The practice of family law is difficult. I have read that divorce ranks just below the death of a parent or child in terms of grief. The cases are often emotionally charged. This sometimes causes people to take bad positions,...more
Even before the alimony statute was amended in 2014, there was a misconception that permanent alimony was actually permanent and could not be modified under any circumstances. I heard that tired argument many times despite...more
We have written a lot about termination of alimony based upon cohabitation, both before the 2014 Amendment to the alimony statute making it easier, and after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Cardali case. Typically,...more
2/24/2025
/ Alimony ,
Appellate Courts ,
Cardali v Cardali ,
Cohabitation ,
Discovery ,
Divorce ,
Family Law Courts ,
Financial Records ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Marital Assets ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Sanctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
Termination
In November of 2023, I did a post on this blog titled The Intersection of Family Law, Estate Law and Federal Law, regarding the reported Appellate Division case In the Matter of Michael D. Jones, Deceased. That case dealt...more
1/28/2025
/ Beneficiaries ,
Bonds ,
Divorce ,
Equitable Distribution ,
Family Law Courts ,
Marital Assets ,
New Jersey ,
NJ Supreme Court ,
Preemption ,
Probate ,
Probate Courts ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Trusts ,
Wills
Sometimes people do what is called forum shopping and file a law suit in another jurisdiction, if not another country, because they believe that the laws will be more favorable to them. Sometimes they even file someplace else...more
For many divorce attorneys, the busy season starts after the first of the year. Since practically the inception of this blog, I have posted on the phenomenon of the New Year’s Resolution Divorce. For whatever reason, this...more
12/27/2024
/ Alimony ,
Asset Management ,
Child Custody ,
Child Support ,
Divorce ,
Family Law Courts ,
Marital Assets ,
Marriage ,
Personal Property ,
Prenuptial Agreements ,
Spouses
The issue of interviewing children in custody cases tends to be somewhat controversial. When I first started practicing, it was essentially mandatory if there was a custody trial. More than 20 years ago, it because something...more
Relocation with children is always a hot button issue. That said, since the Supreme Court decided Bisping in 2017 , relocation got more difficult because it became largely a best interest analysis. Most of the time, these...more
In 2021, I wrote on this blog about a case where a court delayed reunification therapy because a 12 year old child didn’t want to do it. To this day, this continues to be one of the most read posts on our blog, more than...more
It should come as no surprise that a child’s best interests change over time. That is one of the reasons why, under the law, that custody and parenting time Orders and Agreements are always reviewable and modifiable. However,...more
In the late 1990s when the Child Support Guidelines were drastically changed to account for overnight parenting as well as shared parenting, the terms Parent of Primary Residence (PPR) and Parent of Alternate Residence (PAR)...more
I have blogged several times before , including last week, on cases where trial courts were reversed for failing to hold plenary hearing and provide for discovery, often in FD (non-dissolution) matters. I have also discussed...more
9/3/2024
/ Child Custody ,
Co-Parenting ,
Divorce ,
Family Law Courts ,
Joint Custody ,
Mediation ,
Mental Health ,
Parenting Plans ,
Parenting Time ,
PTSD ,
Reversal
It is quite common in divorce settlements to require payments to be made over time or in the future. Some people, for whatever reason, choose not to immediately go back to court for enforcement when there is non-compliance....more
The Rules of Court clearly allow a Family Part Judge to appoint their own expert on any issues, whether custody or economic issues, in order to aid the court in making a decision on an issue before the Court. The Court rule...more
Typically, in order to modify support or custody/parenting time provisions in an agreement or judgment/order, the party seeking a modification must show a substantial and continuing change of circumstances. Given the goal of...more
Many clients believe that if they file for divorce, the road to resolution is litigation and a trial. While naturally, that is the final step if a settlement is not reached, divorce trials are reasonably uncommon in New...more
Since the Child Support Guidelines were amended in the late 90s, the number of overnights with each parent factored in to the child support calculus for cases within the Guidelines. In general, the more overnights meant less...more
One of the universal themes in divorce matters is that the court is supposed to try to maintain the status quo while the case is pending. In many cases where there is barely enough money to go around to support an intact...more
Wise or not, parties have a right to waive discovery from the other party and settle their matter. Sometimes, both parties have access to and/or knowledge of all of the finances. Sometimes, the rely on the parties sworn Case...more
7/16/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Discovery ,
Divorce ,
Evidence ,
Final Judgment ,
Liability ,
Marital Assets ,
Mediation ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Tax Returns ,
Waivers
Parental alienation cases are heart breaking, both because of the damage to the children and the fact that the alienated parent is often robbed of large parts of the children’s childhood – and worse. For years I have said...more
Black letter law is that to change a child support Order, the person seeking a modification must show a substantial and continuing change of circumstances. But what is the standard if there is a custody agreement, even if the...more
Since the 2014 amendments to the alimony statute were enacted, we have seen this clutching at pearls and gnashing of teeth about what to do in long term (over 20 years) marriages when the payor is in her/his 60s. The...more
Litigating cases involving a prenuptial agreement can be frustrating at times. When prenups are done right, there is proper disclosure, both parties have counsel or acknowledge that they had a right to counsel, there is...more
I started reading C.G. v. D.W., an unreported (non-precedential) Appellate Division case released on March 1, 2024, sucked in by the opening sentence about the court’s denial of an intra-state move. As there aren’t that many...more
Earlier this month, I wrote a blog called Court’s Should Not Issue FROs to Address Parenting Issues. That blogged addressed a case where the trial court entered a Final Restraining Order (FRO) to remedy custody and parenting...more