New Jersey Divorce and Family Lawyer Blog
A bill has passed the New Jersey Senate and Assembly and which is now before the governor that intends to amend the current alimony statute, N.J.S.A. 2A34-23. At present, the alimony statute allows a court to consider (1) permanent alimony; (2) limited duration alimony; (3) rehabilitative alimony; and (4) reimbursement alimony. Under permanent alimony, there is technically no end to alimony until the payor or payee spouse dies or the payee spouse remarries. The new proposed alimony statute would replace “permanent alimony” with “open durational” alimony. Continue reading ›
The Collaborative Divorce Process in New Jersey: Can a Conference Table Replace the Courtroom?
Most of us have watched the opening scene of the 2005 summer comedy, “Wedding Crashers”, where John Beckwith, played by Owen Wilson, and Jeremy Grey, played Vince Vaughn, serve as mediators in an acrimonious divorce between the equally recalcitrant Mrs. Kroeger, played by Rebecca De Mornay, and Mr. Kroeger, played by Dwight Yoakam. Nine years after moviegoers were treated to one of the funniest incidents of alternative dispute resolution ever depicted in film, last week the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee unanimously passed The Family Collaborative Law Act, S1224, which will now go to the full Senate. Continue reading ›
Parent Child Relationship May be Key in Determining a Divorced Parent’s Obligation to Pay for College
As my colleague, Mr. Dugan has touched upon in prior blog posts, divorced parents can be required to provide a college education (sometimes even an advanced degree) to their children, in addition to having to pay child support under New Jersey law. The Honorable Lawrence R. Jones, J.S.C. has offered additional insight into this issue in the case of Black v. Black, published on June 13, 2014. More specifically, Judge Jones addressed the relationship required between a child and the divorced parent from whom the child seeks a contribution to college expenses. Continue reading ›
Are Youth Suffering From Substance Abuse Issues Being Denied Equal Protection Based on Current Laws on Emancipation?
New Jersey has since the Divorce Reform Act of 1971 stood in the forefront in developing the law as it relates to Marriage and Divorce. We have over the years defined the law, and the Nation has followed and adopted some of our theories as to the distribution of property and the valuation of assets. It has been my pleasure to have been a divorce lawyer during this period of development, and to be recognized as a primary commentator on Family Law though my New Jersey Institute for Legal Education multi-volume treatise The Yudes Family Law Citator. Continue reading ›
Freedom of Speech and Family Law
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees certain freedoms, including the “freedom of speech”. Treatises have been written and a multitude of cases have been decided addressing what types of speech or expression are encompassed thereby, and the nature and scope of governmental or private action is subjected to it. This blog not intending to provide a detailed analysis of this First Amendment right. Continue reading ›
New Jersey Governor Signs a New Law Allowing Adoptees More Information About Their Biological Families
For more than three decades a debate has been waged in New Jersey on the adoption front over the extent to which adoptees can access their birth records and uncover information about their biological parents. In 1940, New Jersey began sealing adoption records. In 1977, New Jersey allowed the records to be accessible by court order. N.J.S.A. 9:3-51. Anti-abortion/pro-life activists advocated for birth records to be sealed because birth mothers who wished for anonymity might be more inclined to have an abortion if her privacy were not protected, or birth mothers might be more inclined to use New Jersey’s Safe Haven Infant Protection law that allows a newborn who is less than thirty days old to be left legally and anonymously at a police station or hospital emergency room without having to give any identifying or health information about the birth mother. Continue reading ›
Social Media in the Law: What You Say (or Post) Can Be Used Against You
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 ›
Divying up the Debts
When it comes to questions regarding equitable distribution, the one that seemingly gets overlooked or underappreciated the most often is the question revolving around how to divide or distribute the marital liabilities or debts of the marriage. It is so much easier to comprehend and make distributions of the assets of a particular marriage, but clients often do not necessarily understand or conceptualize that the marital liabilities and debts need to be “distributed” too. Continue reading ›
What Happens to Child Support When a Child Enrolls in an Out of State College?
On April 28th 2014 the Appellate Division issued an unpublished decision in the post-judgment case of Fox v. Fox, A-2339-12T1, 2014 WL 1660394 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div.). The Appellate Division reversed and remanded the trial court’s decisions to deny Dorothy Fox n/k/a Lamuraglia’s motion to modify child support. Ms. Lamuraglia was seeking to terminate her child support on the grounds that the child was about to start college. Continue reading ›
Does a New Jersey Court Have to Provide Counsel and Experts to Litigants Who Do Not Pay Court Ordered Support Before Incarcerating Them?
Most times, when courts award alimony and child support the Payors comply with their court ordered support obligations. In some instances, unfortunately, compliance with such orders wains and the issue of enforcement of court ordered support obligations must be addressed by the Court. New Jersey Court Rule 1:10-3 provides a vehicle for the Payee to seek enforcement of support orders through an application for the “Enforcement of Litigant’s Rights” and provides a plethora of coercive vehicles to a court to compel compliance with court ordered support obligations. Clearly the most effective of these coercive vehicles is the ability to incarcerate the payor until compliance in the form of payment is forth coming. Continue reading ›