Articles Posted in custody

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TANGEL 13he jurisdiction of the Family Part of the New Jersey Superior Court to make orders determining custody is based upon the common law doctrine of parens patriae, which imposes upon the court an affirmative duty to protect the best interests of minor children. The members the New Jersey Judiciary that serve our State in making these decisions will tell you that these decisions are some of the most difficult they have faced in their professional careers and also some of the most rewarding. On December 15, 2015, the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued an opinion modifying and affirming the Appellate Division’s decision denying the appeal by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency in the case of New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency v. K.N. and K.E., 435 N.J. Super. 16 (App.Div. 2014), wherein the “Division” appealed from a June, 2013 order that awarded custody of T.E. (“Tommy”), the six-year-old son of K.N. (“Kara”) and T.E. (“Kevin”) to his maternal grandmother as a paid resource placement parents. Continue reading ›

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file0001207444674New Jersey’s removal statute, N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, bars a parent from permanent relocating a child from the State of New Jersey without the other parent’s consent or the permission of the court.   In a previous 2013 blog, my colleague, Daniel Burton, Esq., discussed at length the standard created under our case law when a custodial parent seeks to move out of New Jersey with a child and the noncustodial parent objects. The present leading case on relocation is  Baures v. Lewis, 167 N.J. 91 (2001), in which the New Jersey Supreme Court listed 12 factors for court to consider when deciding applications for a parent to relocate a child from New Jersey. Continue reading ›

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Generally, the concept that in domestic violence matters the concept that a defendant could defend oneself by asserting that their violence towards the plaintiff was deserved or provoked in some way is an abhorrent concept, and would likely not be a successful argument in defending against against an accusation of domestic violence.   However, in an as yet unpublished July, 2015 decision  in the matter of R C v R W, decided by the Honorable L.R. Jones, J.S.C., a prolific writer of trial court opinions, the family court addressed the following question: “What happens when a plaintiff seeks a final restraining order against a defendant for conduct which arises from plaintiff’s own violent provocation?”. Continue reading ›

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The first Tuesday of every November serves as Election Day in New Jersey and across the United States.  Immigration, both legal and illegal, continues to be controversial issue in current elections.  On Election Day Eve, November 2, 2015, the New Jersey Appellate Division published their Opinion in OYPC v. JCP, — N.J.Super. — (App. Div. 2015), addressing the issues of immigration and custody.  In the case, an older sibling petitioned the court to gain custody of her eighteen year old brother.  Her brother was born in Guatemala, where the father’s name was not listed on the boy’s birth certificate, nor was the father involved in the boy’s life.  The boy’s biological mother (JCP) never disclosed to the child that he was his mother.  Rather, after the boy was born, JCP turned the boy over to his 17 year old sister (OYPC) to be raised as her own child, and JCP pretended to be the boy’s grandmother.  The sister (OYPC) cared for both the boy and her mother (JCP), and OYPC also supported the family. Continue reading ›

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contract2More and more litigants today are agreeing to arbitrate matters outside of the public sphere of the courthouse and hire a private arbitrator to resolve their dispute in lieu of a judge in the court doing so.  In the context of a business  or contract dispute, the aggrieved parties might be more inclined to consider having an arbitrator decide their case. Continue reading ›

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On Tuesday, August 11, 2015, a New York court ordered the children of the television “Gossip Girl” actress, Kelly Rutherford, to be returned to their father, Daniel Giersch,  who has been living with the children in Monaco since 2012. Rutherford and Giersch wed in 2007 and welcomed their first child, Hermes, the following year. The marriage soon broke down and Rutherford filed for divorce in California in 2009.  At the time, she was three months pregnant with their second child, Helena. Continue reading ›

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Modern science and technology have afforded infertile couples  the ability to have a child of their own through in vitro fertilization. Recently, stories in the mainstream media have discussed the legal disputes between couples who froze fertilized embryos before they split up where one of the members of the couple wishes to use the fertilized embryos to have a child, but the other does not. Continue reading ›

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In June, 2015 a judge in Oakland County, Michigan held three children (ages 15, 10 and 9) in contempt of court and sent them to a juvenile detention facility.  In that case, the children’s parents were in the midst of a high conflict five year divorce that included allegations of abuse and fear of parental kidnapping and dozens of court appearances. Continue reading ›

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file000314800471A recent trial court decision by the Honorable Sohail Mohammed, J.S.C., from the Superior Court of New Jersey in Passaic County, is making headlines for its precedent setting nature combined with the “scratch your head” intrigue certain headlines provide.  More specifically, Judge Mohammed recently made a ruling that a man believed to be the father of two twin girls was actually only the father of one of the girls and, therefore, was only required to pay for child support that one child.  In fact, this is the first paternity case of its kind in the State of New Jersey (and thus a matter of first impression) and only the third of its kind in the entire nation. Continue reading ›

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IMG_1446Parental disagreements as to a child’s upbringing are probably about as old as humankind.  Nowhere are these conflicts more prevalent than in today’s modern society where children are bombarded with content from the internet, television, phones and  computers.  Parents often disagree on what content is appropriate and inappropriate for their child to see and hear.  Rock and Roll has been a controversial subject dating back to the 1950s and remains one today.  While the burnings of records of the “Devil’s Music” are no longer taking place on Main Streets across America, many parents still struggle with the idea that the content of the music of the pop stars that their young children idolize is not age appropriate for their child.  The concept is  nothing new and can become further complicated when the parents are divorced. Continue reading ›