Tag Archive for: children & divorce

E-Visitation: NJ Bill Allows Skyping and Texting to Count as Parenting Time

Tom Cruise has taken a lot of heat for not seeing daughter Suri in the flesh over the past two months, though the two talk on the phone and video chat “at least once a day,” Cruise’s lawyer confirms. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Tom’s visitation with Suri may be extremely limited. Or is it? Following the lead of other states, a new bill before the New Jersey Assembly (Bill No. 2388), will allow telephone, email, texting, video conferencing and other communications technologies, to count as parenting time in some child custody agreements. 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

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

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

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

Kids & Divorce: Who Pays For Summer Camp?

With the school year winding down across New Jersey, summer camp season is just around the corner. If you went to camp as a kid and now have kids of your own, you know how much summer fun awaits. But when you are a parent in the midst of a divorce, warm feelings about camp may need to be put aside until you can answer the burning question: who is going to pay? Read more

Damage Control: How to Have a Child-Centered Divorce

{Part 2 of our 2-part series on Children and Divorce.}

Divorce can be a tough life change — that’s a given. But when you have children, it is infinitely harder to come up with a divorce plan that makes the process as painless as possible for the kids. Read more

Talking to Your Child About Divorce

Talking to Children about Divorce

{This post is part 1 of our 2-part series on Children and Divorce.}

As parents, talking to your children about your decision to divorce will likely rank among the most important conversations you ever have with your kids. How and what you tell your children can help them feel loved and secure, even in the midst of turmoil and change. Read more

Whose Last Name Does the Child Carry Post-Divorce?

In New Jersey as in other states discussing children and parenting legal issues, the tradition of a child taking his or her father’s last name was once the standard. In recent years, however, the courts have set a new standard for names, this one is based on what the best interests of the child might be. The court is quite firm that this standard has no relationship to gender-based traditions: that is, it’s not automatic that children should carry their father’s name, if it can be shown that this isn’t in the child’s best interest.

When might it be in the best interest of the child to change names? The Superior Court has listed 4 key factors to be considered in applying this best-interests standard: Read more