Yesterday, I blogged about the illusory "final offer", noting that most cases settle. The reason for that is that there is a realm of reason, a range if you will, where cases with similar facts and circumstances, should resolve themselves based upon experience, statutes, case law, Guidelines, etc. In most cases, absent wide valuation disparities, esoteric issues, bona… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Bergen County Divorce Attorneys
Laches? We Don’t Need No Stinking Laches!
Posted in Child SupportOkay, now that I hooked you with a bad movie reference, lets talk about laches. Laches has been defined in New Jersey family law as "… an equitable doctrine which penalizes knowing inaction by a party with a legal right from enforcing that right after passage of such a period of time that prejudice has resulted… 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
Surely I can get my alimony reduced after a 17 month job search resulting in a job with a 22% reduction in income?
Posted in Alimony, ModificationWith the economic downturn and slow down in the economy since 2008, there has been a lot more post-judgment litigation to reduce alimony and child support. Much of this litigation has been legitimate; other has been brought by opportunists, throwing around buzzwords and crying about the economy when there is really no substantial change of… Continue Reading
Parenting Coordinator Pilot Program Ends – Katy Bar The Door
Posted in Custody, Practice Issues, Visitation/Parenting TimeYesterday, Judge Grant, the Acting Administrative Director of the Courts, announced that effective November 26, 2012, the Parenting Coordinator Pilot Program would be ending. The notice further provides that judges may still appoint parenting coordinators (PCs) and even provides model, but not mandatory, Orders for the their appointment. To those who oppose the use parenting coordinators,… 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
Read Matt Levitsky’s Post Entitled “Who Gets to Claim the Child if there is 50/50 Custody?”
Posted in Child Support, Tax ExemptionMatt Levitsky, an associate in our Montgomery County, Pennsylvania office wrote a guest blog for our fir’s Pennsylvania Family Law Blog entitled "Who Gets to Claim the child if there is 50/50 Custody?" Matt’s post talks about the four prong test and the fact that at the end of the day, all other things being equal, the… Continue Reading
Finally A Case on “Egregious Fault” as it Relates to an Award of Alimony
Posted in AlimonyThough fault was allegedly was something that the court could consider when it related to the determination of alimony, since the Supreme Court decided the Mani case in 2005 fault was largely eliminated from the equation. The reason is that that Court said that marital fault was largely irrelevant since alimony was neither a punishment… Continue Reading
Madoff Mess Hits the Divorce Court – The End
Posted in Equitable Distribution, Modification, Practice IssuesThe Simkin v. Blank case in New York has been a frequent topic on this blog. It was game over for Mr. Simkin today when the NY Court of Appeals ruled that this Madoff victim could not revise his divorce deal. We first wrote when the case was filed. In this case, in June 2006, the parties… Continue Reading
Court Says Incomplete Records and Inaccurate Tax Filings from the Self Employed Common in Divorce
Posted in Practice IssuesOn Friday, I blogged on the judicial estoppel aspect of the Romano case decided last week by the Appellate Division. While that was the major issue in that case, there was another part of the case that jumped out at me, when I read this line related to the court’s valuation of the husband’s business and… Continue Reading
Has the “Off the Shelf” Parenting Plan Gone the Way of Rabbit Ear TV Antennas?
Posted in Custody, Visitation/Parenting TimeA few years ago, during a conference with a reasonably new judge used the term "off the shelf parenting plan" to describe what he assumed a normal parenting time plan should be. This plan was alternate weekends, Friday to Sunday night, and one night per week for dinner. While my client was happy, because she… Continue Reading
TO INCLUDE OR EXCLUDE MANDATORY CONTRIBUTIONS IN DETERMINING INCOME – A BASE-LEVEL ANALYSIS
Posted in AlimonyIn determining a payor spouse’s gross income in analyzing an appropriate level of alimony or child support, one question that arises on occasion is whether to include so-called "mandatory" contributions to the total number. For instance, if the payor spouse is required by his employer to contribute $30,000 per year towards his 401(k), should such… Continue Reading
Read Aaron Weems’ Post Entitled “Handling the Holidays”
Posted in Custody, Visitation/Parenting TimeKeeping with our theme of custody and parenting related blog posts this weekend, I recommend that you read Aaron Weems‘, an associate in our Bucks County office and editor of our Pennsylvania Family Law Blog recently post on that blog entitled "Handling the Holidays." Family lawyers, judges, parent coordinators often don’t look forward to holiday… Continue Reading
ARE MEDIATION PROCEEDINGS REALLY SACRED AND SECRET?
