New Jersey Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Thank you for your question. If you suspect child abuse it is your absolute duty to report it to the authorities without hesitation.  Your child is unable to express herself at this age and only trained professionals can make this determination.  Once you contact the DCP&P they will instruct you on how to handle future parenting time.  Obviously, pending any determination you should take it upon yourself to halt visitation. I hope this was helpful to you.  ... Read More

Thank you for your question. It’s absolutely terrific that you and your soon to be ex have agreed upon substantially everything.  The details about the house should be part and parcel of your MSA (Matrimonial Settlement Agreement).  There can be different variations of how to handle this.  Typically if one spouse remains in the home until the children complete their schooling or otherwise, that person pays the bills for the house which are contributed to by the non-residing spouse by way of alimony or some other credits upon sale. This should be resolved in the MSA. I hope this was helpful to you.... Read More

Every lawyer handling family law matters is required to maintain a conflicts checklist system that should be checked before scheduling a consultation.  If you met with a particular family law attorney for a consultation and discussed the merits of your matter and your position with regard to issues to be addressed in the divorce, that lawyer cannot then represent your spouse in your divorce matter. If you met with a different lawyer in that law firm ( not the same lawyer as met with your wife), then the issue is whether that law firm can create a "Chinese wall" to ensure that none of the information you provided to the lawyer in the consultation setting is provided to the lawyer representing your wife and ensuring that the lawyer you met with has nothing to do with your divorce file. Candidly, most judges will be concerned about the same law firm representing your wife after a lawyer in that firm already met with you to discuss the same divorce issues. it smells bad and looks bad and your current lawyer has a right to serve notice on your wife's new lawyer of the conflict of interest and demand that your wife's lawyer removes herself from the case. If the lawyer refuses and you are concerned about what you said in the consultation and how that information can be used against you, then your lawyer has the right to file an application with the court to compel your wife's lawyer/law firm to leave the matter completely. Side note.... there have been cases where the client does not object to the other lawyer remaining in the case because of the working relationship between the 2 new lawyers or for any number of other reasons discussed between you and your new lawyer. As such, the issue for you to decide is whether that conflict is one which you want to press for the other lawyers' removal. Talk with your lawyer and make that decision but you can't hold it as an ace up your sleeve to pull out at a later date. It's either addressed immediately or you will lose the ability to raise it. ... Read More

No credible family law attorney should ever answer that question, other than to say that it depends on what issues are outstanding in your particular matter. If you have legitimate custody issues outstanding then the cost of a retainer is materially different than the retainer for a matter with no children, limited or no assets, and both parties working full time earning approximately comparable incomes. The best suggestion is to interview 2 -3 family law specialists to see which lawyer you feel more comfortable with, comfortable with the advice given, and the pricing for the issues outstanding. The only other thing I can say is that if you were suffering from a brain tumor and wanted the best chance of recovery/ success, the least important factor to you would probably be the cost of the retention of that expert. So, im suggesting that "cost" not be the most important factor in the analysis since one lawyer may be cheaper but another lawyer may have much more experience and the ability to cut through the process easier - food for thought. ... Read More

Absent a valid prenuptial agreement, a postnuptial agreement is generally speaking not worth the paper it is written on. Over the course of years, I have seen lawyers prepare postnuptial agreements for clients, telling them that it will be helpful to a court to know what you and your spouse thought was "fair" since you and she were having marital difficulties. Wrong! If you want a divorce, then hire a divorce lawyer and move on with your life. If you are unhappy but decide to stay married, then you made a moral choice ( for the sake of the children, etc) and that decision has consequences. I cannot tell someone to stay married or get a divorce but if you decide to stay married, that piece of paper is not going to be a salvation for you nor is it going to help you at a later date when you do decide to divorce. There are only "extremely limited" settings where a postnuptial agreement has been found by a court to be enforceable in a divorce setting... and start off with the presumption that your setting will not meet that test. Sorry but I think it's better to be blunt than to suggest to you that it is going to help you gain a tactical advantage in a divorce at a later date. Even if your spouse has a lawyer represent her in the signing of the agreement, it is still not enforceable. As a general statement, I think most people who ask a lawyer to prepare postnuptial agreements do so to make themselves feel better, knowing that the terms will not be enforced by the court and presume that the lawyer who drafted the document will have a letter in his / her file confirming that he told you that it was not enforceable but that you wanted it drafted anyway.  If a lawyer actually does tell you that it is enforceable in a divorce setting and is willing to prepare such a document for you, then  he/she should be willing to sign a document stating: "I have reviewed New Jersey statutory and case law and have advised you that the terms of this postnuptial agreement shall be binding upon your spouse in the event of a future divorce and I have advised you that under NJ law, by virtue of your spouse signing this document, she shall not be entitled to any claim of support or distribution of assets other than provided for her in this agreement" ... Read More

