Spyware & Stealth Smartphone Apps: Is High Tech Spying On Your Spouse Legal?

iStock_000006340524Small It’s a common situation we hear about when adultery (either actual or suspected) is involved in the demise of a marriage: one spouse decides to spy on the other. While in years past, snooping on a spouse usually entailed rifling through purses or pockets (or hiring a private investigator to catch cheaters in the act), in this day and age, spousal snooping more often involves hacking into email accounts and installing tracer apps on smartphones. Beyond the moral issues any form of spying raises, are these high tech forms of snooping even legal? Read more

Join Us For Family Law Tuesday, Our LIVE Facebook Q&A Chat!

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What questions do you have about divorce and family law? On Tuesday, September 2 (tonight), Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC will hold Family Law Tuesday, our monthly Facebook Q&A chat, and you’re invited! From 8 to 9 PM, we’ll be LIVE answering your questions related to New Jersey divorce, child support, alimony, child custody, prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, asset division, and more. Ask your question tonight or send us a Facebook PM anytime and we will answer it during the hour. All you need to do is join our Facebook page and then watch for tonight’s post. Read more

Billionaire Divorce a Lesson in Passive vs. Active Marital Asset Division

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Texas oilman Harold Hamm’s $17 billion dollar divorce from his wife of 25 years, Sue Ann, is set to potentially become the largest divorce settlement in history.

But not if Hamm has anything to do with it.

The billionaire, who never signed a prenuptial agreement, is making a bid to protect his high net worth with a little known aspect of marital asset division called active vs. passive assets. Read more

Questions to Ask a Divorce Attorney During an Initial Consultation

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Once you and your spouse have made the decision to divorce, choosing the attorney who will represent and guide you through the legal process of ending your marriage can be the most important divorce-related decision you’ll make.

Who do you pick? Even if you’ve received a referral to a New Jersey family law attorney from a friend or relative, it’s still critical to check the attorney’s qualifications, including his or her familiarity and expertise with New Jersey family law. The best way to find out what you need to know is to set up a consultation. When you do speak, consider asking a prospective attorney the following specific questions: Read more

Hope Solo Domestic Violence Charges Involve Sister, Nephew

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In domestic violence news, soccer superstar Hope Solo, 33, has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence in the assault of her sister and 17-year-old nephew that occurred in late June. Solo has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in November. Read more

Robin Williams Alimony & Divorce Struggles: Taking A Closer Look

Robin Williams once joked that alimony is just a shortened form of “all the money” after two divorces on the part of the comedy legend cost him reportedly upwards of $30 million in alimony payouts to ex-wives Valerie Velardi and Marsha Garces.

Speculation since the actor’s death has even gone so far as to claim divorce and alimony woes pushed the actor to near bankruptcy and served as a contributing factor to his depressed mental state. Read more

3 Secrets to Speeding Up the New Jersey Divorce Process

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Is it possible to get a “quickie divorce” in New Jersey? The general benchmark for how long it takes to divorce in New Jersey stands at approximately 12 months (from filing to final decree), with some complex divorces cases taking upwards of 18 months or longer. However, every divorce is different. How can you and your spouse save time reaching a final settlement? Here are our three favorite tips for speeding up the divorce process. Read more

Beginning the Divorce Process: Essential Documents Needed for Divorce

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Once you have decided to divorce, an essential first step to take is to gather together all the many financial documents and legal records that will be needed as you move forward with the divorce process in New Jersey. Your goal in collecting this information is to create the most complete and accurate picture of your income, the assets and debts you accumulated as a couple, and normal household expenses.

Preliminary documents and records to gather include: Read more

Bergen County Suspends Lengthy Divorce & Family Law Trials

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If you live in Bergen County and have a divorce or family law matter headed for trial, get ready for a possible delay or change of venue. In a newly released statement, Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne has announced a halt to lengthy trials in civil and family cases starting next month. As of September 15, no Civil or Criminal Division trials will be conducted if they are expected to last longer than two weeks, subject to the discretion of the presiding judge. Read more

New Jersey Child Support: Who Pays for Lessons, Sports & Extracurricular Activities?

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When parents negotiate over child support payments, one issue that can cause a snag is figuring out how to share expenses involving a child’s extracurricular activities above and beyond typical education-related costs, including sports participation and private music lessons. What can sometimes happen is that one parent is more enthusiastic in encouraging the child to take part in a wide variety of different activities, or the parent wants to help the child reach a high level of mastery in a certain art or sport by signing up for private lessons and/or buying special equipment. The other parent, however, may love their child and want to see them take part in activities they enjoy, but at the same time, doesn’t share the same view on the level or type of extracurricular participation, and therefore does not want these additional costs added to child support.

How do the courts settle these kinds of differences between parents? Read more