Over time, many myths have developed in the ever changing world of New Jersey Family Law. The question is whether they are true, false, or somewhere in between. In a new publication on the Fox Rothschild Family Law Practice Page, we debunk many of those myths one at a time. The publication, entitled “Debunking… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Divorce
Subscribe to Divorce RSS FeedJust Because An Adult Child Lives at Home, Does Not Mean Child Support Continues
Posted in Child Support, College, Custody, Divorce, Interspousal Agreements, ModificationThe number of college graduates living with their parents has almost doubled since 2007. Currently, over 45% of 26-year-olds live at home with their parents. The figures highlight the difficulty that many young Americans have had in establishing careers following the longest recession this country has faced since the Great Depression. Some children, although employed,… Continue Reading
Service of the Complaint: Can You Hear Me Now?
Posted in DivorceIn a movie that I adore and one that should be required viewing for anyone contemplating marriage, Dean reluctantly says to Cindy, “You said for better or for worse. You said that. You said it. It was a promise. Now, this is my worst, okay? This is my worst. But I’m gonna get better.” Blue… Continue Reading
Personal Property: From Picayune to Precious, Distributing the Immaterial Possession
Posted in DivorceThe immortal George Carlin once said, “That’s the whole meaning of life, trying to find a place for your stuff. That’s all your house is, just a place for your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.” In the context of Family Law, the topic of personal property is rarely discussed… Continue Reading
WOMAN OBTAINS DIVORCE DUE TO HUSBAND’S SMALL MANHOOD
Posted in DivorceIn a story likely to make men worldwide a bit more insecure about themselves, a Taiwanese woman recently procured a divorce from her husband, in part, because he had a small penis. Making matters worse was the wife’s quote that "His penis is so small, like a kid’s, only 5 centimeters long. We’ve never had… Continue Reading
A Day That Will Live In Exigency: The (Over) Use Of the Order to Show Cause
Posted in Alimony, Child Support, DivorceI recently read a quote from Joseph Addison, an eighteenth century British author, which said, “Husband a lie, and trump it up in some extraordinary emergency.” It lead me to consider how family law attorneys categorize the notion of an emergency, often with a mixture of histrionics and hysteria, in contrast with how the… Continue Reading
Tatham v. Tatham: A Lesson in Civil Procedure?
Posted in DivorceBright-eyed law students around the country take a course called Civil Procedure during their first year of law school. By the time they graduate three years later, the will certainly remember the buzz-words “subject matter jurisdiction”, “personal jurisdiction” and “forum non conveniens”, but most all will have forgotten the concepts behind these foundational principles. Even as lawyers,… Continue Reading
Should I tell the kids?
Posted in Custody, DivorceYour spouse cheated. Or perhaps he or she walked out, ruining the life you had worked so hard to have for your family. Now the whole Earth is tilted on its axis and the future holds uncertainty, a lifestyle far different from that which you have had for years, and being yet another "broken family." … Continue Reading
Alimony Modification – A Judge’s Checklist
Posted in Alimony, Child Support, Divorce, Interspousal Agreements, Modification, Practice Issues, Property Settlement AgreementsMost people are aware that a supporting spouse may be entitled to modify an alimony obligation upon a showing of “changed circumstances.” However, many people do not know that the “leg-work” that they have to do to set themselves up to succeed on such a Motion begins long before the parties ever go to Court,… Continue Reading
The Term and Amount of Limited Duration Alimony Can Really be Modified? …Really?
Posted in Alimony, Divorce, Property Settlement AgreementsAs a continuation to my alimony-themed posts, the particular issue that is the subject of this blog post may come as a surprise to some supporting spouses; namely, the fact that the term and amount of a limited duration alimony obligation can be lengthened in some rare circumstances. New Jersey Courts do have authority to… Continue Reading
DOES YOUR LAWYER KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING?
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesWe have posted on this blog before about how to choose the right attorney for you, as recently as Eric Solotoff’s post of December 28th, but one related point worthy of discussion is whether your divorce lawyer actually knows what he or she is doing. Seems easy enough, right? Well, all too often a case may… Continue Reading
IMPUTATION OF INCOME IN THE WORLD OF ADVERTISING
Posted in Alimony, Divorce, Practice IssuesReading the recently unpublished (not precedential) Appellate Division matter of Connaughton v. Connaughton brought me back to my days of toiling as an account executive at an advertising agency in Manhattan. Our team often worked long hours and frequently traveled for client meetings, commercial shoots, and the like. Advertising also was and remains notorious for forcing account and… Continue Reading
For Self-Employed Litigants, Is There A Higher Standard for Modification of a Support Obligation?
