I received an email earlier this week containing guidelines for parents who are sharing custody and parenting time of their children during the Coronavirus Pandemic which was prepared by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). It is reproduced, in full, below. Obviously, we are all
Solving The Puzzle Now Will Hopefully Make For A Less Litigious Future
One of the hardest lessons I learned in my early days of practicing family law is that a case is never really over when we think it’s over. I remember walking out of my first uncontested hearing so proud that I helped finalize a client’s divorce, emotional for their loss (yes, it happened to be
I’m Moving With the Kids To Burlington County – Not So Fast
For decades, when a custodial parent wanted to move out of state, it would not be unusual to hear that if the court or other party won’t let me leave New Jersey, she will just move to Cape May, or some other point far away from North or Central Jersey. When someone wanted to move
Appellate Division Rules: No Custody Evaluation Without Finding of Changed Circumstances
Last week, Eric Solotoff and I achieved victory in the Appellate Division in the unreported (non-precedential) decision of Gatto v. Breton, wherein the Court reversed the trial court’s order permitting the Plaintiff father to obtain a custody evaluation without the requisite finding of changed circumstances.
By way of background, the parties were divorced in
Religion and Divorce: Raising Children of Interfaith Marriages Post-Divorce
Raising children born of interfaith marriages can have its challenges (and of course, its unique joys – Chrismukkah, anyone?), but at least parents in intact families navigate and mediate these challenges together. If and when parents of different religious faiths divorce, the questions of whether and how to raise the children in a particular religion
The Futility of Parent Coordination When a Parent Coordinator Won’t Be Decisive
I have written many times over the years regarding parent coordination, both during and after the end of the Supreme Court pilot program. A parent coordinator is a person, sometimes a mental health professional and sometimes a lawyer, that is appointed to assist parties in high conflict custody disputes. The description and function of
Grandparents May Not Be Entitled To Visitation Even With A Signed Agreement
Grandparent visitation is a unique area of family law that presents interesting case law every few years and seems to be growing with time and modern families. We have blogged about this issue, including the requirement to show harm to the child if the grandparent doesn’t have visitation and procedure for grandparent visitation applications,
Five Reasons to Choose the Blossoming Attorney
When networking or meeting with a potential client, I am often asked: “Why should I hire you?” Most people think that more experience is always better and, at first blush, that makes sense. After all, if I were having surgery, I’d certainly want to go under the knife with a credentialed surgeon instead of a
New Published (Precedential) New Jersey Appellate Division Decision Confirms that all Custody and Parenting Time Decisions Are Created Equal
In a new, published (precedential) decision, J.G. v. J.H., Judge Koblitz, of the Appellate Division confirmed and explicitly held what we all should have known before: No matter what type of case, the same rules apply with respect to discovery and investigation, and the trial court judge is under the same obligation to apply
Making a House a Home for Custody Jurisdiction
In our ever-changing society that is becoming more transient as we modernize, it’s important to remember time requirements for a state to establish jurisdiction over a child should you find yourself in need of a custody determination after residing across state lines. 
In the reported decision of P.H. v. L.W., the parties met in