Many people assume that child custody is a single issue, but in reality, child custody is a multi-layered issue with a number of different components that will need to be determined when parents separate or divorce. For example, will a parent seek physical custody or legal custody, or both? And who will hold the custody? Will it be shared (joint) by parents or will one parent be awarded sole custody? What about visitation? Read more
Are you a co-parent? Then you know very well that the end of the school year and summer vacation are fast approaching with all the activities that entails.
It’s normal to feel a little stressed making the transition from the predictable schedule of the school to summer’s more relaxed pace. For divorced or separated parents, however, there is often added pressure as summer vacation forces parents to be in more frequent contact with one another. Read more
It’s not Thanksgiving or Christmas, but Mother’s Day still can carry with it much of the same kind of emotional baggage that holidays and other family celebrations do when you are separated or newly divorced. Is this your first Mother’s Day since your split? Things may be very different this year, but one thing is the same: You are still a mom and you still deserve a special day.
How can you celebrate your new status as a single mom? Here are some ideas for how to create a day filled with joy. On the other hand, are you a dad wondering how to help your kids honor their mother, even if she is no longer your wife? We’ve got tips on how to make that happen, too. Read more
The latest development in the contentious divorce between reality diva Bethenny Frankel and estranged husband Jason Hoppy is shaping up to be a nasty child custody fight over the couple’s 2-year old daughter Bryn. At issue is the claim on the part of both parents for sole custody of the little girl.
As the NY Post and sources report, “Jason has . . . requested sole custody of Bryn, just as Bethenny did when she initially filed. Jason doesn’t want to cut Bethenny out of his daughter’s life, and he recognizes that Bryn needs her mommy. Jason is agreeable to joint custody of Bryn, but Bethenny is absolutely balking. She wants sole custody of Bryn, period. No compromises. It makes no sense because Jason is a very active father and plans to be a huge part of his daughter’s life.” Read more
It’s your weekend for visitation and at the last minute, you decide it would be fun to head down to Washington D.C. to see that new exhibit at the Smithsonian. Can you just pick up and go, or do you first need approval from your child’s other parent? Read more
If this year marks the first time you are filing your taxes as a divorced parent, you may have questions about how issues such as child custody arrangements affect your ability to claim your children as dependents. Can you claim the kids even you don’t have primary custody? What about if you and your former spouse split custody 182 days each during the year — who gets to “write off” your child when the year is shared equally? Read more
We blogged not too long ago about how not to let social media sabotage your divorce. But it looks like at least one mom still hasn’t gotten this one very basic message: What you post on Facebook, Twitter, or your social media site of choice can come back to haunt you in a big way when it’s your day in court. Read more
As we discuss at greater length in our Guide to Military Divorce, child custody arrangements and parenting plans require special flexibility when one or both parents are in the service of the U.S. military. Deployments can be unpredictable and sometimes involve short notice. Families are called on to make difficult adjustments. No parent should have to worry that serving the country carries a risk of losing custody or parenting time. In recent years, many states have addressed these challenges by enacting specific laws addressing custody arrangements for children with a parent in the military. New Jersey has now joined this growing group of states. Read more
As 2012 ended, so did New Jersey’s 5-year-old Parenting Coordinator Pilot Program. According to a notice sent from Acting Administrative Director of the Courts Glenn Grant, the decision to shut down the program as of Nov. 26, 2012 came at the request of the Conference of Presiding Family Judges and the Supreme Court’s Family Practice Committee. All approved placement forms for the program — which had been in place for local counties in Bergen, Middlesex, Morris, Sussex and Union vicinages — are now terminated. Likewise, the roster of parenting coordinators once found on the New Jersey Judiciary’s website is also gone. Read more
Tom Cruise has taken a lot of heat for not seeing daughter Suri in the flesh over the past two months, though the two talk on the phone and video chat “at least once a day,” Cruise’s lawyer confirms. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Tom’s visitation with Suri may be extremely limited. Or is it? Following the lead of other states, a new bill before the New Jersey Assembly (Bill No. 2388), will allow telephone, email, texting, video conferencing and other communications technologies, to count as parenting time in some child custody agreements. Read more
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