Articles Posted in Child Custody And Visitation

When parents decide to change their child’s last name and are in agreement, the process of the name change is quite simple. That is not the topic of this blog. Rather, the topic is what to do and what happens when the parents cannot come to agreement and the court makes the ultimate decision on your child’s last name.

New Jersey Courts apply a standard set of factors to name change cases regardless of whether or not the parties were ever married. In addition to those factors, the court applies additional standards if the parties never were and are not now married, giving preference to the name choice of the parent with whom the child primarily resides.

IN ALL CASES, NEW JERSEY COURTS APPLY THE FOLLOWING FACTORS

• How long has the child used his or her current surname.
• The child’s identification as a family member or as part of a family unit;
• Whether the child will experience any potential anxiety, embarrassment or discomfort if the child and custodial parent have different surnames. This is only considered for the parent given a presumption of surname. See below for details on presumption;
• The child’s preference, in the event he or she is old enough to express a preference;
• The court’s application of any additional factors it chooses to consider.

Continue Reading →

Questions often arise upon divorce regarding whether having a new significant other in the presence of the child is appropriate. Over the past four decades New Jersey courts have evolved on this issue. The leading cases are discussed below.

DeVita

DeVita is a 1976 New Jersey case that discusses the contact that a child may have with a parent’s new significant other.In DeVita, a father appealed his divorce judgment that prevented him from having a female companion stay overnight in the same home as his children when they visited him. The evidence presented showed that the two adults slept in separate bedrooms with their respective children and that nothing improper occurred during the overnight visit. Still, the court found that the restriction on overnight companions was enforceable in this case, based on the “moral welfare” of the children possibly being compromised. Continue Reading →