When dealing with any family law issue, there comes a time when somebody else’s statement or a document not written by a party becomes an issue. These documents are essential to any case and provide insight into the matter. They could be a statement from a witness who overheard or something, or a police report,…
As has been seen on television and in movies, one’s ability to “plead the fifth” is a well-known right stemming from the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, in relevant part states that “No person shall… shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived…
As a result of a new published decision, K.A. and K.I.A. v. J.L., a court found that service by Facebook would be sufficient to confer personal jurisdiction over the defendant. In K.A. and K.I.A. v. J.L., K.A. and K.I.A. were adoptive parents of their son, referred to as “Z.A.” Z.A.’s alleged biological father, J.L., had…
One issue that usually becomes an issue as children get older is the issue of college contribution. This issue will affect those who are in the process of divorcing, those who are already divorced, and those who were never married, but have children together. Ordinary child support, in most circumstances, does not cover the costs…
As of September 1, 2017, major changes were made to R. 5:6-9, which addresses the termination of child support unless certain proofs are provided by the custodial parent, consistent with the recently passed legislation, specifically, N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.67, et seq. New language was explicitly stating that the rule applies “unless otherwise provided in a court order”…
If an issue arises in a person’s household and an act of domestic violence has occurred, the police should immediately be called. An act of domestic violence does not just mean physical violence, however. In fact, “an act of domestic violence” is a legal term that has been defined by the Prevention of Domestic Violence…
In an illustrative, though unpublished case, Judge L.R. Jones, (ret) addressed head on the unspoken truth about maintaining the marital “status quo” pendente lite. Malek v. Malek featured a typical middle-class divorce quandary: Plaintiff Husband was the breadwinner as a public school teacher earning $90,000 a year while Defendant Wife was a part-time hair dresser…
This unpublished decision reinforces a lesson all matrimonial attorneys know but still sometimes fail to abide by: Draft your marital settlement agreements carefully. The parties divorced after a 20-year marriage. Their MSA provided that the husband pay the wife weekly alimony and that the alimony payments would increase when the wife was forced to leave…
Mr. Bridge (“Husband”) and Ms. Maier (“Wife”) were married and had two children, who were born in 1988 and 1990. A final judgment of divorce dissolved the marriage on March 28, 1995. At some later point in time, the parties agreed to contribute to the older child’s college expenses, with Husband paying 37% and 63%…
In the recent unpublished decision, Ganjoin v. Hall, the Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s determination that the parties should split the cost of a forensic accountant 50/50. This post-judgment case arose out of a motion by the plaintiff mother to compel the defendant father to contribute to their child’s college education costs. The parties…