When someone who lives in New Jersey decides to file for divorce, it may be a good idea for them to go ahead and do so rather than waiting for their spouse to file first. Once reconciliation is no longer possible in a marriage, filing for divorce first is a good idea because it allows […]

In the eyes of the law, a child born to a married couple, is presumed to be the child of the husband. However, this presumption can be rebutted with evidence that the child may not be the husband’s biological child. Moreover, if there is any chance that the child may not be a given man’s […]

A question that often arises is, “Should I file a joint tax return with my spouse if I am in the process of getting divorced?” The answer will depend on your circumstances. An accountant will be able to help you understand the financial consequences of filing a joint return or filing “married filing separately,” however […]

New Jersey residents may have heard stories about deadbeat parents who get caught after being on the lam, but a recent story illustrates how even social media can be used as a tool to help enforce child support. After flashing pictures of himself with piles of cash across a social media website, a Wisconsin man […]

     Most people do not want to pay alimony so it can often be a contentious issue for warring spouses. On the other hand, most people accept their responsibility to support their children and usually don’t fight the concept of child support (although the amount may be contested). But alimony has some benefits to the […]

This blog entry is a continuation of the entry posted on March 22, 2013, and addresses whether or not you meet the criteria to obtain a restraining order under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act through the Family Division and if yes, where you would go to obtain same. In order to obtain a restraining […]

Sometimes, often several years after the birth of a couple’s child, the parties suspect or learn that the husband is not their child’s biological father. The Supreme Court of New Jersey confronted this very issue in the October 2012 decision D.W. v. R.W., 212 N.J. 232. In D.W., the parties were married in 1979 and […]

After allegedly detaining his ex-girlfriend against her will, an Englewood, New Jersey, man discharged a firearm inside her residence. At the time, one of their children was nearby; the bullet he fired stopped a couple of feet from his daughter’s crib. The suspect later fled from the scene of the crime in the woman’s Honda […]

The New Jersey Court system has made it relatively easy to file a complaint for child support, whether under the dissolution (divorce) or non-dissolution (family matters for non-married litigants) docket. A litigant can seek and receive child support for a minor child without having to definitively prove paternity, so long as the father does not […]

Many people these days opt to live together instead of getting married, whether as a “trial run” for marriage itself or simply because they have no interest in getting married. Depending on your situation, this can become a potentially precarious situation for you.  As of January 18, 2010 the NJ Legisture determined that palimony claims […]