Wife Forbids Contact With Children After Husband’s Affair

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Luke and Karen have two young children. After discovering Luke was having an affair, Karen informed him that she would be filing for divorce and that he was to pack his bags and leave. Luke moved out, but specifically rented an apartment nearby so he could still be close to the kids. Once he was settled in, Luke called Karen and asked her if the children could spend the weekend with him. Karen told him in no uncertain terms that he was not worthy of seeing his children after what he did to her, and promptly hung up. Karen then refused to take any more of his calls or answer his texts.

Luke had no idea how to proceed or what his rights as a father were. He was aware that couples with children who divorce end up with a child custody order as part of their divorce decree. However, he and Karen were only separated, and it would be some time before their divorce even really began (Karen had yet to serve him with papers). What was he supposed to do in the meantime? Read more

Positive Co-Parenting Over Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate family and all that we’re thankful for, and for divorced families, the day is no different! Usually, the only ingredients needed to bring joy — not stress — to the table during the holiday season is a little creativity and flexibility in co-parenting strategies. Ready to dig in? Here are 5 tips for a more relaxed, happy and child-centered Thanksgiving. Read more

Top Tips for Successful Halloween Co-Parenting

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This year October 31 falls on a Friday, which, as a newly separated or recently divorced parent, you may already be aware is the traditional day of the week when children switch homes for weekend visitation with their other parent. What does this mean for Halloween? No matter where your child spends it, here are some co-parenting tips for how to make trick-or-treating safe and fun for everyone. 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

Can New Jersey Parents Legally Spank Their Children?

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In New York State, the headline-making court case this week was one apparently giving parents the legal green light to spank their kids. Issued Wednesday, the state Appellate Division found that a father’s spanking of an 8-year-old boy “was a reasonable use of force.” This reversed a Family Court judge’s ruling last year that had found the father’s spanking qualified as child abuse on the grounds of“inflicting excessive corporal punishment.” Read more

New Jersey Court Ruling May Change College Tuition Obligation Rules for Divorced Parents

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When the relationship between a divorced parent and their child is a rocky one, is that parent obligated to pay college tuition? This is the question at the center of a precedent-setting court decision issued Friday by Ocean County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Jones. Read more

New Jersey Passes Historic Adoption Law

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History was made yesterday in New Jersey when Governor Chris Christie signed into law a new provision allowing adoptees access to their birth records. When the law is enacted in 2017, it will mark the first time New Jersey will unseal adoption records since they were closed in 1940. Read more

New Jersey State Senate Passes Adoption Records Access Bill

adoptionOn Monday, May 12, the New Jersey Senate approved a groundbreaking measure that would give people adopted in the state access to their original birth certificates. The move is the result of a decades-long push by a group of advocates for adoptees and their biological parents to open New Jersey adoption records for the first time since they were sealed in 1940. Read more

Why Can’t New Jersey Prenuptial Agreements Address Child Support/Custody?

Children having picnicToday’s blog post is part of our special series on prenuptial agreements and marriage running throughout the month of May. Please see previous posts in the series: 8 Common Items in Prenuptial Agreements and Are You Ready for the Legal Changes Marriage Brings? Check back soon for more!

On the first Tuesday of the month, we host a special Facebook Family Law chat inviting our WLG Facebook community members to ask their questions concerning divorce and related family law issues. During this month’s chat, we received a great question pertaining to prenuptial agreements and whether or not prenups in New Jersey can include language regarding child support and child custody for any children the soon-to-be spouses may have together. Read more

New Jersey “Child Support Amnesty Week” Begins April 28

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For parents who have fallen so far behind on child support payments that a warrant has been issued for their arrest, the New Jersey Office of Child Support Services is extending a one-time opportunity to make things right. Read more