Francine Aster
Francine Aster, Esq., is a Partner at Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC. Francine is a highly accomplished and trusted family law attorney with extensive experience guiding clients. Her practice is exclusively dedicated to matrimonial and family law proceedings, including divorce, domestic violence, child custody, grandparent visitation, child support, alimony, palimony, equitable distribution and complex asset division, adoptions, paternity, prenuptial agreements, mediation, post-judgment enforcement and modification, and all other related family law matters. She is also a New Jersey Court-approved Mediator.
Francine’s passion for family law is driven by her deep desire to help people in need. As she describes, “Helping people is just my nature; it’s what I am meant to do. Being a family lawyer is what I love as it allows me to help my clients find solutions to their problems.”
To assist her clients in resolving their matters, Francine takes a hands-on approach, connecting with her clients at a personal level to truly understand their wants and goals. She is accessible and “all in” with her clients, returning phone calls and emails promptly and taking great care to guide her clients with sensitivity to the difficulties they are experiencing. Her calm and steady presence quickly brings her clients peace of mind and restored confidence that better days are ahead.
Francine Aster’s experience in family law is vast and deep, which gives her the unique ability to find creative solutions for her clients, even in high conflict or complex matters. Depending on her client’s needs and the dynamics of the situation, Francine may recommend negotiation or mediation, or when appropriate, litigation. In every setting, Francine is her client’s staunchest advocate, driven to protect her client’s rights and secure their future at every step in the process.
Francine understands her pivotal role in safeguarding her client’s children and is masterful in her knowledge of child custody issues. For years, Francine has acted as a guardian ad litem (GAL) with the courts, in which she gathers information to help judges determine custody arrangements that are in the best interest of the child. She has also served as a court-appointed parenting coordinator and parenting supervisor, giving her advanced understanding of how co-parents can overcome disputes to prioritize their children’s well-being.
Throughout her career, Francine Aster has been a leader in the New Jersey family law community. She has served and continues to serve as a volunteer attorney with the Matrimonial Early Settlement Panels (ESP) in both Essex and Morris counties, where she offered divorcing parties settlement recommendations and valuable insight into how their assigned judge is likely to rule at trial on their specific issues. As a longtime volunteer with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), she educated those people who can’t afford an attorney on the basics of divorce law, providing monthly classes at the Essex County courthouse. She has also led numerous Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars, teaching other attorneys about new developments in family law.
Francine has been honored to serve as Chair of the Essex County Bar Association’s (ECBA) for fifteen (15) years and sits on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Executive Committee (FLEC). She was further honored to serve as a Trustee of ECBA and was ultimately elected ECBA President. In these roles, she worked directly with the assignment judges and the presiding judges as well as the Bar, discussing and finding solutions to problems that plagued the system, and acting as the liaison between the bench and the Bar.
Francine is also proud of her service on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Ethics Committee, where she served on District VC (West Essex) for two terms. She is currently in her second consecutive four-year term.
If all this sounds like Francine eats, sleeps and breathes family law, it’s because she does, and it’s completely by design. As she is quick to note, “I totally immerse myself in my career, taking every CLE related to family law and attending seminars and Bar events with my colleagues so that I can constantly evolve and hone my craft for my clients.”
Francine earned her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law and also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Seton Hall University.
Francine is a longtime resident of Essex County and a widow. When she’s not taking care of her clients or researching breaking legal issues, you can find her cooking up a storm in the kitchen, baking goodies, or spending time with her family.
Awards:
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Areas of Practice:
Bar Admissions:
New Jersey
United States District Court of New Jersey
Education:
Seton Hall University, B.S. Psychology, 1983
Seton Hall University School of Law, 1987
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Essex County Bar Association 1988 – present
New Jersey State Bar Association, 1988 – present
Master of the Barry I. Croland Family Inns of Court
Awards / Recognition:
Essex County Bar Association, Family Law Attorney Achievement Award- 2002
Volunteer Activities:
Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), Essex County
Early Settlement Panel, Essex
Early Settlement Panel, Morris
Family Law Executive Committee, Essex, Frequent Lecturer
Blue Ribbon Panel, Essex
FD and FM Blitz Panel, Essex
Leadership:
Trustee, Essex County Bar Association, 2007-2013
Secretary, Essex County Bar Association, 2014
Treasurer, Essex County Bar Association, 2015
Vice President, Essex County Bar Association, 2016
President, Essex County Bar Association, 2017-2018
Chaired, Family Law Executive Committee, Essex County for 15 years
Chair, District VC Ethics Committee (5 years)
Chair, District VC Fee Arbitration Committee (4 years)
Court Appointments/ Roles:
New Jersey Court-Appointed Mediator, 2010-present
Early Settlement Panel (ESP) Attorney Panelist
Court-appointed Guardian ad Litem (GAL)
Parenting Time Coordinator
Parenting time supervisor
Francine Aster is located in our Parsippany, Morris County office. To schedule an initial consultation with Francine, please call (888) 888-0919 or click to schedule online.
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