Monmouth County Family Law Blog

What to consider when keeping the family home after a divorce

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC posted in Property Division on Monday, November 12, 2018.

Determining whether or not to keep the family home can be one of the biggest decisions a former New Jersey couple may have to make during a divorce. While many former spouses want to keep the family home, especially if there are children involved, there are a few factors that the former couple should consider before making a final decision.

When former spouses agree that one person should keep the home, the other person usually signs a quit claim deed. This releases that person's interest in the home, meaning that, if the home is sold in the future, that person is not entitled to any of the proceeds from the sale. However, signing a quit claim deed does not release the person's liability, meaning he or she could be held responsible if the other former spouse fails to make the mortgage payments.

Answer these questions when negotiating a parenting agreement

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Wednesday, November 7, 2018.

Once you decide to divorce, it's important to do whatever you can to maintain stability for your children. It's not always easy, especially if you're not getting along with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, but you don't want to do anything that could have a negative impact on your children.

Most people are able to work through their differences in mediation, eventually negotiating on the terms and conditions of a parenting agreement.

Do parents who share joint custody pay child support?

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC posted in Child Support on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

Many parents in New Jersey share joint custody of their children. Joint custody involves approximately equal parenting time and legal rights. Many parents are contemplating agreeing to share custody of their children wonder how child support works.

The Child Support Standards Act applies to many situations regarding child support but does not cover joint custody because it assigns responsibility for paying support to the non-custodial parent. State law controls how child support works in joint custody cases.

Changing the visitation schedule with a noncustodial parent

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC posted in Child Custody on Saturday, November 3, 2018.

When it comes to visitation issues with a noncustodial parent, New Jersey court decisions are based on the best interests of the kids. Judges typically want to see plans or formal visitation orders so that the children are given the opportunity to spend quality time with both parents. In some instances, preventing a visitation could lead to legal ramifications.

Depending on the circumstances, however, child custody and visitation can be changed. There are many reasons why a custodial parent may want to deny a child's visits with the noncustodial parent. But to break the visitation schedule, there must be a significant reason. For instance, a disagreement over bedtime is not likely to call for a change to visitation orders. If the child might be in some sort of real danger because of abuse or neglect, it could be viewed as a legitimate reason for a primary parent to refuse visits.

What happens to a couple’s frozen embryos in a divorce?

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC posted in Property Division on Thursday, November 1, 2018.

As technology advances, couples are increasingly turning to alternative methods of procreation. Some couples pursue the path of embryo cryopreservation—a process by which an egg is fertilized through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and then frozen. The embryo can then be brought to term whenever the couple decides they’re ready to have a child.

But what happens when a couple decides to divorce before the embryos are used? How do laws surrounding property division apply in such a case?

Activities to enjoy with your child on visitation days

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Monday, September 24, 2018.

If you're a single parent who has recently received the right to visit with your child, there's a chance that you have never served as the primary caretaker of your son or daughter -- or maybe you've never actually spent a full day alone with him or her without your spouse present. If that's the case, your newly received child visitation rights may come with a few question marks regarding the following question: How can I make the most of my limited time with my kids?

Strategies for enjoying your time with your kids

Are you trying to negotiate your child support amount?

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Wednesday, August 22, 2018.

It's human nature to save and acquire financial resources. When a New Jersey resident is a parent and responsible for the welfare of a child, this instinct to save money grows even stronger. For this reason, child support amounts could become a subject of heated debate during contentious divorce proceedings as both parents try to save and/or receive as much money as they.

Fortunately, with a better understanding of family law and what courts look at to determine child support amounts, parents will be more capable of negotiating this issue to arrive at a fair and balanced out-of-court resolution. Here's the kind of information family law courts use to calculate child support levels:

On what can I spend my child support money?

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Thursday, July 26, 2018.

Many people wrongly believe that parents should only use child support money to pay for a child's bare essentials like food, clothes and medical care. However, child support also covers other expenses, such as schooling, extra-curricular activities, entertainment and other expenses.

Here is a complete list of everything that parents can lawfully purchase or pay for with their child support money:

3 reasons why spouses end their marriages

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

Imagine that you and your spouse share several children together and own your white-picket-fence home. Your children are doing great in private schools and you and your spouse have a fat 401(k) account to make your transition into early retirement as easy as possible.

Your marriage and family look perfect on paper — and your friends might think you've got it made — but there's a dark underbelly to the relationship of which only you are keenly aware. Unfortunately, you're beginning to realize that for your health, emotional sanity and the best interests of your children, it's time to dissolve your marriage through divorce.

Child custody and unmarried parents

On behalf of LaRocca Hornik Rosen Greenberg & Patti LLC on Tuesday, May 29, 2018.

When two people aren't married, but they have a child together, the mother will usually receive sole physical custody automatically. In fact, it's rare that a father could win a child custody case over a mother in these circumstances. The child will most likely live with the mother full time unless the mother agrees to other circumstances.

However, the father can usually take action to receive -- at the very least -- visitation rights, even if the mother doesn't agree. Courts in New Jersey primarily believe that the children are best-served when they can spend a generous and regular amount of time with the non-custodial parent.