Articles Tagged with child support

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19-08-2In any number of cases, the issue of imputation of income can and will arise with regard to one or both parties when issues of alimony or child support arise. Generally speaking, in matrimonial cases an issue over imputation of income often arises when, say one party has been unemployed for some time, or where a party is not earning or reporting income consistent with that person’s ability to do so.  The case law in the State of New Jersey is fairly straightforward when it comes to when and how income should be imputed to an individual, however, there have been some recent developments that highlight some nuances. Continue reading ›

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Generally, when a motion to modify a child support obligation is made New Jersey’s “anti-retroactivity statute” only allows a modification in child support retroactive to the date that the motion was filed.  N.J.S.A. specifically states:

“No payment or installment of an order for child support, or those portions of an order which are allocated for child support established prior to or subsequent to the effective date of P.L.1993, c. 45 (C.2A:17-56.23a), shall be retroactively modified by the court except with respect to the period during which there is a pending application for modification, but only from the date the notice of motion was mailed either directly or through the appropriate agent. The written notice will state that a change of circumstances has occurred and a motion for modification of the order will be filed within 45 days. In the event a motion is not filed within the 45-day period, modification shall be permitted only from the date the motion is filed with the court.”  (Emphasis added). Continue reading ›

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file000314800471A recent trial court decision by the Honorable Sohail Mohammed, J.S.C., from the Superior Court of New Jersey in Passaic County, is making headlines for its precedent setting nature combined with the “scratch your head” intrigue certain headlines provide.  More specifically, Judge Mohammed recently made a ruling that a man believed to be the father of two twin girls was actually only the father of one of the girls and, therefore, was only required to pay for child support that one child.  In fact, this is the first paternity case of its kind in the State of New Jersey (and thus a matter of first impression) and only the third of its kind in the entire nation. Continue reading ›

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In 2014 my colleague wrote an excellent blog entitled “When Does Child Support End?-Shifting the Burden”, which discussed New Jersey law on the emancipation of a child and the termination of child support.    Another colleague has further blogged about the payment of college expenses by divorced parents.  You may also recall a 2014 case filed in New Jersey by Rachel Canning, who moved out of her parents’ home because she did not want to abide by their rules, yet filed an application to compel her non-divorced parents to pay for her college expenses and support. Continue reading ›

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In order to ensure children receive support from both parents, New Jersey employs a number of enforcement mechanisms. These include, but are not limited to:

Income withholding
Credit reporting
Interception of lottery winnings
Tax fund offset
Seizure of assets
License suspension- driver’s, professional or recreational
Passport denial
Civil awards/settlements
Court enforcement
Warrants
Judgments
New Hires Directory Continue reading ›

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The New Jersey Appellate Division this week published the case of Elrom v. Elrom, in which the Husband appealed the provision in the parties’ divorce judgment where the trial court imputed income to the parties for purposes of determining the amount of alimony and child support the Husband had to pay to his former Wife.  The Wife in this case was an attorney licensed to practice in New York and New Jersey.   Continue reading ›

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As the landscape of the “traditional family” continues to evolve, children are being born into multiple families requiring innovation in calculating child support obligations on behalf of children in these families. In  a previous blog entitled “Calculating Child Support for Multiple Families”, we outlined the procedure for properly calculating child support on behalf of children of multiple families pursuant to the Appellate Division decision in Harte v. Hand, 433 N.J Super. 457 (App. Div. 2013). Continue reading ›

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file000421021206In 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 ›

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file0002022362803 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 ›

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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 ›