On January 12th 2015, the Appellate Division published its opinion in the case of Costa v. Costa. In Costa, the parties were married in 1994 and divorced in 2006. They had two children together, one being born in 1997 and the other in 2000. By way of settlement agreement entered into at the time of the divorce, the parties agreed the mother would be the primary residential custodian and that they would share joint legal custody of the children. Continue reading ›
The Appellate Division recently handed down a clear and unambiguous message to triall courts and litigators alike regarding custody disputes and how they should be handled procedurally, regardless of whether the case is pre- or post-judgment. The case, entitled D.A. v. R.C., involved the biological parents of a fourteen (14) year old boy each seeking to be designated as the parent of primary residence approximately ten (10) years after entering into a consent order resolving all issues of custody between them. Continue reading ›
We all look forward to the holiday season. Traditions developed around holidays build a collective family memory that binds us together uniquely and permanently. We bring the traditions we learn in our childhoods into our marriages and incorporate them with our spouse’s traditions into a new hybrid tradition. We do this generation to generation creating traditions and cementing the family across generations. Continue reading ›
In yet another recently published decision, in Madison v. Davis decided on June 18, 2014, the Honorable Lawrence R. Jones, J.S.C., sitting in the Family Division of Ocean County, tackled a novel issue related to the rights and obligations of divorced parents when their child(ren) attend pre-school. Throughout the decision, Judge Jones’ primary focus was placed on reconciling the competing interests addressed in cases such as Pascale v. Pascale, 140 N.J. 583 (1995) and Beck (Beck v. Beck, 86 N.J. 480 (1981), neither of which specifically discusses preschool. Continue reading ›
On August 6, 2014, the Appellate Division published the decision in KAF v. DLM., in which the Court clarified the standard that family courts are to apply when considering applications by a third party seeking custody and/or visitation and claims that he or she is a “psychological parent” to a child who already has fit and involved legal parent(s). Continue reading ›
On July 28, 2014, the New Jersey Appellate Division approved for publication the case of R.K. v. F.K. (Docket No. A-4165-11T4), which further clarified the issue of how courts in New Jersey are to determine applications to modify existing custody and parenting time arrangements. In August, 2007 the wife obtained a temporary restraining order (TRO) against her husband, citing harassment. The parties had been married since 2001 and had three young children together. That month, the family court issued a Final Restraining Order (FRO) and gave the wife temporary custody of the children. The husband was ordered to attend anger management classes, and he was given parenting time on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Continue reading ›
Legislation has recently been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature that would allow for the issuance of Restraining Orders in Non-Domestic Violence situations. While its passage and/or application to family law matters is problematic, this led me to think about a question frequently posed by many of my divorce clients – short of someone being found guilty of committing an act of Domestic Violence, “Is there any way of forcing my (bleep) spouse out of the marital residence until such time we are divorced?”. Most of the time my answer would be, “Unfortunately, no” . Would this proposed legislation change that answer, or is it time for the courts to revisit how they address these situations? Continue reading ›
With the proliferation of ways to communicate via social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and blogging sites, it has become more common in legal settings for such postings to be used as evidence in court. Mainstream media outlets have been reporting recently about an unpublished May, 2014 Appellate Division decision in the matter of State v. H.L.M., which addressed the extent to which a court’s limit on the subject matter of a litigant’s online blogging was an infringement on her Constitutional Right to free speech. Continue reading ›
In the landmark case of Merenoff v. Merenoff, 76 N.J. 535 (1978), the New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the doctrine of interspousal immunity, which prevented one from suing one’s spouse for injuries proximately caused by the conduct of that spouse. Later, in the case of Tevis v. Tevis, 79 N.J. 422,(1979), the Supreme Court held that “that the abolition of the doctrine [of interspousal immunity] pertained to tortious conduct generally encompassing not only conventional negligence but also intentional acts, as well as other forms of intentional behavior such as gross negligence, recklessness, wantonness, and the like.” The law on interspousal torts further was developed in the case of Giovine v. Giovine, 284 N.J.Super. 3, 13 (App.Div. 1995), where the Appellate Division recognized the right of a spouse to sue the other spouse under the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress where the measure of damages was not dependent upon physical injury to the plaintiff, but could be established through competent evidence showing the perpetrator’s’s outrageous or otherwise actionable conduct. Continue reading ›
If divorcing parties have children, the support of these children is one of the issues that needs to be addressed. In the majority of cases the “amount” of child support is fairly easy to determine – the incomes of most families fall within the range covered by the Child Support Guidelines; a formula established by Court Rule. The next question I am frequently asked (usually by the payor parent) is for how long does this child support need to be paid – usually followed by the comment: “To 18 right, since this is considered the age of majority?” Continue reading ›
New Jersey Divorce and Family Lawyer Blog