Morristown Family Lawyer Blog

31

Mar 2019

Be Careful When Making Your Child Support Arguments

Child support is often one of the most contentious issues involved in resolving a divorce matter. Its status as a topic of frequent dispute between divorcing spouses owes a great deal to how complex the process of arriving at the amount of the child support obligation can be. Factors such as the arrangement for physical custody of the children, the parties’ incomes, and the children’s ages, ...

Posted By Tom Bean, Esq.

07

Mar 2019

Justice For All...even if you aren't married

Many who are unfamiliar with the Court system are unaware of the large number of cases that are handled in New Jersey Family Courts on an ongoing basis. Divorce proceedings and disputes between litigants who are married and seeking divorced, or those already divorced are handled in the Matrimonial part if the Family Court. A large percentage of these cases fall under the “Non-Dissolution” ...

Posted By Michael J. Evans, Esq.

08

Aug 2018

Child Support and College Expenses in New Jersey

Figuring out child support and the division of child expenses for children causes much conflict in many cases. However, the real fun begins after the children head to college. New Jersey is one of the few states that does not emancipate children at a specific age, like 18, and requires parents to continue to support children through college. How do child support and college expenses relate? The ...

Posted By John Nachlinger, Esq.

31

Jul 2018

What is included in NJ Child Support?

Child support is a topic that is often misunderstood. Everything from who must pay, to how it is calculated, to what is or is not included, is an argument waiting to happen. However, NJ child support does not have to be complicated or subject to endless hours of argument and expenditure of counsel fees. Let us start with a simple topic: what is included in NJ child support? New Jersey has a ...

Posted By John Nachlinger, Esq.

06

Mar 2018

Agreements for College Contributions versus Child Support

Divorce or separation requires that the parties make new plans for the future. These plans will include new housing arrangements, new budgets, and new retirement planning. When the parties share children, this will also include new plans for the parties’ children. Many parents work hard to make sure they put money away for their children’s college education. In addition, after the divorce or ...

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01

Feb 2018

When Does the State Get Involved in Child Support Cases?

Any parent knows that raising a child is costly. Clothes, daycare, extracurricular activities, college funds, and all the other things that go along with having a child in your care add up quickly. Child support is meant to help balance and manage those costs when parents live apart. In optimal situations, parents cooperate even when they are no longer romantically involved with each other. In ...

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14

Dec 2017

Imputing an Income for Child Support

Divorce, child custody, and support disputes are frequently accompanied by a time of financial turmoil for one or both of the parties. Litigation is expensive, and rearranging your life such that you are now independently responsible for your own expenses without the help of your spouse or partner can mean a lot of changes. In cases involving child support or spousal support disputes, this can ...

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08

Dec 2017

Cosco v. Cosco - Unenforceable Child Support Settlements

Child custody and child support are often the central issues in divorce cases, as what is best for a child is more important to parents than any division of property or debts. Luckily, the vast majority of family law cases are settled before they reach a final hearing. This allows parents to carefully tailor their parenting plan and custody agreement to suit the precise needs of their family and ...

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27

Nov 2017

Unreasonable Support Demands

The end of any marriage means a new financial arrangement for both spouses. Both spouses will have to rearrange their finances and change their budgets to reflect the new reality of living in two households with two sets of financial obligations. Divorce is a financially difficult time and if one spouse is financially disadvantaged by virtue of a much lower or non-existent income, he or she may ...

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15

Nov 2017

Child Support Changes if You Have Another Child

After a divorce or separation, it is quite common for one or both parents to move on and start a new relationship. In many cases, this could mean more children. Another child can profoundly change the family dynamic and will require shifting around financial resources in order to accommodate the new baby. The child support calculation in New Jersey recognizes that a new child will require ...

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10

Nov 2017

What to Do if You're Behind in Child Support?

Child support is an essential element of any divorce action involving children. Courts will look to the statutory factors established in the New Jersey family code to determine the amount of support to be paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. There are many factors that go into determining the exact amount of support, each laid out by the New Jersey statutes. Sometimes, the ...

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08

Nov 2017

Why is My Child Support So High?

In almost every case involving children, a court will make an order providing for child support for the child or children, paid to the custodial parent. The support is meant to help defray the cost of the child’s every day expenses, such as housing and food, as if the parents were still residing in the same household and both contributing to the shared bills and expenses. Child support is ...

