In January 2011, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) hosted the annual Family Law Symposium. This year an overflow crowd of over 700 family lawyers were in attendance, the largest audience to attend any program ever held by NJICLE. One presentation in the Family Law Symposium identified the “top 10 family law.. read more →

In Mary Elizabeth Walsh-Morales v. Jon D. Morales, Docket No. A0524-09T2 (Appellate Division, November 5, 2010), the state appeals court reiterated the legal standard in New Jersey which must be met before a divorced parent will be permitted to remove a child to another state. Plaintiff, a divorced mother, told defendant, her former husband, that.. read more →

I don’t usually blog about the Social Security cases my law firm handles, although we represent many applicants for Social Security and SSI disability benefits each year. It’s time I remedied that oversight. My firm recently handled a very interesting and complex case for a disabled client which involved the termination of the disability benefits.. read more →

This week, a New Jersey appeals court concluded, for the first time, that a cause of action for infliction of emotional distress can be asserted when one parent turns the couple’s children against the other. Segal v. Lynch, Docket No. A-0805-08T2 (App. Div., May 3, 2010) Plaintiff, the father of two minor children, filed a.. read more →

The following list contains some of the most frequently encountered issues faced by parents of a child with special needs who wish to arrange a secure future for their disabled child through estate planning. Don’t disinherit the child with special needs. Carefully consider the division of assets among all of the children. Understand the differences.. read more →

These guidelines are intended to establish a framework for collaborative family law negotiations undertaken by members of the New Jersey Collaborative Law Group. In order to provide some predictability to the collaborative negotiations, it is anticipated that these guidelines will be followed in most cases. These guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. Before the.. read more →

On January 31, 2010, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) hosted the annual Family Law Symposium. This year, this “must attend” annual event for New Jersey family law attorneys had the largest audience of any program ever held by NJICLE: 650 family lawyers were in attendance. One program identified the “top 10.. read more →

This recent case involves the intersection of estate law and family law. In Kay v. Kay, 405 N.J. Super 278 (App. Div. 2009), aff’d, ____ N.J. ___ (2010), the New Jersey Supreme Court, in a per curium or unanimous decision by the entire court, affirmed an Appellate Division decision holding that the estate of a.. read more →

According to the Barna Group, a think-tank in Ventura, California, only 19 % of those Americans who marry in the Northeast get divorced. The divorce rates for Americans who live in the south is 27 %, the same as the divorce rate for those who marry in the Midwest. Americans who live in the West.. read more →

In their last voting session of the current session, New Jersey lawmakers passed legislation requiring palimony agreements to be put into writing if they are to be enforceable. The Assembly gave final approval to the new law, S-2091, by a vote of 51-19 vote, with opposition coming primarily from Democrats who argued that it would.. read more →

In a case of first impression in New Jersey, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division,  recently affirmed a trial court’s ruling, holding that paying for another’s companionship can be a form of “dating” that triggers statutory protections against domestic violence. In J.S. v. J.F., Docket No. A-2552-08 (App. Div., December 10, 2009), the Appellate Division.. read more →

Here’s a memorable sentence: “Nobody can relate to the raw, visceral experience of ending a marriage better than someone who has gone through it.” Amen to that. Based on that insight, the NY Times published an article this past Sunday entitled “Experienced in Love and Money” which summarized advice from financial experts about what they.. read more →

Recently, Fox News did a video segment and report on collaborative divorce which featured two members of the New Jersey Collaborative Law Group (NJCLG), divorce lawyer Amy Schimalla and financial planner Jody D’agostini, giving an overview of the collaborative divorce process. (I’m one of the founding members of the NJCLG.) Though brief, the video does.. read more →

Recent cases illustrate two important legal principals involving the right to resolve family disputes in New Jersey by voluntary, alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as arbitration and mediation, rather than trial. Our courts have held that parents have a fundamental and constitutionally protected liberty interest in raising their children, which includes the right to submit.. read more →

In Lerman v. Lerman, Docket No. A-1953-07T3 (App. Div., August 4, 2009), the trustees of a trust established and funded by defendant David Lerman’s deceased mother, Pearl Lerman, appealed from an order of a Family Court Judge in New Jersey directing that Bank of America turn over $50,000 of the trust’s assets to the Bergen.. read more →

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national non-profit, public interest legal organization committed to advancing the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their families. Since 1999, NCLR’s Elder Law Project has been helping LGBT seniors gain access to and obtain equal treatment in law, public policy, health.. read more →

In a recent article published in Inside Jersey magazine, collaborative divorce is described as “the newest method of alternative dispute resolution.” The author explained the collaborative divorce process as follows: Rather than two sides preparing for a knockdown, drag-out fight [in court], the  collaborative process is designed to allow spouses to negotiate with each other’s.. read more →

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the proceeds from a home sale held in an escrow account pending an agreement between a divorcing couple as to their final distribution are countable resources for purposes of determining eligibility under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. In Kelley v. Commissioner of Social Security (3rd… read more →

The Wall Street Journal published an article today discussing the increasing number of couples separating and divorcing as a result of financial hardship brought on by the recession. Yet, according to the Journal, the recession also is causing some unhappy couples to rethink their marital situation, since a costly divorce would only further deplete already-shrunken.. read more →

Here is a recent discussion thread on a mediation listserv concerning the effect of an affair on a marriage today. Q – I find that far fewer couples than I expected come to divorce mediation because of an affair. I wonder if that is true for you as well? For those of you who litigate.. read more →

Parents who abuse, abandon, neglect or cause the death of their children will be ineligible for alimony and for inheritance benefits from their children’s estates, under a new state law signed by Gov. Jon Corzine on April 17 that takes effect in July. The new law amends N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23 to deny alimony to a person.. read more →

Earlier this month, the state Senate approved, by a vote of 21-14, bipartisan-sponsored legislation that would require all palimony agreements to be in writing and signed in order to be enforceable. The bill, s-2091, amends N.J.S.A. 25:1-5, which already requires that prenuptial agreements be put into writing. The bill is intended to overturn recent “palimony”.. read more →

A new Supreme Court decision illustrates the importance of making sure your beneficiary designations are up-to-date.  The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a plan administrator properly distributed benefits under an ERISA pension plan to a deceased participant’s ex-spouse, as she was the only designated beneficiary, even though she had waived her interest in plan.. read more →

On January 31, 2009, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education hosted the annual Family Law Symposium, a “must attend” annual learning event for family law attorneys practicing in New Jersey. One of the speakers at the Symposium presented his list of the “top 10 family law cases decided in 2008.” I thought that the selections.. read more →

The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved bipartisan-sponsored legislation that would require all palimony agreements to be in writing and signed in order to be enforceable. The bill, S-2091, amends N.J.S.A. 25:1-5, which already requires that prenuptial agreements be put into writing, to include palimony agreements. It adds a new paragraph “h” stating: “A promise by.. read more →