MEETING OPTIONS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS: The Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen understands your concerns regarding the spread of the Coronavirus, and now offers different meeting options to our clients and those seeking legal representation. All meetings, including initial consultations, can be handled either through the phone, FaceTime, Zoom, or in person.

| by

Those receiving child support or alimony payments rely on that money to pay for their living expenses. Even if the person who pays those support payments (called the payor) always pays on time, a question arises of what will happen to the recipient of those funds in the event of the untimely death of the payor. Life insurance policies are useful in this situation, and are often required, to ensure that the support recipient will continue to receive adequate compensation if the payor dies.

Life Insurance and Alimony

In New Jersey, alimony payments are often secured so that there is a mechanism in place to cover the payments if the payor alimony dies. The rationale is that alimony is awarded because the recipient needs it, and the untimely death of the payor should not unduly affect the financial life of the support recipient.

Amount of Life Insurance Needed to Cover Alimony Payments

The amount of life insurance needed to secure alimony payments can be calculated by multiplying the payment amount by the duration of the alimony payments. Alimony is often ordered to be paid for a limited time rather the indefinitely, either for a set number of years or until a specific event occurs (remarriage of the supported spouse, for example). Since alimony is taxable, you need to deduct the amount of tax to determine the appropriate amount. Continue Reading →

| by

Whether you divorce by settlement agreement or a judge orders divorce terms after a trial, the resulting judgment is a legally binding court order. Your settlement agreement is incorporated into your judgment. If your ex doesn’t abide by its terms, either for custody or child support, you have a few options.

Problems With Child Support

If your ex isn’t paying child support, your easiest remedy is to sign up for your state’s child support services. State services collect from your ex, often through an income withholding order, so it’s more difficult for to fall behind with his payments in the first place. His employer must deduct his support from each of his paychecks and forward it to the state. The state then transmits the payments to you and keeps track. If your ex falls behind for such reasons as being out of work, the state may intercept his tax refund, report to the credit bureaus, or place liens against his property.

But state services can be slow because they often labor under a huge caseload. If you want your money sooner rather than later, you can take your ex back to court yourself. Your ex will have to appear before a judge and explain why he hasn’t paid. The judge may work with him if he’s suffered some financial hardship that genuinely prevents him from paying child support. This doesn’t mean the judge will vacate or erase the support terms of your divorce judgment so you won’t get paid. It means he’ll put a plan in place by which your ex can eventually catch up with his arrears (the unpaid balance he owes you) and get back on track. Continue Reading →

| by

Final Restraining Orders (FRO’s) are permanent in the State of New Jersey, which means that they do not have an expiration date. Without going to court to request a change in the FRO, it will continue to be valid indefinitely. In order to remove, modify, or dissolve a FRO the victim (the person who is being protected by the FRO) or the defendant (the person the FRO is entered against) must go before the court and request that such a change be made.

Once a motion is made to dissolve a FRO, a judge will review the court documents that led to the issuance of the FRO in the first place, and then it will inquire about the current state of the parties relationship to determine whether or not to dissolve the FRO.

The Carfagno Factors

The judge will look to several factors to determine whether there is a good reason to dissolve the FRO. The 11 factors contemplated are taken from the 1995 New Jersey case Carfagno v. Carfagno. Continue Reading →

| by

The calculation of alimony payments upon divorce can be a tricky undertaking. In New Jersey, a family court judge will look at the financial lives of both spouses, and then apply an appropriate set of factors to determine an appropriate payment amount. Of course, the judge must have access to the most accurate information in order for the calculated amount to be fair and reasonable. What happens if one of the parties under reports his or her income? What if one of the parties quits his or her job, or takes a lower paying job for the purposes of avoiding the payment of alimony? Unfortunately those situations happen in some divorce cases. State law and case law provide us with guidance on how New Jersey family court judges should handle these cases.

Elrom v. Elrom

In the case of Elrom v. Elrom, the court decided a case that involved a spouse’s underreporting of income. In that case, the Defendant reported his income from work as a software engineer and technical writer as $120,000 per year, and the Plaintiff reported $80,640 in previous income per year for her work as an attorney. The parties each alleged that the other party either did earn, or could have earned more than the reported income.

The Plaintiff’s reported income of $80,640 was the salary she made at a New Jersey law firm working as an associate. Prior to having children, the Plaintiff had made substantially more, $175,000 per year, working at a New York City law firm. After having children, the Plaintiff left work for a time to take care of her children, and then worked part-time (approximately 26 hours per week) for $67.50 per hour. Then, she took on a full-time job at the New Jersey law firm making $80,640 per year. She was unemployed at the time of the trial. Continue Reading →

| by

Under New Jersey law, emancipation of a child occurs when the dependent relationship between the parent and the child ends. The term emancipation is used largely in the context of child support, as the emancipation of a child signals the end of the requirement of a parent to pay child support. In the 2015 case of Llewelyn v. Shewchuk, the court answered the question of whether a child is emancipated when she chooses to live independently from either legal parent.

The facts of the Llewelyn case are interesting, as we typically see the parents as the parties bringing this type of litigation, but here we have the child as the “appellant” in this particular case and the child’s father as the defendant. In 1994 James Shewchuk (the defendant) adopted two-year-old Adrianna (the appellant) when he married her mother (who is the plaintiff in this case). Continue Reading →

| by

Arbitration is increasing in popularity in New Jersey divorce cases due to its ability to significantly reduce the cost and length of the legal process. New rules that were adopted in 2015 ensure that New Jersey courts are able to review and enforce arbitration awards in divorce cases.

