When one thinks of acts domestic violence usually physical and verbal abuse come to mind. However, actions that involve the destruction of the property of another are often overlooked. Destroying your significant other’s property falls under New Jersey statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3(a)(1), which provides that an individual is guilty of criminal…
In the case of Slawinski v. Nicholas, 448 N.J. Super. 25 (App. Div. 2016), the Appellate Division addressed a dispute involving parents who entered into a consent order establishing rights to grandparent visitation but then later wished to abrogate those rights. In this case, a motion was brought by the mother…
On August 15, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division approved for publication the decision in the matter of E.S. v. H.A (A-3230-14T2 and A-3256-14T2), in which the Appellate Division addressed whether a parent may be required to admit to a crime as a condition for that parent to be able to make…
Approximately three years after the firestorm caused by the release of the elevator video showing star running back, Ray Rice, punching and knocking unconscious his then fiancé, the National Football League is once again in the headlines, this time for announcing that after its own investigation, the league was suspending…
Nothing is more precious to us than our children. The Supreme Court of the United States has established the right to know one’s children as a fundamental Constitutional right. In New Jersey the right to know and raise one’s children is firmly entrenched in statutory and case law. In our mobile society…
Divorce as defined in Webster’s Dictionary means, “the action or instance of legally dissolving a marriage.” While a divorce does end a marriage, it is not “THE END”. Unfortunately, when in the midst of a divorce is it almost impossible for one to see the new beginnings that lay…
This past week the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion in the case of V.J.C vs. M.V. (docket no. A-4587-15T3). In this case the defendant appealed from a final restraining order (FRO) entered by the trial court in favor of plaintiff pursuant to the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act,…
Earlier this month, a March, 2017 written opinion by family court judge the Honorable Russell J. Passomano, J.S.C. was approved for publication in the matter of BG-v-LH (FM-07-468-13). In this published opinion the court addressed issues of jurisdiction in a custody and parenting time dispute where one party had relocated with…
Only a court can grant a divorce. A court can also decide issues of custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, the distribution of property, as well as other claims incident to the dissolution of a marriage. However, a court need not decide these issues as the parties themselves…
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Summer is the time for: sea breezes, mountain air, trips to the museums with the kids in tow, and . . . domestic violence. Statistically, domestic violence increases during summer months. This rise is probably because there are a number of holidays in the summer months, and people…