After 25 years of practicing exclusively divorce and family law, I have repeatedly heard client say, “I wish someone had told me that sooner.” Some things are inevitable when divorcing, but many of the most troubling aspects can be avoided with a little advance knowledge and planning. Here are five of the most important: 1.Read more
In New Jersey, our court system is set up in a hierarchy. At the lowest level is Administrative Agencies and Municipal Courts, the next level up is the Trial Courts, then the Appellate Division and at the top of the pyramid, the New Jersey Supreme Court. Each court is appealable to the level above it.Read more
The New Jersey Appellate Division just published what will likely be a seminal case on military divorce law in this State. The case dealt with a veteran who was collecting his military pension and then waived his entire pension to collect tax-free VA disability benefits. The spouse, who was supposed to collect part of theRead more
April 15th has been tax day since 1955 and for almost as many decades, divorced couples with alimony obligations have had the same tax situation – those paying could deduct payments dollar for dollar and those collecting would claim it as income. But for the first time ever, those rules have changed this tax season,Read more
Earlier today, Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, and his Wife, MacKenzie, issued a joint statement of their intent to divorce each other after 25 years of marriage. The most recent estimate is that Bezos’ net worth is somewhere around $137 billion dollars, give or take a few billion depending on the market. The million (well billion)Read more
It comes as no surprise that separating or divorcing couples often fight over finances, especially debt. Heck, happily married couples often fight over their finances. What a lot of people do not realize is that they may be responsible for their spouse’s debt in the event of a divorce. If you share the same household,Read more
Did your Ex offer to buy your 10 year old a cell phone for Christmas? Or perhaps he bought the cell phone already and your 10 year old son comes home and is bursting at the seams with excitement over his new cell phone that Dad bought him. You try to not let the surpriseRead more
Holidays can be very stressful—there seems like an endless list of tasks to complete, gifts to buy, gifts to wrap, parties to host, parties to attend, goodies to bake, cards to address and send all to make the holidays, whatever you may celebrate, the BEST TIME OF THE YEAR!!Read more
Mediation is often a much cheaper alternative than traditional litigation through the court system. Disputes can usually be resolved in less time as well. The mediation process gives you control over the outcome of your dispute—mediators will help you communicate in different ways than you have. Here are five questions to determine if mediation might be right for you:Read more
The holidays are upon us and it’s time to talk about holiday sharing between parents. The holidays are a special time of family traditions, good cheer, yummy foods and generosity of spirit. Does the same extend to sharing the holidays with children in no longer together families? Not always.Read more