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
There is a case called Sheridan, that requires judges to report the failure to report income to the proper authorities. Like Big Foot and the Lochness Monster, many people have heard of a Sheridan, but few have actually seen...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I started reading C.G. v. D.W., an unreported (non-precedential) Appellate Division case released on March 1, 2024, sucked in by the opening sentence about the court’s denial of an intra-state move.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
Over the years, I have blogged several times on the Appellate Division rejecting a trial court’s use of a formula to calculate alimony as opposed to a fulsome consideration of the statutory alimony factors. I blogged about...more
Alimony is generally modifiable if a substantial and continuing change of circumstances can be shown. Typically, when we think about changes of circumstances in this regard, we generally look at financial changes of...more
Social media has become a prevalent part of people’s lives. Many people post about how great their life is or about the good things that their children do (guilty as charged.) Others debate politics. Some post pictures of the...more
2/9/2024
/ Consent Order ,
Cyberbullying ,
Divorce ,
Domestic Violence ,
Facebook ,
Harassment ,
Restraining Orders ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Social Media ,
Spouses ,
TRO
Going back more than three decades, there are Appellate Division cases that offer caution about the abuse of the domestic violence statute to get a leg up in an impending or pending divorce or custody matter. At around the...more
Last week, I blogged about the new statute that closed the block hole that existed when a party who held most or all of the assets died during while a divorce was pending. Specifically, the new statute permits the court to...more
Not a judge. Not a lawyer. Not a therapist.
Host Sandra Fava and her guest, Eric Solotoff, Co-Chair of Fox Rothschild’s Family Law Department, explore the role of parent coordinators in New Jersey family law disputes....more
1/10/2024
/ Child Custody ,
Co-Parenting ,
Custody ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Family Law Courts ,
Mediation ,
Minor Children ,
New Jersey ,
Parental Rights ,
Parenting Coordinators ,
Parenting Plans
What happens when a party dies in the middle of divorce? Under the law, the divorce action abates and the matter is over. In many cases, that is to the benefit of the surviving spouse because, in most cases, they would...more
The concept that a child’s disability can delay or prevent emancipation is not a new one. In fact, it has been part of the decisional law for decades. Moreover, the parties cannot contract away the obligation to support a...more
It is not uncommon for grandparents or other family members to get custody of other family members when the children’s parents have issues preventing them from caring for their children and/or when there is DCPP involvement....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
On November 14, 2023, the Appellate Division decided an interesting case that implicated the intersection of family law, estate law and federal law. The reported (precedential) decision In the Matter of the Estate of Michael...more
Almost like King Solomon suggesting that a child be cut in two so that each parent can have half, more and more, I am hearing about judges and custody evaluators who default to 50-50 shared parenting. Now, that isn’t the law....more
As I noted last month, there is a new court rule for parent coordinators effective September 1, 2023. At the time, they had not yet published the Guidelines. Yesterday, Directive 16-23 was published. Attached to the notice,...more
Despite the Appellate Division decision in the Temple case in 2021 that seemingly made it easier to show a prima facie case of cohabitation necessary to get discovery and perhaps terminate or suspend alimony, as I blogged on...more
From the earliest days of this blog in 2008, one of my frequent topics has been the use of parent coordinators. Originally, there was a Pilot Program instituted by the Supreme Court for use of parent coordinators. At the...more
It should come as no surprise that after the end of a relationship, people sometimes do bad things to the former love of their life. Really, it’s a tale as old as time. But what if, as an act of retaliation, a party makes a...more
The issue of gifting comes up with some frequency in family law cases. Generally, gifts from third parties that are not subsequently commingled are exempt from equitable distribution. Parties also make gifts to children and...more