I am a certified divorce and family law attorney by the NJ Supreme Court - meaning that I specialize in divorce & post-divorce matters, custody and child support disputes, domestic violence matters, and prenuptial agreement work. My firm also handles some estate work for clients but with the issue presented, you are better off talking with an estate law specialist. When you run your search, be careful of general practice lawyers who say that they also handle estate claims..... that is like asking a foot doctor to take a look at a brain tumor and tell you what he thinks. Not a good idea. For your purposes, I think that it will be more cost-effective and you will have a better sense of where you stand talking to a specialist. ... Read More

Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, you can not file anything with the court until you give birth. At that point they will have to establish paternity, wherein they will require your child’s father to take a DNA.  If he comes back as the child’s father he has rights regardless if you ask for support or not. I hope this was helpful to you.... Read More

You were given incorrect information. It is not a conflict of interest for her to agree to represent him. If she had represented you in a legal matter and now agreed to represent him against you - that would be a conflict of interest since she acquired personal information about you as a result of her prior representation of you and now would use that knowledge against you. As to her decision to represent him - it probably is not the smartest decision since she may not be objective in the advice given. She would be smarter to suggest that he retain a family law attorney, who is knowledgeable on family law issues and who can give him objective and fair legal counsel. ... Read More

If I understand your question correctly, about a year ago, your dad and you sat down and agreed that it was best for him to take temporary physical custody of your son and for the past year, your father has been handling the day to day responsibilities of your sons care and now you feel that the setting has changed and that you are ready to take back the responsibilities of the day to day care of your son and I presume that your father disagrees and feels that you are still not ready to handle that role. I have no idea why was taking place in your life a year ago that caused you to determine it was best for your son to be cared for by your dad but im sure that if you press the issue, he is going to detail his fears and it probably will result in a call to DCPP for intervention. If the division then intervenes, your dad is going to detail why you temporarily gave him physical custody of your son and why he feels that temporary custody should remain with him. Again, I have no idea whether the world has changed and whether it would be best for your son to come back to live with you or remain with your dad but the focus should be on your son and what is best for him. Maybe the solution is a meeting between your dad and you in a neutral family law attorneys office to discuss the setting and maybe a plan can be worked out for you and him to share custody or a plan for you to get your son back while giving your dad confidence that you are able to handle that role again. Lawyers who specialize in divorce and custody work act as mediators every day and this would be the type of issue that maybe able to be worked out peacefully in that setting without DCPP's involvement or the involvement of the court system. ... Read More

Your husband and you are married. Let those words sink in. Your husband is not paying for your car. Again, since you and he are married, marital monies are paying for your car along with a host of other expenses and your husband does not have the right to take your car away from you as if "he pays for it". What is equally relevant is that you and he have been together for 32 years and not simply 3 years and there is a published New Jersey family law appellate court decision called McGee vs Mcgee, written by then-Judge Long ( who later moved up to the NJ Supreme Court), where she reversed a lower court decision because the trial judge failed to consider the period of time that the parties lived together before they were married in trying to "equitably" address the issued then before the court.  After McGee was decided, our state legislature changed the law by requiring people who lived together to put in place a writing as to the terms of their relationship so as to reduce the ability of one party to later file a "palimony" lawsuit, alleging that they lived together with specific promises of support and asset accumulation. At that point, most family part lawyers thought that cohabitation settings could not give rise to future claims, and then the NJ Supreme Court at the end of 2016 rendered a decision where the parties lived together for about 8 years and then married and remained married for about 1 1/2 years and as they were getting divorced, husband got a tremendous bonus ( over a million dollars) based on his work efforts over the prior 10 year period of time on a project. The trial judge said he could not consider the period of time that they lived together before their marriage in the division of that bonus in the divorce. The NJ Supreme Court disagreed and said that he received that bonus as a result of their joint marital type sacrifices together and therefore the lower court was required to reexamine it and provide the wife with her "proper" share of that million-dollar bonus to account for the entire time that they were together - which means that if you and your husband have lived together for the past 32 years as if you and he were a married couple, you may have significantly greater rights to the assets acquired during that period of time than you think. Translated, you need to meet with a family law specialist, knowledgeable on the case law addressing the "tacking" claims that may be available to you ( including any retirement assets he may have as well).  ... Read More

Below are 3 good sources to contact for assistance in finding a lawyer to represent you in the domestic violence hearing and to assist you in finding a lawyer to represent you in your "Tevis" claim against your boyfriend for damages. You may also ask the court in the domestic violence matter for the award of fees connected to your injuries, but again you need assistance from a lawyer to ensure that you present your matter/request correctly.  https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/domestic/ https://www.nj.gov/dcf/women/hotlines/ https://www.womenslaw.org/find-help/nj... Read More

Before having your husband's car towed from the property, you should meet with a family law attorney to understand your rights and your obligations in a divorce setting. If you have his car towed from the property, it will cost you money to have it towed ( the police will not tow it for you), and then it will cost him money to get the vehicle from the facility handling the storage of it. And, my sense is that money is not flowing and adding an unnecessary expense to the mix because you are angry at him, will most likely cause the frustration between the 2 of you to worsen. Meet with a family law attorney and let the lawyer send a letter to your husband putting him on notice and let your husband then make arrangements to move it within a "reasonable" time frame. I am sure that it is frustrating you to see it in the driveway but dont compound an already bad setting. Be smarter and stay in control. ... Read More