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06

Nov 2017

Disabled Spouse and Child or Spousal Support

Each divorce or family law case has its own unique problems and issues. In many cases, these unusual issues will take the form of financial matters. Where a divorce involves child support, it is almost certain that an award of support will be made to the custodial parent. In cases involving a request for spousal support, such an award is much less certain. In either case, parties often want to ...

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20

Oct 2017

When is a Child Emancipated?

In a divorce or a stand-alone child custody case, a court must craft a court order providing for custody, visitation, and child support. As the child ages, the child’s needs will change and often parents will need to return to court to revisit the issues of visitation or child support. In some cases, a child will become independent and move out once he or she turns eighteen. In other cases, a ...

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10

Oct 2017

Child Support and Auto Insurance – Fichter v. Fichter

Child support is designed to cover a very specific set of expenses that will be handled by the primary residential parent. Many of these expenses are set out in the New Jersey statutes. This specific list can help parents to cut down on disputes when it comes to whether a particular expense is meant to be covered by the amount already paid by the non-custodial parent. Unfortunately, when the law ...

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28

Aug 2017

Setting and Collecting Child Support Arrearages

At the conclusion of a case involving child custody, there is almost always a child support order entered at the same time. It is also possible to have a child support order independent of a custody order. These orders will make provision for payments of child support and often also health insurance premiums by the non-custodial parent. When a paying parent falls behind in these payments, he or ...

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18

Aug 2017

Disabled Children, Custody, and Child Support

Every child and family is unique and has specialized needs. During a divorce or custody dispute, it is up to the parents and the judge to do their best to create a visitation and custody order that will best suit the needs of the children. This presents special issues with each case, as each child is different. These issues about unique and individualized needs can really come to the forefront ...

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14

Aug 2017

Health Insurance, COBRA, and Divorce

For many families, health insurance is obtained through the employment of one or both of the spouses. In most cases, the entire family, including both spouses and the children, have health insurance coverage through just one of the spouse's employment. Many employers pay a portion of the health insurance premiums for part or all of the family's coverage, helping to drastically reduce the out of ...

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25

Jul 2017

Life Insurance, Divorce, and Child Custody

There are many life milestones that are financially stressful. Divorce and the death of your spouse are assuredly two of those financially difficult times. During a marriage, a couple shares expenses, including bills, clothes, housing expenses, and the costs of raising the couple's children. When a couple divorces, they may still be tied together. This could happen because of shared financial ...

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21

Jul 2017

What is Child Support Supposed to Cover?

Every parent knows that children are expensive to raise. Clothes, food, toys, school fees, extracurricular activities, and myriad other expenses are necessary to support a child. When parents’ divorce or separate, these expenses do not simply disappear. To the contrary, now there are two homes, with two sets of bills, and often a child will now have two sets of clothes, toys, and other personal ...

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19

Jul 2017

Case Information Statement

Every divorce begins with a large amount of paper work. The complaint for divorce is the initial filing that starts the case. After this is filed, it is then necessary to fill out and file a detailed document called a Case Information Statement, or "CIS." The CIS is comprised of several different sections. It is essential that you are as detailed and accurate as possible with this document. ...

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17

Jul 2017

Private School and Divorce

The education for children must be a priority for every parent. To that end, many parents start saving for their children's college education when they are very young, using special 529 accounts to reap maximum financial benefits to help support their children's educational goals. When parents get divorced, financial issues come to the forefront, and educational expenses are no exception to this. ...

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13

Jul 2017

Step-Parents and Child Support

Step-parents have unique roles in the life of the children of their spouses. These step-parents often form deep and lasting bonds with the children, and in optimal situations, can become like another parent. If the step-parent and the biological parent get divorced, however, the step-parent’s role in the child’s life becomes much more uncertain. Barring exceptional circumstances, such as adoption ...

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30

Jun 2017

Will Failure to Pay Support Impact a Child Custody Decision?

At the conclusion of any divorce involving children or a stand-alone child custody case, the court will enter an order. This order will outline the rights and responsibilities of both parents, including custody, visitation, decision-making authority, and child support. It is not uncommon for one or both parents to start falling short of his or her responsibilities under this order, especially in ...

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13

Jun 2017

If Your Spouse is Lying About Income on Child Support or Alimony

Divorce or separation means that where two adults were previously sharing the responsibility and burden of paying bills and expenses, now both adults have to rearrange their budgets to stretch to cover all bills and expenses for each individual household. This often creates a financial strain on large budgets or even higher-income households, as the adults must adjust their standards of living and ...

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