For the second time in about a month, the Appellate Division has reversed improvidently granted discovery when there hadn’t been a showing of a change of circumstance. As noted by Eliana Baer on this blog on August 12, 2019 (about a case she and I were involved in) in a post entitled Appellate Division Rules:
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Last week, Eric Solotoff and I achieved victory in the Appellate Division in the unreported (non-precedential) decision of Gatto v. Breton, wherein the Court reversed the trial court’s order permitting the Plaintiff father to obtain a custody evaluation without the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
So, You Think You Don’t Have to Share That Inheritance?
One of the more complex issues we see when addressing alimony and equitable distribution relates to inherited assets and the money (distributions, investment experience, interest, etc.) that emanates from them. Under New Jersey law, inherited assets remain the exempt, separate property of the spouse who inherited same. It cannot be distributed in whole or in
Make Sure to Enter QDROs At The Time of Divorce
We recently received a favorable appellate decision on behalf of our client whose ex-husband tried to manipulate their divorce agreement regarding distribution of his New Jersey PERS pension (“pension”) nearly three decades after the agreement was signed. We did not represent her at the time of the divorce, but did represent her to defend against
The Inability or Refusal to Settle By the Lawyer, Not the Litigant
In one of the earliest posts I did on this blog going back ten years or more, I posited that you can only really settle when the time is right and when both parties are ready. In fact, I felt then as I feel now, that you can make your best offer, if not an
Domestic Violence Defendants Require Opportunity To Prepare Defense Even When FRO Is Warranted For Another Predicate Act
I have now blogged a few times about the importance for due process in domestic violence matters. The Appellate Division just gave us another unpublished case, B.L.F. v. T.G.C., to remind litigants and practitioners that the plaintiff in a domestic violence action is limited to the four corners of the Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) and,
Negotiating Future College Contributions in Divorce: A Cautionary Tale
A recent Appellate Division case reminds us of the potential pitfalls of negotiating contingent issues in property settlement agreements, specifically as it relates to contribution to future college costs of children born of the marriage.
In Zegarski v. Zegarski, the parties had four children, with the two oldest already attending in-state college at the
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
Unhappy with a Family Court Order? Use Procedural Error to Cure a Substantive Mistake
Some people think there are no winners in divorce court. While I like to have a more optimistic outlook, it goes without saying that family law cases sometimes yield unhappy litigants. With emotions running high and issues so personal in nature, it is common to have one, or both, parties unhappy with a decision of