[Download our free Halloween Co-Parenting Planning Guide]

Halloween should be about candy, costumes, and fun — not conflict. But for divorced or separated co-parents, this festive night can bring up tricky questions. Who’s buying the costume? Who gets to take the kids trick-or-treating? And is it possible for both parents to be part of the celebration without things feeling awkward or tense?

The good news: it is possible. Whether you’re navigating your first Halloween as co-parents or you’ve been doing this for years and need a fresh approach, these simple co-parenting strategies can help keep the focus where it belongs — on making magical memories for your kids.

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When deciding child custody, the New Jersey courts carefully assess each parent’s ability to provide a safe, stable, and supportive environment for the child. But what happens if a child repeatedly engages in reckless or even criminal behavior? Could the parent responsible for the child’s daily care risk losing custody because of it?
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At Coldplay’s recent concert in Boston, a now-viral kiss cam moment unexpectedly revealed marital infidelity unfolding in real time. We’ve all seen the clip: as the camera panned to a couple in the stands, the woman quickly covered her face while the man ducked out of frame. Chris Martin, the band’s lead singer, tried to lighten the mood with his quip, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

When the footage hit newsfeeds the next day, the affair part of Martin’s prediction turned out to be true. The pair were quickly identified as married executives at the same company. 

Headlines have focused on the two caught on camera (one has since resigned; the other’s job is in limbo). But what about the people left reeling behind the scenes: the unsuspecting spouses who discovered — alongside the rest of the world — that their partner was unfaithful?

If you’ve been recently blindsided by your spouse’s affair, you’re likely still caught in that crushing wave of grief, numbness, and emotional paralysis. You may feel frozen in place as you wonder what to do next: Should you confront your spouse? File for divorce? Is there a path to rebuilding trust?

In the shock-filled aftermath of betrayal, it’s essential to give yourself space to regain your mental calm and process what’s happened, and begin to take the first steps towards legally and emotionally protecting yourself. Here’s how to do just that. Read more

A recent UK Supreme Court ruling is making international headlines, and for good reason. In the case of Standish v. Standish, the court ruled that roughly £80 million (about $100 million) transferred from a retired UBS banker to his wife during their marriage would not be subject to asset division in their divorce. Why? Because the court found those assets weren’t truly part of the marital pot.

Even though this case happened across the Atlantic, it raises important questions for couples here in New Jersey:

In high net worth divorce with complex assets, what counts as marital property — and what doesn’t? And how do you protect what’s yours?

Let’s break it down.

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A recent headline involving former NFL star Steve Smith Sr. has reignited public interest in “homewrecker laws.” In the viral story, Smith was accused of having an affair with a married woman, which resulted in the paramour’s husband filing a lawsuit against Smith under North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” statute – a law that allows a spouse to sue a third party for interfering in their marriage.

Another notable homewrecker case in recent years involved motivational speaker Tony Robbins, who was sued for monetary damages by the ex-husband of Robbins’ second wife Sage for being the catalyst for the marriage ending. As the NY Post worded it in their headline story on the saga, Robbins was accused of “self-helping himself” to someone’s wife. Sage’s ex-husband lives in Canada; Robbins is a resident of Florida. The case appears to have been privately settled.

Could a case like this happen in New Jersey? When infidelity is a factor in divorce, here is what state law says about the ability of one spouse to sue their spouse’s lover for their role in breaking up the marriage. Read more