COURT RULE 5:1-5 ARBITRATION

The New Jersey Supreme Court enacted a new rule, Court Rule 5:1-5 which provides rules for the arbitration of divorce matters. Adopted on September 1, 2015, Rule 5:1-5 applies to all agreements to arbitrate and consent orders to arbitrate any family law matter, with the following exceptions:

(a) the final judgment of annulment or dissolution of relationship;

(b) actions involving the Division of Child Protection and Permanency;

(c) domestic violence actions;

(d) juvenile delinquency actions;

(e) family crisis actions; and

(f) adoption actions.

SOURCE OF RULE 5:1-5 – FAWZY V. FAWZY
Continue Reading →

| by

Perhaps you and your partner are having major issues in your marriage, or maybe the two of you just want to work on your communication skills. In either case, it might be advisable to reach out to a marriage counselor for help. Many people begin looking for a counselor via an online search, and the results all show offers of support, understanding, and help. They all seem sincere, so how do you choose a marriage counselor that is right for you and your spouse?

Choosing a marriage counselor is a big decision. This is a person with whom you will discuss sensitive issues, and you will likely feel vulnerable, so it’s important you feel comfortable with that person. Many couples wait too long to begin counseling. For many, it is a last resort before filing for divorce. It doesn’t matter if your problems are big or small; you need a marriage counselor who is competent and works in the best interest of both parties.

Here are four tips to help you find the right marriage counselor for you:

Choose an actual marriage counselor. There are many different types of mental health professionals, but only marriage and family counselors have special education, training, and experience in helping couples. Any counselor can offer marriage advice, even if their background is in social work or counseling individuals, or even if their experience was as a school psychologist. Those without specialized training often try to use individual therapy techniques or try to diagnose one of the partners as being “the problem” instead of helping the couple as a team. Continue Reading →

| by

Early settlement is an alternative dispute resolution program for married couples going through a divorce. The goal of the program is to allow the parties to reach a settlement on the issues in dispute early on in the divorce process to avoid the lengthy and expensive litigation process. As is the case with many legal issues, divorce is a much easier process if the parties can at least try to compromise and resolve their issues without going to court.

WHO ARE THE PANELISTS?

The early settlement panel (ESP) is comprised of experienced matrimonial attorneys. Each attorney must have at least 5 years experience in matrimonial law. The panel is usually made up of two to three panelists.

WHAT ISSUES DOES THE ESP ADDRESS?

Matrimonial issues related to finances and property are addressed by the early settlement program. More sensitive issues such as child custody and visitation require a more in depth process and thus are not decided on in the early settlement process. Continue Reading →

| by

The term “legal separation” is used nationwide, but the process can be different depending on your state — and sometimes even within the same state. Technically, New Jersey doesn’t recognize legal separation, at least by that name. You don’t have to file a complaint with the court if you and your spouse want to live apart. You can do so, however, if you want to.

The most common way of separating in New Jersey involves negotiating and signing a settlement agreement. The agreement can resolve issues of custody, parenting time, child support, and spousal support, setting the terms under which you and your spouse will live apart. The agreement becomes an enforceable contract when signed by both spouses. If you eventually decide to divorce, and if the agreement also provides for issues of property and debt distribution, you can ask the court to incorporate its terms in a divorce judgment as a property settlement agreement. You can have an easy, uncontested divorce. Otherwise, there’s no need to file the agreement with the court if your separation is open-ended.

New Jersey also recognizes another form of legal separation called a Divorce from Bed and Board. This option does involve filing a complaint with the court, and you must cite one of the same grounds for divorce that you would use if you were to file for an absolute divorce instead. You can then ask the court to decide custody, visitation, and support issues for you. You can still reach an agreement on these things and submit it to the court without actually ending your marriage. Both you and your spouse must both agree to this option. If you later decide to divorce entirely, you can ask the court to convert your judgment into one of absolute divorce. Continue Reading →

| by

Oftentimes when a divorce case is filed, a party desires a restoration of their maiden name or even a prior surname that may not be the last name she or he had at the time of her birth. There are a number of considerations to keep in mind when it comes to how to change a surname in a divorce case.

Prayer for Relief in Complaint for Divorce

If a party files for divorce, he or she needs to include a prayer for relief requesting a restoration of a prior name in the complaint for divorce. A prayer for relief is a legal request asking a court to take certain action. A party usually is entitled to have not only a maiden name restored but a prior surname that was lawfully used prior to the marriage at issue in the divorce proceedings as long as the party is not attempting to avoid creditors or criminal prosecution. . For example, if the party had been married previously, she theoretically could have restored the surname she used during that time. The same process applies to cases in which a partner in a same-sex marriage desires a name change. Same-sex divorce cases have only recently begun to work their way through the legal system. If a party is the respondent in a divorce case, i.e., the person being sued for divorce, she will request a name change in the response filed to the petition or complaint. Continue Reading →

Member Of
Super Lawyers Martindale-Hubbell New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Attorney

Peter Van Aulen was selected to the 2016 and 2017 Super Lawyers list. The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Peter Van Aulen has received a rating by Martindale Hubbell. A description of the rating methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Peter Van Aulen is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Matrimonial Attorney.

Contact Information
Office Location
50 Market St
Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
Phone: 201-845-7400

The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, The Law Offices of Peter Van Aulen
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design