Live out of state and questioning your need to return to New Jersey to have your custody matter heard? The New Jersey Appellate Division, in a recent, unpublished decision, tackled the somewhat confusing New Jersey Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which determines whether New Jersey or another state has jurisdiction to hear custody matters in its courts. Read more
When ruling on child custody, courts consider a parent’s use of drugs and alcohol. The reason why is fairly straightforward: preoccupation with obtaining drugs, and the impairment and aftereffects of being intoxicated, cause people to neglect their children’s physical and emotional needs. Using drugs clouds judgment and can put children in imminent danger. Read more
If you’ve kept up with the news this week, you have no doubt heard about the tragic murder of an Ocean County mother of nine allegedly gunned down by her ex-husband, a sergeant with the Neptune Township Police Department.
We thought long and hard about referencing this unsettling and extremely sad situation. It is very difficult to write about. But, at the request of our readers we have gathered some thoughts which, hopefully, help others who may be in the middle of an agonizing child custody battle. Read more
Concerned that your father’s rights will not be respected in your divorce? Men are often under the impression that dads just can’t win when it comes to child custody rulings. However, asserting your fathers rights may be easier than you ever thought possible IF you do the work to avoid these three mistakes: Read more
We recently blogged about the case of Paul Eksteen, a New Jersey father fighting for the return of his 11-year-old son from Paraguay. Eksteen’s son left the U.S. with his mother in late 2013, despite a court order demanding the mother relinquish the son’s passport. Eksteen recently filed international kidnapping charges against his ex-wife and is attempting to have his son returned to New Jersey to settle the child custody dispute.
Cases such as Paul Eksteen’s highlight the dire consequences and legal charges that can result when serious child custody disputes go unresolved. If you believe your former spouse has plans to flee the state or country with your child, or if other problems have cropped up with your parenting arrangement, including tense relations, failure to comply with the existing order, or even parental alienation, you may be wondering how you can safeguard yourself and your children from possible worst case scenarios, including parental abduction.
What can you do to keep your kids safe? Here are five actions to consider: Read more
Making headlines this week is the case of Paul Eksteen, a Morris County father caught up in an international child custody dispute with his ex-wife, Rosita Berdichevsky. In November 2013, Berdichevsky left the country with the couple’s son and relocated to her home country of Paraguay, despite a NJ court order calling for her to surrender the child’s passport. After attempting for over a year to convince Berdichevsky to return with their son to New Jersey and settle their matter in a U.S. court, Eksteen filed criminal charges against Berdichevsky on February 12, 2015, accusing his former wife of kidnapping, criminal restraint and interference with custody. Read more
If you will need to determine child custody as part of your divorce, the number of child custody options available to New Jersey families may seem overwhelming. What exactly is the difference between joint, sole and shared custody? Should you ask for legal custody, physical custody, or both? What about visitation and parenting time?
In New Jersey, it’s the law that custody decisions must be made with the best interest of the child in mind. So what’s best for your child? Here are some factors to weigh in coming up with a custody plan that works for your family. Read more
When child custody needs to be settled in a couple’s divorce, it’s all too easy for the issue of how much time a child spends with each parent to turn into a battleground. Are tensions running high in your child custody matter? Not sure whether you should keep fighting or be willing to negotiate? Here are some tips for how to step back, reassess, and move forward on the path to resolution that’s best for you and your family. Read more
A group of New Jersey fathers claiming they received unfair and unconstitutional treatment in child custody court proceedings has now moved forward with a class action suit against five Family Part judges. The justices preside in Mercer, Burlington, Essex, and Hudson counties. Read more
“THIS MATTER having been brought before the Court by way of an Order to Show cause filed by the Plaintiff, Rachel Canning, represented by Tanya N. Helfand, Esq., and notice having been provided to the Defendants, Sean Canning and Elizabeth Canning… ORDERED that the parties shall provide trial briefs to the court and counsel which shall include a discussion of constructive emancipation…”
So, what exactly is “constructive emancipation” and why might the Courts be asking for a discussion of this for the “gone viral” New Jersey Canning v. Canning case? Read more
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