Law Brief®: Rich Schoenstein and Morghan Richardson Discuss Trends in Divorce and Custody
Let's Talk Child Custody
It is long-standing law in Massachusetts that the best interests of a child govern custody disputes. Said another way, when parents cannot agree and the court has to make custody and parenting time decisions, the well-being...more
If you and your spouse are undergoing a divorce with children, there’s a good chance you are thinking about what kind of custody arrangement you will end up with. In Washington, we refer to these as “Residential Provisions”...more
As I have blogged here before, despite it not being the law and not really supported by the social science, many judges and even many custody experts have taken the position that 50-50 custody should be the de facto starting...more
The holidays are a time of joy, celebration, and togetherness. However, for blended families, they can also bring unique challenges. With multiple households, extended families, and various traditions to consider, managing...more
In the UAE, Federal Decree-Law No. 41/2022 on Civil Personal Status and Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021 on Civil Marriage have introduced significant reforms to ensure equality between men and women, particularly in matters of...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
Since the US Supreme Court decided Troxel v. Granville in 2000, grandparents have had an uphill battle obtaining grandparent visitation. While the New Jersey standard was set in Moriarty v. Bradt a few years later (a case...more
Iowa law clearly states that “parents with joint legal custody” means both parents jointly have legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward their child and neither parent has legal custodial rights superior to those of...more
As I have said in this space before, I try to keep up with recent appellate decisions in the family law area, and some of the most interesting decisions from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania are those that are referred to...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I started reading C.G. v. D.W., an unreported (non-precedential) Appellate Division case released on March 1, 2024, sucked in by the opening sentence about the court’s denial of an intra-state move.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
The October 6 decision in RSK v. DLK is non-precedential but still important because of the subject. The parties are parents of four children and have been divorced for a decade. One of those children KK was born as female...more
National Public Radio recently dropped a podcast on 1A about the custody trend of recent years known as “nesting” or “birdnesting.” It picked up some momentum through the pandemic. The idea is that there is a common household...more
One of the benefits of “advice by blog” is that lawyers can be more objective in giving advice. There is not an anxious client sitting across the table asking if “Everything will be ok.” Divorce is a challenging world in the...more
No one wants to go through a high-conflict child custody case as it can bring out the worst in the parents and cause severe stress. It’s important to know how to navigate the changing parenting dynamics that are created by a...more
The headline is a bit of a teaser. It’s not that your lawyer is holding back. It’s more likely you just aren’t asking the right questions. Long ago, when this writer first started to practice custody always went to mom and...more
The Appellate Division, in an unreported opinion titled J.D. v. A.M.W. addressed the trial court’s denial of the Plaintiff’s application for a Final Restraining Order (“FRO”) under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act...more
On March 1, 2023 a precedential panel decision was issued in Rogowski v. Kirven. They are the parents of O.K. who is nine years old. The couple divorced in 2018 and mom remarried. From 2018 until August 2020 they shared week...more
On the latest episode, Matrimonial & Family Law Partner Morghan Richardson joins Host Rich Schoenstein to talk about current trends, including joint custody arrangements, pre-nuptial agreements covering pets, and the...more
If you are divorcing with children, there are two primary issues that the court must decide as it relates to your kids. The first is a residential schedule which addresses when your children will physically be with you and...more
Child custody trials can be interesting; alas, not as riveting as the clients seem to think. The Parnell trial pitted an ex Army ranger turned novelist/ U.S. Senate candidate against his former wife. The stakes were three...more
A previous post from August 22, 2010 defined “shared parenting” by New Jersey standards, specifically: anything between 28% (104 overnights) and 50% of the overnights with the children. This comes directly from Paragraph...more
Typically, divorce cases are handled by the court on the “FM” docket and cases involving people that weren’t married but have children together are handled on the “FD” or non-dissolution docket. Despite the fact that a...more
Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Marriage with a high needs kid is harder. Divorce with a high needs kid is harder—and most of all for the high needs kid. My husband and I are blessed with two children. My oldest...more
Vaccinations will likely become a hot topic in matters of divorced or separated parents in a post-pandemic world with vaccines now available to children ages 12 and up, and possible younger children in the future. Although...more
Several weekends ago, I celebrated a belated Mother’s Day and birthday with my extended family. One of the pictures taken reflects four generations of our family: my mother on one side and my father on the other...more