Posted in Alimony, Child Support, Divorce, Modification, Practice Issues, Property Settlement AgreementsAs a continuation to last week’s post regarding what happens when trial courts fail to grant hearings to supporting spouses when they may be warranted, i.e. upon a showing of changed circumstances, this blog post will focus on those times where a hearing is deemed unnecessary based on the facts of a given case. This… Continue Reading
Motions to Reduce Support: When Applications are Denied without a Plenary Hearing, What’s Next?
Posted in Alimony, Child Support, Divorce, Modification, Practice Issues, Property Settlement AgreementsIn this economy, you would be surprised to see how many judges are jaded by applications brought by supporting spouses to reduce their support obligations based upon a reduction in income. After all, some judges entertain these applications on their daily docket and oftentimes see supporting spouses who are simply attempting to capitalize on the… Continue Reading
Where to go when problems arise after the kids move to another State
Posted in Custody, DivorceWe have all grappled with the fact that former spouses move, and oftentimes, a residential parent wants to take the children with her or him. While we have previously discussed the issue of removal in other posts, a recent decision discusses the issue of which court a parent must look to in the case of a… Continue Reading
Preparing for the Divorce Process and How to Select a Divorce Attorney
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesOn the heels of our New Years Resolution Divorce post, I thought it made sense to also resurrect our prior posts on preparing for the divorce process and how to select a divorce attorney. Previously, Sandra Fava, a contributor to this blog, did a piece on preparing for the initial divorce consultation with a lawyer…. Continue Reading
The New Year’s Resolution Divorce
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesFor the last few years, I have posted on the phenomenon of the New Year’s Resolution Divorce. For whatever reason, this post has struck a chord and has been both well received and cited by other bloggers. As such, given that the new year is near, I thought I would share that piece again. Over… Continue Reading
Mean What You Say, Write What You Mean
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesI recently wrote a blog entitled "Sloppy Drafting of Marital Settlement Agreements Can Cause Great Harm, Usually to Only One of the Parties." I am reminded why I wrote that post because as I read the new cases decided each day, it fortifies my belief that settlements must be clearly reduced to writing and that every effort… Continue Reading
Women Divorces Her Husband Because He Wouldn’t “Play Fifty Shades of Grey”
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesIn our effort to provide the reader of this blog all of the serious (ahem) family law news we can find, a top source for family law news, the New York Daily news provided some fodder for this blog this weekend. While I suspect some of you are waiting for us to discuss the Justin Bieber… Continue Reading
JUST THE FACTS JACK – OR A LEGITIMATE QUESTION OF CREDIBILITY?
Posted in DivorceIt seems that moving parties are more often trying to overcome the defects of their motions by arguing that a plenary hearing should be held due to unresolved questions of fact or issues of credibility. In other words, the litigant asks the court to hold a trial at some point in the future because the… Continue Reading
Use of Formula to Determine Alimony Nixed Again
Posted in Alimony, DivorceAlimony is supposed to be decided based upon the statutory factors, right? There really isn’t a formula to determine alimony, right? Even if there is this formula that is used to get a ball park figure for a range of alimony, judge’s can’t use it, right? So what happens when they do? We have blogged… Continue Reading
Read Melissa Brown’s Informative Article Entitled “How to Find the Right Divorce Attorney for You”
Posted in Divorce, Practice IssuesMelissa Brown, an attorney in Charleston, South Carolina, is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and one of the preeminent family lawyers in South Carolina. I had the occasion, last week, to read her excellent article on her blog entitled "How to Find the Right Divorce Attorney for You." Melissa has graciously allowed us to re-post her post. Her… Continue Reading
Want Your Day In Court? Think Twice.
Posted in Alimony, Child Support, Divorce, Equitable Distribution, OtherDivorce filings seem to be at an all-time high and, to no surprise, the trial courts are feeling the pressure. Documents filed with the court can get lost in the shuffle. Although motions should be addressed within 24 days from the initial filing date, it can take months until the court actually makes a decision. By then,… Continue Reading
The New Year’s Resolution Divorce
Posted in DivorceFor the last few years, I have posted on the phenomenon of the New Year’s Resolution Divorce. For whatever reason, this post has struck a chord and has been both well received and cited by other bloggers. As such, given that the new year is near, I thought I would share that piece again. Over the years,… Continue Reading