Divorce Law

Social media is everywhere. Think about how much it has changed your life in the past few years: where do you find out about events in your social circle? Engagements, weddings, new jobs, new babies? How do you share any type of big news of your own? If you are like most Americans, these interactions are facilitated by social media. As you surely know, social media can also be harmful. You might have found information that made you upset, shocked you, or caused you to have a dispute with a loved one via social media. You might also have been told to be very careful about what you post on social media because anything that can be perceived as offensive can harm your career and chances of being hired in the future. When you are going through a divorce, it…Read More

A deposition is an important part of the divorce process. It is used to determine the extent of an individual’s assets so the court can fairly and effectively divide a couple’s property during the divorce process. Going through a deposition is called being deposed. Although it might sound like a scary or uncomfortable process, it is a vital part of your divorce and will only be used to gather information to fairly distribute your shared property with your spouse. If you have any questions about circumstances particular to your situation and how they might play out in a deposition, talk to your divorce attorney. Expect An Interview In a lot of ways, a deposition is like a job interview. You dress professionally and answer questions about your finances and your marriage clearly and concisely. The individual who performs your deposition…Read More

That depends on whether the property was purchased before your marriage or during it. Even then, certain factors can make a singly-held piece of real estate subject to New Jersey’s equitable division laws. If you are unsure about whether a particular piece of property is considered to be singly-held or marital property, discuss it with your divorce attorney. He or she can examine the circumstances surrounding your property and determine whether it is subject to division by the court or not. What Is Singly-Held Property? Singly-held property is the property that belongs to you, and only you. This includes all property you owned before entering your marriage and any property that you receive as a gift or through inheritance during your marriage. Basically, it is your possessions that were not purchased with marital funds. Sometimes, a piece of property that…Read More

When a couple legally separates, they stop living together but do not formally end their marriage. Couples choose to legally separate for a variety of reasons. When a married couple who has significant assets to divide or children to care for and support financially decides to legally separate, they might opt to draft and sign a separation agreement. This document outlines all the same issues that would be determined in a divorce, such as: Child support; Spousal support; Payment for household expenses and medical bills; Expenses for credit card bills, the couple’s mortgage, and any other debt like a car payment. Although a couple does not have to work with an attorney to create this agreement, it is often advisable that they do so neither party loses the assets he or she is entitled to receive when the couple separates.…Read More

When a couple divorces, the lower-earning spouse may ask the court to develop an alimony order. This order requires the higher-paying spouse to provide financial support to the lower-earning spouse for a defined period of time in order to avoid the receiving spouse from being financially ruined by the divorce. An appropriate payment amount and length of time to make the payments is calculated using the length of the couple’s marriage, the length of time the lower-earning spouse spent out of the workforce or working a part-time job in order to devote him or herself to the couple’s home and children, each partner’s assets and current income, and each partner’s financial needs following the divorce. When the paying partner experiences a change in his or her income, he or she may seek a modification to his or her alimony order…Read More

Going through a divorce and facing the prospect of no longer seeing your child every day can be heartbreaking. Hearing that your child does not want to spend time with you during your court-ordered parenting time can be even more devastating. When New Jersey courts develop child custody agreements, they do so with the intention of meeting all of the child’s needs. One of the child’s most critical needs is a consistent relationship with both of his or her parents. But what if the child does not want to have a relationship with one of his or her parents? Can the court force a relationship? The answer is maybe. Why A Child Refuses To Visit A Parent Matters If your child is refusing to visit you because he or she is experiencing neglect or abuse from a member of your…Read More

As a New Jersey parent, you can be required to contribute toward your adult child’s higher education expenses. College is expensive and most young men and women are unable to meet these costs themselves. But the price difference between colleges can be extreme. In New Jersey, one year’s tuition at Rutgers University costs just under $11,000. One year at Fairleigh Dickinson University runs more than $37,000 and New Jersey’s most expensive university, Drew University, costs more than $44,000 in tuition per year for New Jersey residents. Although you can be on the hook for your child’s college costs, can you be required to pay for an expensive private education when there are public, cheaper alternatives available? This question came to light in 2014 with the Christina Ricci case, in which a 21-year-old college student sued her parents for her $16,000 Temple University…Read More

There are a lot of ways to end your marriage. One way is through the traditional divorce litigation. Another is through mediation, which takes the couple out of the courtroom and allows them to work with a neutral third party to develop a satisfying divorce settlement. A third option is collaborative divorce. This option, like mediation, takes place outside the courtroom. Unlike mediation, the process of determining the terms of the couple’s divorce does not involve a third party. With collaborative divorce, the couple works together to determine their divorce settlement, then files the settlement with the court. Collaborative divorce can be an attractive option for couples who had fairly amicable relationships. Indeed, it can be. But there are also cases where collaborative divorce is not the best option. Before you decide to divorce through collaborative law, discuss your options…Read More

Not every marriage is a valid marriage. A marriage can be deemed to be invalid if it somehow violates New Jersey’s matrimonial laws. When this is the case for a couple, they have the option of having their marriage annulled. An annulment is not the same as a divorce. When a couple divorces, they take legal measures to exit a valid marriage contract. When a couple has an annulment, they legally acknowledge that their marriage was never a valid contract to begin with. What Makes A Marriage Invalid In New Jersey? Bigamy. If an individual is already married, he or she can not enter another marriage until this first marriage ends through divorce or death. Incestuous marriage. If the couple are biologically related in any way, their marriage is not valid under New Jersey law. Fraud. If either partner misrepresented…Read More