child support

Does a New Jersey Court Have to Provide Counsel and Experts to Litigants Who Do Not Pay Court Ordered Support Before Incarcerating Them?

May 2, 2014 | James P. Yudes, Esq.

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 ›

When Does Child Support End? – Shifting the Burden

March 21, 2014 | Kevin M. Mazza, Esq.

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 ›

The Rachel Canning Case: Can Married Parents Be Forced to Pay College Expenses the Way that Divorced Parents May Be Obligated?

March 8, 2014 | The Law Office of James P. Yudes, P.C.

United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote on behalf of the Court in the case of Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), that “the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children — is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court.” Justice O’Connor went on to cite other decisions like Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), wherein the Court recognized “that the ‘liberty’ protected by the Due Process Clause includes the right of parents to ‘establish a home and bring up children’ and ‘to control the education of their own.’” Continue reading ›

Calculating Child Support for Multiple Families

December 28, 2013 | The Law Office of James P. Yudes, P.C.

On December 18, 2013 the New Jersey Appellate Division published an opinion in the matter of Harte v. Hand. In the opinion, the Appellate Division addressed the issue of how to properly calculate child support on behalf of children of multiple families. Continue reading ›

Custody Disputes in New Jersey – What are the Terms That You Need to Understand?

November 27, 2013 | Karen T. Willitts, Esq.

Custody disputes can sometimes remind me of the Biblical story of King Solomon (1 Kings 3:16-28). In this story, King Solomon is tasked with resolving an argument between two women in the same household, each of whom claimed to be the mother of an infant son. Continue reading ›

Child Support Obligation – What Can It Cover?

September 6, 2013 | Daniel A. Burton, Esq.

In my last post, I described the various items and expenses that are specifically built into the calculation of a child support obligation pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines in an attempt to explain and describe what a child support obligation is meant to cover. In addition to the automatic and mandatory expenses built into the Child Support Guidelines calculation of child support, there are a number of expenses that should be included, if they are incurred by a particular family, in the calculation of child support. Continue reading ›