financial and physical separation should begin, and when it should begin. In many states, when a divorce is filed, there is an automatic injunction that goes into place keeping ...