Enforcing a Divorce Judgment in New Jersey

How to Take Steps to Ensure that Your Ex Complies with the Court Order

Enforcing a Divorce Judgment In the aftermath of a divorce proceeding, when the judge has signed your divorce decree, you hope and expect that both parties will honor the terms of the order, so that you can get on with your lives. Unfortunately, though, the relationship challenges that led to the divorce often don’t end just because the marriage has ended. Your former spouse may choose not to comply with court order, failing to pay child support as required or denying you access to your children at times of scheduled visitation. What can you do if your ex violates the terms of the divorce judgment?

File a Motion for Contempt of Court

Under the law, whenever a party to a court order fails to comply with the terms of that order—and a divorce decree is a court order—that’s “contempt of court,” which can result in some pretty serious actions by the court. As a general rule, though, the court won’t know that a court order has been violated unless someone puts the court on notice. Accordingly, if your ex refuses to honor the provisions of the divorce decree and you have tried, unsuccessfully, to get him or her to comply, you will have to put the court on notice. To do that, you must file a motion, asking the court to find your former spouse in contempt.

It is critical, though, before you file your motion, to attempt to resolve the dispute without the intervention of the court. In fact, New Jersey law mandates that you accompany your motion for contempt with a “certification,” stating that you or your legal counsel made a good faith attempt to work out the disagreement.

Your motion must include a list of the specific provisions of the court order that your ex has failed to honor, a request that your ex comply with the requirements of the divorce decree (a copy of the original divorce judgment should be attached), and a request that your ex pay your attorney fees.

Contact Attorney David M. Lipshutz

We will only take your case if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.

Your Rights in a Child Custody Matter in New Jersey

Child-Custody-Matter-in-New-Jersey

When you are involved in a divorce proceeding and there are minor children in the home, you’ll need to come to an agreement about who will have custody and what visitation will look like. As a parent, you want what’s best for your children, but you also want to play a meaningful role in their growth and development.

Physical Custody vs. Legal Custody

The first thing you need to understand is that the law makes a distinction between physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody refers to where the child resides most of the time, i.e., where the child would consider “home” to be. In most instances, the court will grant primary custody to one of the parents and allow visitation with the other parent. In determining which parent will have primary custody, the court will give priority to “the best interests of the child.” (See our discussion below).

Legal custody, on the other hand, refers to each parent’s right to participate in the decision-making process with respect to things like health, education and religious training. As a general rule, the courts prefer to grant joint legal custody, so that both parents are involved.

The Best Interests of the Child

When making decisions that have an impact on minor children, the courts in New Jersey are bound to promote the “best interests of the child.” As a general rule, the “best interests of the children” are served by encouraging regular contact with both parents. The court will also look at specific criteria, including:

  • The age, gender, and physical and mental health of the child
  • The mental and physical health of both parents, including the ability to parent, as well as any allegations of domestic violence or abuse
  • The respective lifestyles of both parents, including alcohol, tobacco and drug use or inappropriate exposure to sexual matters
  • The emotional bond the child has with each parent
  • The ability of the parents respectively to provide for the child’s financial, physical and emotional needs
  • The lifestyle and routines to which the child has become accustomed
  • The impact that changing the child’s residency would have
  • The preference of the child, if the child has reached a certain age, typically 12 years of age

Contact Attorney David M. Lipshutz

We will only take your case if we know we can help. For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you Monday through Friday, between 9 am and 5 pm.

Allocation of Income Tax Exemptions For Children and Deductions For Real Estate – An Often Overlooked But Important Issue In Divorce and Separation Situations

calculator-385506_640Many people in divorce and separation proceedings simply assume (1) the primary custodial parent of a child receives the child’s income tax exemption and (2) the party living in a house or condo receives that property’s deductions (e.g., real estate taxes, mortgage interest).

Those are the general rules – but parties can negotiate a different result and courts can order a different result, if asked.

When exemptions and deductions are negotiated, they are often evenly divided.  If there are two children each parent takes one, or if there is one child the parties alternate taking the child every other year.  The real estate deductions can be divided similarly.

As your attorney, I can also use the exemptions and deductions to “trade off” for something else that’s important to you.

Contact Our Divorce and Family Law Practice

To set up an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm. We won’t take your case unless we know we can help.

Grandparent Visitation Rights in New Jersey

for-reading-813666_640Grandparent visitation rights are extremely weak in New Jersey.  The courts have generally taken the position that parents have a constitutional right to raise children as they see fit, even if that means cutting off their children from their grandparents.

However, there is a major exception to this rule – if the grandparent can show that the child would suffer harm if deprived of contact with his or her grandparent(s).

Family Law Attorney in New Jersey

How does an attorney prove such “harm”?  Unfortunately, just stating, “Of course any child suffers harm from not seeing a grandparent!” is not enough.  In order to prove harm, a grandparent generally must show that he/she:
(1) has a close relationship with the grandchild;
(2) has spent significant time with the grandchild (actually having lived with the grandchild is extremely helpful); and
(3) has had significant responsibility for the grandchild’s care.

Disputes between grandparents and parents over seeing children are extremely emotional and sad.  However, an attorney experienced in this field can make all the difference in gaining visitation/blocking visitation.

Contact Our Office

To set up an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 856-627-1990. We are available to meet with you weekdays between 9 am and 5 pm. We won’t take your case unless we know we can help.

David has made the difficult decision to retire after 43 years.

Rebel Brown Law Group is available to assist his new and existing clients.

We can be reached at 856-881-5000.

Our firm offers free consultation in most matters. Learn more about us at Rebelbrownlawgroup.com

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