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Settling on a custody and visitation schedule can be the most difficult part of a divorce. Your kids are the most important part of your life, and it’s natural to want to fight for as much time with them as possible. However, when you consider issues of custody, you have…
One unfortunate aspect of practicing family law means one will inevitably have to deal with issues of domestic violence. NJ domestic violence laws are an interesting intersection of family law and criminal law. The L.C. v M.A.J. case which recently came down from the Appellate court offers some perspective on…
Child custody evaluations are often used by the court when the case has a highly contested custody matter before it. The evaluator is able to speak to both parties with an objective perspective, as well as the children, and as a result their opinion is very important to the judge.…
One of the most financially impactful events in life can be the possibility of a divorce. New Jersey is not a community property state, but rather, an equitable distribution state. This means that, under New Jersey equitable distribution law, the courts have the discretion to divide marital property in an…
While divorce can be a traumatic experience for some, for others it can be quite liberating. Before separating, you might have tried everything to save your marriage, and in the process realized that divorce was the best option. While “until death do us part” might not have worked out, don’t let…
Going through a divorce is rarely an easy process. Most divorces are challenging to get through at the very least. Not only can things get emotionally messy, but there are often a lot of tricky legal matters involved as well. One decision that’s often quite contentious is what to…
In New Jersey, family law cases always provide courts the opportunity to create new law, particularly when it comes to child relocation laws in NJ. One very recent case, Bisbing v. Bisbing, added an interpretation for what is necessary to establish “cause” to allow a child to permanently relocate out…
In a recently unreported case, Hersch v Hersch, the court once again was called upon to interpret New Jersey alimony laws. The parties had been married 15 years when they decided to divorce in 2010. They had two children of the marriage, who, at the time of this final decision,…
A recent case out of New Jersey gives a great overview of the myriad child custody laws in NJ, particularly concerning jurisdictional aspects. The case, BG v LH, concerns three children. The eldest son has mental health issues, but lives in Israel and is now an adult. The younger son…
The court in Sacklow v Betts very recently encountered the issue of a legal name change in NJ for a transgender child. In this case, the Plaintiff (Sacklow) petitioned the court to change their only child’s name from Veronica Betts to Trevor Adam Betts. The plaintiff argued that the name…