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
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?
Money, Cheating or Something Else? Survey Shows Why People Get Divorced
Judge Delays Adds to Essex County Court Backlog
Governor Christie’s decision last week to withdraw eight New Jersey Superior Court nominees in Essex County has created another delay in filling the 22 vacancies in New Jersey’s busiest vicinage. It is unclear as to what will happen now in terms of whether the governor will resubmit the judicial nominations at some later point or if he will decide to submit all new recommendations for the jobs in time for the Legislature’s fall session. Read more
Will New Jersey Alimony Reform Be the Death of the Stay-At-Home Spouse?
If you’ve kept up with the headlines in New Jersey this past week, you may be aware that a long-awaited alimony reform bill concerning permanent “lifetime” alimony has been passed by both the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate and sent to Governor Christie, who is expected to approve the measure sometime this summer. With alimony reform in New Jersey so close at hand, it’s almost certain that those going through the process of divorce right now (or contemplating divorce) have questions and concerns about how reform laws will affect their spousal support arrangements. This may be especially true for stay-at-home spouses and stay-at-home parents, the two groups most likely to request lifetime alimony. Read more