Monmouth County Family Law Blog

One of the hardest aspects of a divorce will be figuring out what will happen to your kids. You know they will benefit if allowed to have access to and a strong relationship with both parents, but that may not be easy for you to navigate. Even if you and the other parent do not get along, you may be able to find a way to make it work for the benefits of the kids. 

However, co-parenting can be especially difficult when your ex displays toxic behaviors. You want to continue to allow your children to see their mother or father, but how can you deal with the negativity and difficult circumstances without losing your own sanity? One of the first things you can do is to learn to recognize toxic behavior and figure what child custody arrangement will work best for your family.

Once the emotion is removed from a divorce situation, it basically amounts to negotiating a business deal. Part of those negotiations for some New Jersey couples who are divorcing involves alimony. But even in the best of circumstances, negotiating a divorce settlement is rarely easy, especially with relatively new tax laws in place, which has meant changes in the ways payors and payees of alimony look at things.

Essentially, the spouse who now pays alimony can no longer claim the payment as a tax deduction, while the spouse on the receiving end doesn't have to claim the funds as income. These payments are now more costly for the payor because of the elimination of the tax break, so many such payors have set up trusts to pay their former spouses alimony. Grantor trusts actually mean the payee pays taxes on funds paid out, so it takes some negotiating finesse to get a payee to agree to this situation. 

Usually (but not always) it's a man who will pay to support his children after a divorce if the mother is a custodial parent. New Jersey fathers who pay child support should be aware of the laws that govern that support. Both parents are financially responsible for their children, and parents who share joint custody of their kids have child support calculated by the court based on the percentage of each person's income and the time each parent has physical custody. 

It doesn't matter in the eyes of the law if a couple never married -- it is beholden upon a parent to financially support his or her child. A stepfather typically isn't responsible to pay child support unless he legally adopted the children. Child support payment amounts are usually calculated using a payor's income and expenses with the state setting guidelines. These payments may be modified at some point if a payor or payee's life circumstance changes.

Judges look at a number of factors when considering support payments. When it comes to spousal support or alimony and child support payments, both New Jersey payors and payees should know what those factors are moving forward in a divorce process. Usually, a family court judge will look at both earned and passive income to come to a support payment decision. 

Earned income can include a salary for a job, perks or bonuses received in regard to a job, or partnership distributions. On the other hand, passive income might include investment dividends. A judge will likely look at a potential payor's most recent tax filing, but also might look deeper when ascertaining alimony and child support payments. That's not where it could end, since a judge could also look at what a payor could be earning, depending upon the individual's credentials.