When parents negotiate over child support payments, one issue that can cause a snag is figuring out how to share expenses involving a child’s extracurricular activities above and beyond typical education-related costs, including sports participation and private music lessons. What can sometimes happen is that one parent is more enthusiastic in encouraging the child to take part in a wide variety of different activities, or the parent wants to help the child reach a high level of mastery in a certain art or sport by signing up for private lessons and/or buying special equipment. The other parent, however, may love their child and want to see them take part in activities they enjoy, but at the same time, doesn’t share the same view on the level or type of extracurricular participation, and therefore does not want these additional costs added to child support.
How do the courts settle these kinds of differences between parents? Read more
Robin Williams Alimony & Divorce Struggles: Taking A Closer Look
Robin Williams once joked that alimony is just a shortened form of “all the money” after two divorces on the part of the comedy legend cost him reportedly upwards of $30 million in alimony payouts to ex-wives Valerie Velardi and Marsha Garces.
Speculation since the actor’s death has even gone so far as to claim divorce and alimony woes pushed the actor to near bankruptcy and served as a contributing factor to his depressed mental state. Read more
3 Secrets to Speeding Up the New Jersey Divorce Process
Is it possible to get a “quickie divorce” in New Jersey? The general benchmark for how long it takes to divorce in New Jersey stands at approximately 12 months (from filing to final decree), with some complex divorces cases taking upwards of 18 months or longer. However, every divorce is different. How can you and your spouse save time reaching a final settlement? Here are our three favorite tips for speeding up the divorce process. Read more
Beginning the Divorce Process: Essential Documents Needed for Divorce
Once you have decided to divorce, an essential first step to take is to gather together all the many financial documents and legal records that will be needed as you move forward with the divorce process in New Jersey. Your goal in collecting this information is to create the most complete and accurate picture of your income, the assets and debts you accumulated as a couple, and normal household expenses.
Preliminary documents and records to gather include: Read more
Bergen County Suspends Lengthy Divorce & Family Law Trials
If you live in Bergen County and have a divorce or family law matter headed for trial, get ready for a possible delay or change of venue. In a newly released statement, Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne has announced a halt to lengthy trials in civil and family cases starting next month. As of September 15, no Civil or Criminal Division trials will be conducted if they are expected to last longer than two weeks, subject to the discretion of the presiding judge. Read more
New Jersey Child Support: Who Pays for Lessons, Sports & Extracurricular Activities?
When parents negotiate over child support payments, one issue that can cause a snag is figuring out how to share expenses involving a child’s extracurricular activities above and beyond typical education-related costs, including sports participation and private music lessons. What can sometimes happen is that one parent is more enthusiastic in encouraging the child to take part in a wide variety of different activities, or the parent wants to help the child reach a high level of mastery in a certain art or sport by signing up for private lessons and/or buying special equipment. The other parent, however, may love their child and want to see them take part in activities they enjoy, but at the same time, doesn’t share the same view on the level or type of extracurricular participation, and therefore does not want these additional costs added to child support.
How do the courts settle these kinds of differences between parents? Read more
Rutgers Researchers Uncover New Tool For Empowering Victims of Domestic Violence
It’s an all-too common situation to find victims of domestic violence and their abusers still living together, even after numerous interventions by law enforcement or the presence of a domestic violence restraining order.
Why do victims stay? It’s often because — beyond the physical threats and emotional harm that may be happening in the relationship — another form of abuse is also taking place: financial abuse. Read more
You’re Invited To Family Law Tuesday!
On the first Tuesday of each month on our Facebook page, we host Family Law Tuesday, our live Q&A chat to answer questions you have related to divorce, child custody, child and spousal support, prenuptial agreements, postnuptial agreements, asset division and more. Please join us! Our next Family Law Tuesday is scheduled for August 5 from 8-9 pm. You can ask your question live, or send us a private message with it anytime (we’ll post our answer during the hour). Read more
Can New Jersey Parents Legally Spank Their Children?
In New York State, the headline-making court case this week was one apparently giving parents the legal green light to spank their kids. Issued Wednesday, the state Appellate Division found that a father’s spanking of an 8-year-old boy “was a reasonable use of force.” This reversed a Family Court judge’s ruling last year that had found the father’s spanking qualified as child abuse on the grounds of“inflicting excessive corporal punishment.” Read more
What Is a Jewish Divorce “Get”?
Jewish divorce laws are in the news again as one woman brings her fight to obtain a Jewish “get” from her husband to social media in hopes of publicly pressuring him to hand over the only document that, under the rules of Orthodox Jewish law, makes a divorce between a Jewish man and wife final.
What exactly is a Jewish divorce “get”? Read more
Can An Adult Child With Power Of Attorney Handle An Elderly Parent’s Divorce?