What is a Contested Divorce?

If you and your spouse are ready to get a divorce, you probably realize that grounds for divorce are not always agreed upon. Fortunately, since New Jersey is a “no-fault” divorce state, you may cite irreconcilable differences as an appropriate grounds for divorce. Unfortunately, several issues prevent a divorce from being uncontested. Contested divorces usually […]

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Support Payments After a Divorce in New Jersey

Couples often intertwine their lives in several different ways over the length of their marriage. This may be through finances or their children. It is because of this that divorces are a difficult process. This requires the spouses to separate their lives after combining them. In many situations, one spouse may be required by the […]

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What happens if I lose my job and can’t pay child support?

Divorces are never easy and they only become further complicated when the divorcing couple has children together. If the couple has children, they will have to come up with a parenting plan and determine factors such as custody, a visitation schedule, and child support payments. In New Jersey, the non-custodial parent, or the parent who […]

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What are the rights and obligations of the custodial parent?

When two people have a child together but are no longer in a relationship, or never were in a relationship, there may be a time in which a parenting plan will have to be decided upon. This usually includes creating a custody agreement, visitation schedule, and determining child support obligations. When there is not a […]

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NJ Child Support Law Changes February 2017

On February 1, 2017, New Jersey’s newest child support law will go into effect. Governor Chris Christie signed the Termination of Child Support law in January 2016 that will provide the early termination of some child support agreements. The changes will allow for a parent to provide their child with continuous monetary and medical support […]

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How can I help my children deal with our divorce?

Affected even more than the people who are actually getting divorced are the children of the divorcing couple. One of the biggest reasons that children feel the harshest impacts of their parents’ divorce is because their life is changing dramatically and they don’t have any control over the situation. No matter the age of the […]

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What are the different types of adoption?

Making the decision to adopt a child is a simultaneously exciting and confusing process. There are so many different types of adoption and ways to go about the various processes. Some of the options that you have when considering adoption are private adoptions, international adoptions, single parent adoptions, open adoptions, and domestic adoptions. Some people […]

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What Happens When I am Served With a Notice to Appear in Court for a DCPP matter?

Clients often contact me regarding service of papers to appear in court for a DCPP matter. There are two ways parents can be notified of DCPP court proceedings. One way is called a Dodd removal, which is an emergency removal without a court order. The division staff can actually take children out of a home […]

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I am Getting a Divorce and I Have Children. Will They Have to Testify?

People often ask what happens with their children when they’re going through the divorce process. If custody is an issue between you and your spouse, meaning you do not have an agreement on custody, part of the process will often involve your children being interviewed either by a custody expert who is usually a child […]

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I am a Stay-At-Home Mother, Does This Mean I Automatically get Custody

A very common question that I’ve experienced over the course of my career is “I’m a stay-at-home mother, and does that mean I would get primary custody of my children?” Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that. Certainly, it means that you would have at least an equal role in your children’s lives, but it would not […]

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My Income Has Changed, How do I Modify Child Support?

Child support is always modifiable upon a showing of a change in circumstances. If a person has a change in income, you can file what is called a motion. A motion is a request for the court to review your circumstances and make a new order based on that change in circumstances.

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How Do New Jersey Courts Determine Custody?

Moms and dads are playing equal roles in their children’s lives The courts are looking for who is the person who’s involved in the grooming of the child, who is the parent who’s involved in cooking for the child, doing the laundry for the children or child, all those kinds of issues, mundane or otherwise, […]

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How is Child Custody and Parenting Time Determined in New Jersey?

We start off with the premise that both parents are entitled to equal time with their children. We now see instances where parents have shared custody on a greater frequency. Children need stability. Jumping from one house to another everyday isn’t always in your child’s best interests. There are some schedules that have been developed […]

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How Can I Prevent My Spouse from Moving Out of State with My Child?

Relocation is a very difficult issue. It’s difficult because of the impact that it has on the parent that is left behind. Really, there’s no other way to describe it. Our law right now, in some respects, liberally allows the relocation if it’s made in good faith. This means that a person isn’t trying to […]

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Can I Modify My Child Support Payments? My Income has Changed.

One of the most common things that we attorneys see, following a divorce, is a request for a modification of child support. Oftentimes, after divorce, factors change in circumstances. Perhaps their income has changed; perhaps they’ve had another child. Child support is always modifiable upon a showing of a change in circumstances. If a person […]

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Are Legal Custody and Residential Custody the Same Thing?

When we talk about custody in New Jersey, we really discuss two different types of custody; legal custody and residential custody. Legal custody is the term that we use for important decisions you make for your children, including anything related to their health, education, and welfare. The presumption in New Jersey is that parents are […]

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How is Child Support Determined In a New Jersey Divorce?

Over the years, there have been computer programs that have been created in order to calculate child support. Child support is a product of income and predominantly the number of overnights you have with your children. If you are a parent that has 104 overnights or more, we use a shared parenting worksheet. In a […]

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How Does Legal and Residential Custody Differ?

Legal custody is the term that we use for important decisions you make for your children, such as anything related to their health, education, and welfare. Parents usually share joint legal custody, meaning that they are going to jointly make these decisions for their children. Sole legal custody can be requested when a court deems […]

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Do I Have to Pay Child Support If I Have Shared Custody?

  It depends on your incomes. The difference in income will determine whether you pay child support, typically. When you receive alimony, that’s income to you, and if you pay alimony, it’s deduction against your income. It really is a product of your incomes after alimony is paid, if there’s any alimony at all.  

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How Can I Prevent My Spouse and Child from Moving Out of State?

Our law right now, in some respects, liberally allows the relocation if it’s made in good faith They must be moving for good reasons. All NJ courts will address if the move in the child’s best interests. In NJ, moving away from one parent is usually not consider automatically contrary to the child’s best interest […]

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Will My Children Have to Testify in My NJ Divorce Trial?

If custody is an issue between you and your spouse, part of the process will often involve your children being interviewed either by a custody expert who is usually a child forensic psychologist or by the judge. Interviews with children in their teen years are often required by the court. Children who are younger are […]

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What Are the Outcomes of DCPP Investigations in New Jersey?

When the division did confirm that there was an act or omission that constituted child abuse or neglect they decide if it is substantiated or established. There are two non-child abuse findings which are not established and unfounded. These findings have been changed in recent years and they remain largely unlitigated by the courts. A […]

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What is a Motion and How Does It Work?

A motion is an application to the court where you’re requesting that the court either take some sort of action or grant you some sort of relief. Any party to a matter can file a motion. The adversary has a chance to either respond to that motion, oppose that motion, or request their own relief. […]

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