When a married couple with children decides to divorce in New Jersey, they will need to resolve issues related to child custody, visitation, and support in addition to deciding how to divide their assets and debts. Similarly, unmarried parents might also need to seek child custody orders to establish their parental rights, determine with whom…
Cases involving disputes over child custody, visitation, and child support can be among the most contentious types of family law matters that might be filed in New Jersey courts. Many parents have misconceptions about how child support, visitation, and child custody are interlinked. Parents need to understand that child support, visitation, and custody are separate…
The law is well established in New Jersey favoring parents’ fundamental custody and parenting rights of their child. However, that right is not absolute, and a parent’s presumptive right can be overcome by a showing of “gross misconduct, unfitness, neglect, or ‘exceptional circumstances’ affecting the welfare of the child.” K.A.F. v. D.L.M., 437 N.J. Super.…
When the world essentially shut down in March and schools were closed, parents throughout New Jersey held onto hope that schools would eventually reopen before the end of the school year. With every passing school holiday and milestone, parents muttered under their sleep deprived breaths that homeschooling and virtual learning could possibly continue for another…
When the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) receives an allegation of abuse or neglect, they are mandated by law to investigate it. The investigation will end in one of four findings: Substantiated, Established, Not Established or Unfounded. “Established” and “Substantiated” are both considered findings of abuse or neglect and allow the accused party…
In a significant new decision, A.J. v. R.J., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2019), the Appellate Division addressed both sanctions for violations of custody/parenting time Orders and confirmed that the interstate relocation standard established in Bisbing v. Bisbing must be applied to both interstate and intrastate relocation applications. Background The case stems from Plaintiff,…
The Courts in New Jersey have a specific set of forms and procedures for unmarried parents who are going through child-related legal disputes such as custody, parenting time, child support, college contribution, medical expenses, extracurricular activities, and camp expenses. The cases are handled by the Family Division and are referred to as “non-dissolution” matters and…
In today’s mobile and technologically advanced society, it is becoming more common for parents to live in different states from each other. When that happens, however, and a custody/parenting time dispute arises, in what court and what state should the dispute be addressed? While the law is designed to simplify the answer and ensure that…
Case of Dever v. Howell If you wish to relocate with your children out of New Jersey, you must follow proper protocol Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 9:2-2, which dictates that a child cannot be removed from the State of New Jersey unless agreed upon by the parties or permitted by Court Order. However, as recently demonstrated…
Family lawyers at this time of year know that with the holiday season comes custody and parenting time disputes. As suggested in my last blog post, getting a jump on these disputes before the midnight hour is the often the best way to proceed. Sometimes, however, it simply cannot be done and the family court…