Posted in Divorce, Mediation/ArbitrationGenerally speaking, New Jersey statutes and court rules cloak settlement negotiations with secrecy (legally, called a “privilege”) such that what goes on in those proceedings are not evidential, that is, they are “privileged” from being disclosed to a court. Somewhat of an exception arises in cases in which the negotiations produce an oral… Continue Reading
So Maybe Using a GPS is Domestic Violence After All
Posted in Domestic ViolenceAbout a month ago, I blogged on a case that held that putting a GPS in a spouse’s car was not an invasion of privacy because cars travel on public roads and there is no expectation of privacy. That said, invasion of privacy is a tort so this case really did not address the domestic… Continue Reading
THE REALITIES OF DIVORCE ON THE SILVER SCREEN
Posted in DivorceThis past weekend, my wife and I saw the new film, "Crazy, Stupid, Love," the story of which revolves around a divorcing couple attempting to move on with their lives. While I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would, the purpose of this blog entry is not to give a movie review. Rather, it is to focus… Continue Reading
Child Support and the Hard Life of a Supermodel
Posted in Child SupportOnce again, I find myself turning to the New York Post for some of the most interesting family law news. This week, they got me again when they wrote about supermodel, Linda Evangelista’s request for $46,000 per month in child support for the son that she had with Francois-Henri Pinault (CEO of the conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves… Continue Reading
Same Sex Couples in NJ to File Lawsuit Seeking Civil Unions to be Recognized as Marriages
Posted in Civil Unions and Domestic PartnershipsOn the heels of the new NY law permitting same-sex marriages, the issue has been constantly in the news of late (and the subject of our prior posts on the new law and on Governor Christie’s reaction to it). In today’s Star Ledger , Matt Friedman reported on yet another issue, specifically, that same sex couples in… Continue Reading
New York State Passes Bill Approving Same Sex Marriage
Posted in Civil Unions and Domestic PartnershipsOn June 24, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill approving same sex-marriage. The law goes in to effect in 30 days though religious institutions and nonprofit groups with religious affiliations will not be compelled to officiate these marriages. The legislation also gives same-sex couples the right to divorce. As we have… Continue Reading
Whether it is on Facebook or Otherwise – Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Posted in Practice IssuesIt has been said that Facebook is a treasure trove of evidence in divorce matters. We have previously blogged on how a person’s posts on social media sights can be used against them in a divorce. More specifically, I recently blogged on how awoman’s permanent alimony claim in a NY matter was killed because she was… Continue Reading
Read Mark Ashton’s Post Entitled “The Tangled World of International Custody; The Hague Convention”
Posted in CustodyMark Ashton, a partner in our Exton (Chester County) office, and former editor of our Pennsylvania Family Law Blog, wrote on interesting post entitled "The Tangled World of International Custody; The Hague Convention" that was recently published on that blog. Mark’s post discusses that the May 13 edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an… Continue Reading
Read Leslie Spoltore’s Post on Delware’s New Civil Union Bill
Posted in Civil Unions and Domestic PartnershipsLeslie Spoltore, a partner in our Wilmington, Delaware office, wrote a post on the Delaware Trial Practice Blog entitled "Civil Union Bill Provides For Divorce/Annulment In the Delaware Family Court." The bill, which becomes effective on January 1, 2012, the right of a same-sex couple to both form a union, as well as the couple’s right… Continue Reading
Creating “Settlement Anxiety” at Mediation – Is It Fair When One Party is Acting Unreasonably?
Posted in Practice IssuesLast year, I blogged on this topic after I was at a mediation where the mediator, when telling us his assessment of my client’s case, said that he was creating "settlement anxiety." At the time, I had never heard of this term but what I believed was meant was that the mediator wanted the client to… Continue Reading
Provision for Payment of Counsel Fees for Non-Compliance in Settlement Agreement Enforced by the Appellate Division
Posted in Counsel Fee Awards, Practice IssuesVery often, when parties settle their cases, in their Marital Settlement Agreement (a/k/a Property Settlement Agreement), there is a provision to the effect that if a party does not comply with the Agreement, they will be liable for the other party’s fees if the Agreement has to be enforced in Court. That said, court’s more… Continue Reading