The short and most precise answer is NO. I dont care if she signs off in blood, it is not binding or enforceable in the court system and any suggestion that the court should not require the father to pay is simply untrue.  Right now, she may be of the mindset that she does not want any relationship with the father and does not want him in the child's life and tells him that if he agrees not to contact her or seek any parenting time with the baby that she will never seek child support from him. The guy may therefore say that based on that position, he is willing to walk away from the child. Unfortunately, at any point in the future, if she decides that she wants support for the child, she has an absolute right to require it and similarly, even if he pinky swears that he will never seek to visit with the child, he can change his mind and ask the court to compel her to cooperate with his efforts to be in the child's life. So, any agreement not to be in the child's life and/or any agreement not to seek child support are equally invalid and unenforceable in the court system. ... Read More

I'm not sure I understand why he wants to change the Christmas schedule after 6 years but presumably, you and he have a written agreement or court order spelling out who has Christmas eve and who has Christmas day ( and what time is the pick-up / drop off and where the exchange is to take place). Pull out your agreement/court order and read what you and he agreed up / court ordered - that is your starting place. If he says that he wants to change the arrangement, take a deep breath and ask him what changes he wants and why he wants those changes. You may disagree with him and there may not be any real reasoning behind his request but unless and until a new court order is put in place or a new agreement is entered changing the schedule, your current order/agreement controls the holiday schedule. But....if he files an application with the court, saying that he wants to change the current schedule, he has a right to do so and you have the right to oppose his application ( and to also address any other issues outstanding that you feel need to be addressed) and then either the court will rule on those issues or the court will send you and him to outside mediation ( if the court feels that there is a legitimate dispute between your positions) in an effort to peacefully resolve it. If mediation is unsuccessful, then the court will bring both of you back and rule on the request to change the holiday plan and enter an order as to who has Christmas eve and who has Christmas day or whether it rotates annually and what time is the pick-up/drop off.  One alternate suggestion is to hire a divorce lawyer as a mediator now and submit the issue to the lawyer. The lawyer can review both of your positions and even meet with both of you by zoom now and if resolved, enter a form of a consent order or amendment to your agreement detailing the change in the plan and it can be handled quickly and less expensiviely. In this setting, the lawyer is neutral and works with both of you and potentially can get the issue resolved before Christmas.     ... Read More

As part of a divorce matter, if the intent is to permit your wife to retain the home as her asset alone, you / your lawyer can require that she not only indemnify you for any liability in the event of a default on the payment obligation but that she be obligated to refinance the existing mortgage obligation within a specific period of time to remove your name from the obligation. That type of setting is routinely addressed by counsel in a divorce matter and made a part of a court order in a divorce or made a part of a divorce settlement agreement. ... Read More

The critical issue is residency status. Many people maintain dual citizenship and have homes elsewhere in the world, but those elements alone do not confer jurisdiction on a court system. In New Jersey ( with minor exceptions), to file a complaint for divorce, you must be a resident of the state, physically live in New Jersey, and engage in actions to show that you intend New Jersey to be your primary place of residence. Simply having a home in New Jersey and maintaining US citizenship is insufficient for jurisdiction purposes. ... Read More

I am truly sorry to hear that your childhood setting sucks ( that is actually a legal term). I cannot imagine what is taking place in your house or why it is taking place but i am also sure that your parent's version of events will be markedly different from yours. That does not mean that you are wrong or right, it simply means that everyone sees and hears the world differently. Think about the recent presidential election - approximately 74,000,000 people voted for Trump and about 75,000,000 million people voted for Biden and yet when you listen to one news channel, it will suggest that the "majority" of people agree with Trump, and then when you listen to a different news channel, it will tell you that the majority of Americans disagree with Trump or think that Biden is great. This is not intended as a political commentary but to simply point out the about 1/2 of the country feels one way and about the same amount feel completely different about the same issues and depending on who you listen to, determines the "spin" placed on specific actions by the 2 men. My sense is that your household is exactly the same with neither side able to hear what the other is saying or doing or able to find a middle group acceptable to the other. So, what do I suggest for you? When I sit in a consultation setting with someone facing difficult choices, I suggest that the person "map a solution" - meaning create a plan in your head for a specific change to occur and put the date on the calendar. The reason why you are so frustrated is that you cannot envision a date for when your world can change for the better. Instead, map a plan for your future now and pick a date on the calendar for when it is to occur. A lot of the frustration will dissipate knowing that you can see a date in your head for a change to take place. Since you are concerned about school ( a good thing), talk with your guidance counselor or reach out to a governmental program in your county for social services counseling to help you with assistance with a college or trade school program and potentially funding for housing. Start to take control of your life in a constructive way and stop arguing with those who you see as being negative. ... Read More