New Jersey Bill Questions Conscionability in Prenuptial Agreements

prenup agreements New Jersey - conscionability
A bill under consideration in the New Jersey legislature (S-2151) will dramatically change how premarriage and precivil union contracts, also known as prenuptial agreements, are evaluated and enforced in the state. Presently, the courts determine the justness of a prenup at the time the couple seek their divorce, allowing for modifications in certain cases where health or financial circumstances have changed for spouses. Under the new bill, judges would be required to evaluate prenups for conscionability as of the date they were executed, which may be decades before the divorce. What are the pros and cons of the bill? What could this mean for your prenup? Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, LLC attorney Carmela Novi offers information and thoughts on how this possible new law might affect your divorce proceedings: 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

Jennie Garth Attributes Weight Loss to Post-Divorce Stress

Jennie Garth has kept a low profile since announcing her split from actor husband Peter Facinelli this past March — which may be why the 90210 actress had tongues wagging she showed up at a recent movie opening looking very thin. Jennie owned up to her sudden slimdown, blaming her weight loss since March on her divorce, US magazine reports. 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

NJ Psychologist Marsha Kleinman Loses License Over False Sex Abuse Claims

Marsha Kleinman, a Highland Park, New Jersey psychologist who frequently served as an expert in criminal child abuse cases has had her license to practice psychology in the state revoked and is ordered to pay a $60,000 fine for her misconduct stemming from charges that she convinced children they had been sexually abused even after they said it didn’t happen. 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

How Do You Announce That You’re Getting A Divorce?

When it comes to the tangled web that is your personal social network (the offline one as well as your online network of friends), how do you go about announcing your divorce? Breaking the news is different, of course, depending on whether you’re talking to your parents, your coworkers, casual acquaintances, the kids’ teachers, or that nosy next door neighbor — but how do you do it? Consider this triage approach to spreading the news. Read more

Co-Parenting: Making Kids Feel at Home

Do your children split their time two houses or two homes? When it comes to helping kids successfully adjust to life after divorce, it’s the little things that often count the most, including how “at home” children feel when spending time with each of their parents. No matter what kind of parenting time plan you have in place, what does your living situation look like through the eyes of your kids? Here are some tips for rolling out the welcome mat. Read more

Getting Top Dollar for Household Items Sold During Divorce

As part of your divorce settlement, the decision was made to liquidate certain household assets and split the proceeds. So where do you go to get top dollar for things like paintings and art work, antiques, and other jointly owned valuables and collectibles? If you have items to unload, here are some people and places that can help maximize your money: Read more