Ah, that unforgettable line uttered by Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. As a matrimonial attorney, this is what it feels like we deal with quite often. But I am not referring to people just being demanding, I am talking about people making unreasonable demands, with no apparent justification in law or
The Arbitration “Rules of Engagement”
The recent Appellate Division case of Sirigotis v. Sirigotis, although unpublished (non- precedential), provides a great reminder of how important it is to know the “rules of engagement”.
In Sirigotis, the parties were able to resolve a majority of their issues by consent but agreed to submit the remaining unresolved issues to “final and binding”
Don’t Let Your Arbitration Agreement Bite You
You hear people talk all the time these days that mediation and arbitration, or quite frankly, any alternate dispute resolution (ADR) methods are the best things since sliced bread. They may very well be in the right case – which these days may be most of them given judicial backlogs, and other factors making presenting
“Conscious Uncoupling”: An Ode to a Mediated Divorce
As a lover of all things Coldplay, I was sad to hear that lead singer Chris Martin and his wife of more than 10 years, Gwyneth Paltrow, were divorcing. Gwyneth Paltrow announced the separation on her website Goop.com and used the term “conscious uncoupling” to describe their approach to divorce. Although the term had been
Marriage Is an “Adaptive Economic and Social Partnership”; Even After You Have Been Divorced for 19 Years. How Retirement Impacts Present Alimony Obligations.
In the recent matter of Perreault v. Perreault, P.P. and R.P. were divorced in 1996, after 22 years of marriage. Following a hearing, the Court ordered R.P. to pay permanent alimony in the amount of $500.00 per week. Neither the April 29, 1996 Final Judgment of Divorce, nor the August 7, 1996 Order provided
The New Jersey Supreme Court Enacts Rule 5:1-5, codifying Arbitration Procedures for Divorce Matters.
Resolving issues pertaining to a divorce matter are not only costly and challenging, but if parties’ choose to litigate their issues before a sitting Family Part Judge, their dirty laundry becomes public record.
In order to resolve divorce litigation in a more private setting, parties have the choice of attending mediation and/or arbitration as alternative
‘Cause Baby, Now We’ve Got Bad Blood…
With finger pointing, unsolvable problems, sad thoughts about the good times, and, most eloquently, “No I don’t fear no more, better yet respect ain’t quite sincere no more,” it is as if Taylor Swift’s latest hit was born for this blog. Does it always, though, have to be about “Bad Blood” or will it ever
I CAN APPEAL MY ARBITRATION AWARD, RIGHT?
As we have all seen and heard, alternate dispute resolution (ADR) is all the rage. Two common methods of ADR are mediation and arbitration. To describe the two as simply as possible, in mediation, the parties and their attorneys (and perhaps even their experts), meet with a neutral third party to help them to come
Judges Are Supposed To Decide Matters Ripe for Decision – Not Send It To Mediation – Shocking!?!
We have all had this happen. Letters get written back and forth to try to settle a matter and/or you just file a motion because the issue is clear based upon the law and the facts. Or, the parties, for whatever reason, just wont resolve an issue because one or both is being unreasonable. So
The Benefits of Mediation – Even If You Don’t Settle
Earlier today, Robert Epstein posted an interesting piece entitled The Psychology of Mediation. Whether people like it or not, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is here to stay as the new norm. Court backlogs are long and trial dates are scarce, even when you want them. Moreover, the system is set up to have numerous