More Cohabiting Couples In Court After Breaking Up

Live with your partner, but never tied the knot, and now want to know what legal options are available in the event you break up? You are not alone, according to a recent poll of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyer (AAML) members that revels a spike in the number of court battles between couples who had previously lived together. Overall, 48 percent of attorneys surveyed noted an increase in court cases involving cohabiting couples. At the same time, 39 percent of lawyers cite a rise in couples who seek cohabitation agreements. Read more

Bills Before NJ Assembly Expand Rights of Children, Domestic Abuse Victims

New proposed legislation recommended this week by the state’s Assembly Judiciary Committee would create significant changes in how certain family law matters are conducted, reports the New Jersey Law Journal. What’s on tap to be voted on? One bill expands children’s right to representation in parental termination cases and the other increases privacy rights for domestic violence victims. Here’s a look at what each entails: Read more

Post-nuptial Agreements More Commonplace Says Matrimonial Lawyers’ Group

Didn’t get a prenup? There may still be time to get a post-nuptial agreement, a post-wedding day option to protect personal assets that’s growing in popularity nationwide, especially among women. According to a recent poll of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyer (AAML) members, more than half of divorce attorneys (51 percent) cite an increase in post-nuptial agreements over the past three years; 36 percent of these same lawyers report an increase in wives initiating the requests. Read more

Are You Sure Your Former Spouse Is Remarried?

When an ex-wife or ex-husband who receives spousal support remarries, it almost always means an end to alimony payments. But before you stop the checks, check the marriage license, because, as this case proves, staging an elaborate wedding doesn’t always mean that an actual marriage took place. Read more

Who’s Your Daddy? Mobile Paternity Truck Offers DNA Testing

A New York company called Health Street is taking DNA paternity testing to the streets of NYC in a new mobile DNA testing clinic housed in a 28-foot RV and emblazoned with the provocative slogan, Who’s Your Daddy? Read more

New Book Addresses Divorce, Family Law Issues for Members of the U.S. Military

Divorces among members of the U.S. military are on the rise, making the new book, Strategies for Military Family Law, extremely relevant to members of the matrimonial and family law community. We are pleased to announce that WLG’s managing parter Bari Weinberger serves as one of the guide’s contributing authors, penning the chapter, “Getting the Best Results for a Military Family Law Client: Understanding the Nuances in this Practice Area.” Fellow WLG Attorney, Patricia Cistaro, also contributed to the chapter. Read more

Essex County Divorce Trials Back On! Now What?

Eight months after being halted in Essex County, divorce trials are now slated to resume in the state’s busiest courthouse starting September 1, 2012. Trials were first suspended in December 2011 due to New Jersey’s ongoing judge shortage crisis. With careful maneuvering, however, and the use of temporary judges from other counties, Essex County has winnowed it’s vacancy rate down to just 10 open spots among its allowed 44 judges.

This is welcome news, but it looks like divorcing couples in Essex County waiting for their litigated and/or contested divorce to proceed still need to have patience when it comes to having their day in court. Read more

Does Paying for College End the Need for Child Support?

Your divorce settlement called for you to pay part of your child’s college tuition fees, including the cost of room and board. You’re making good on this obligation, so why do you need to still pay child support? Read more

Grandparent Visitation Rights New Issue in Sean Goldman Case

Sean Goldman, the little boy brought back from Brazil after a hard-won child custody battle by his father David Goldman in 2009, is back in the news, and at the center of a new custody fight, this time involving his Brazilian grandmother. Read more

Lessons from the Holmes-Cruise Divorce

Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise reached a settlement agreement in their headline-making divorce only 11 days after Katie filed in New York to end the marriage. The contents of the agreement are confidential, but the statement released by Katie’s legal team, “We are thrilled for Katie and her family and are excited to watch as she embarks on the next chapter of her life,” seems to be a telltale sign that the actress got exactly what she wanted. How did she do it? Here are three key ways Katie’s approach to divorce was incredibly smart: Read more