Matrimonial Law

REGISTRATION FOR BOARDWALK SEMINAR ® 2016

Program Co-Chairs – Robert E. Goldstein, Esq.

Thursday & Friday, April 7 & 8, 2016

Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City, NJ

9:30 am – 5:00 pm & 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Click here to see the program and fill out the registration form for Boardwalk Seminar 2016.

While there are many things you should ask your divorce lawyer, you should really also ask yourself many things such as simply “do I feel good about him or her.” There is often not much time to decide upon which lawyer to choose, so your gut instinct may be your best guidepost. But to help you, here are some questions you can ask that might help you determine whether or not a certain lawyer will be a good fit for you.

5. Tell me how your fees work?
Any good lawyer should be more than willing to discuss his or her fees with you. Not just what their hourly rate is, but what could make the case more expensive and how to conserve costs. While it is impossible to predict what a divorce will cost (unless it is a flat fee because it is uncontested, or the lawyer is willing to set a flat fee, or flat fees based on certain criterion), a lawyer should be able to give you a general idea of what it could cost and why. If the lawyer won’t answer this, or does not answer this to your satisfaction, maybe that’s a bad sign?

4. Do you know my spouse’s lawyer, and what do you think of him or her?
While you may think it is good to hire a lawyer who already dislikes the other side’s lawyer, this is often the opposite of what’s in your best interests. Good lawyers know and respect each other and will try to move the case along with as little friction as possible. Of course this can be difficult, given the emotional nature of divorce, but adding a layer of hostility (lawyer to lawyer hostility) on top of the potential hostility between spouses is not a good thing.

3. How experienced are you in handling divorce and family law cases?
Many lawyers are experienced in a variety of legal areas. However, you may be best served by hiring an attorney who handles divorce and family law cases on a daily basis. That is because lawyers who handle those cases on a daily basis are likely to be familiar with trends in the law, the relevant statutes and cases that may be applicable to the facts of your case, and are more likely to be familiar with the predilections of a particular judge that may be assigned to your case. While you do not need an attorney who only handles divorce and family law cases, and often a broad knowledge of other areas of the law will help the lawyer have a perspective in handling the various issues that may come up in your case, you still want someone who is highly experienced in handling cases such as yours.

2. May I meet your staff?
Often you may be working as much with the lawyer’s staff as with the lawyer. They may be the ones notifying you of court dates, helping you gather information and getting personal information from you to help the lawyer prepare. Staff can be vital (and can save you the cost of always having to talk to the lawyer). But you need to meet, and like them. You will be sharing very personal information with them and good or bad staff can make all the difference.

1. What should my expectations be for my case?
It is always better for you to have an attorney who will discuss what your reasonable expectations should be, rather than one who tells you that he or she can accomplish every one of your goals. An experienced divorce and family law attorney can help ground you so that at the end of your case, you do not feel that promises were made to you that can’t be kept.

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Our law office is located in Manalapan. Contact us by contact form or call (732) 972-1600 to schedule a convenient appointment. Evening and weekend appointments are available.

We take cases throughout New Jersey, to include Monmouth, Middlesex, Ocean, Somerset, Burlington, Mercer, Morris, Bergen, Essex and Hudson Counties.

While there is a definite advantage to both parties going through a divorce to settle their issues amicably, which is usually through the collaborative divorce process, or through mediation, you should not think that an attorney who is formally trained to represent clients in a Collaborative Divorce is somehow “weaker” or “less competent” than a divorce attorney who only litigates divorce cases. This is because if you are divorcing, you want an attorney who has the ability to negotiate and seek resolution of the issues in your case in a passionate yet reasoned manner. Such an approach usually has the benefit of saving you thousands of dollars in legal fees and expert witness fees. Aren’t you and your children better off with more money in your pocket and the ability to deal with your soon to be former spouse in a civil manner for the benefit of your children?

The idea that a lawyer who is trained in the collaborative divorce process is a lesser advocate is incorrect. The most successful litigators, while experienced in the court process, are also superb negotiators. To benefit their clients, they have decided to become collaboratively trained attorneys also, so that if the divorcing couple are desirous of keeping things on a civil level, the collaborative process, which they and they alone control, rather than be controlled by a judge who does not know the parties and has hundreds of cases on his or her docket at any one time, they should want to divorce collaboratively.

Are Collaborative Divorce attorneys highly skilled at litigation? Yes, almost every one of them is. So, to get the best of both worlds, you should consider a collaborative divorce when the two of you have decided to terminate your marriage. Your children will thank you.

I am a collaboratively trained attorney and I am a member of Collaborative Divorce Professionals, serving Middlesex, Monmouth & Ocean counties. To learn more, go to
www.njcollaborativeprofessionals.com

On January 19, 2016, Governor Christie signed S-1046/A-2721 into law. This law establishes 19 as the age when a child support and/or medical support obligation will end.  The new law allows for child and/or medical support to continue up to age 23 for cases in which the dependent is still in high school; attending full-time college, vocational or graduate school; is disabled; if the parties reached a separate agreement; or, if continued support was granted by the court.

The effective date of the law is February 1, 2017 and applies to all child support orders. If you have at least one dependent, age 19 or older, as of February 1, 2017, you will receive an initial Notice of Child Support Termination on or around August 1, 2016. This Notice will be sent out 180 days before the dependent’s 19^th birthday and will contain information on how to request a continuation of child support as well as how it will impact the amount of child support.

For families that currently have a child already over the age of 19, child support will end on February 1, 2017, rather than on the child’s 19^th birthday, as the new law is phased in.

If your Judgment of Divorce (JOD) or support order specifies an end date other than the dependent’s 19^th birthday, that date will stand and you will not be permitted to request an administrative continuation of support.  However, you still may receive a Notice of Child Support Termination and be asked to send in a copy of the JOD or order.

If no continuation of child support is requested, a second Notice of Child Support Termination will be sent out 90 days before the dependent’s 19^th birthday. If no continuation is requested after receiving the second notice, the order of support will end as of the child’s 19^th birthday, and both parties will receive an update reflecting this change.  (Note that if back child support is owed, the non-custodial parent still is responsible for paying that off.)

If you receive an updated order for continued support and wish to oppose it, you may file an application or motion with the court. If there are younger children on the order in addition to the 19-year-old (or older) child(ren),  parents may need to file an application or motion with the court to adjust the child support amount.

If your JOD or support order calls for child support to continue beyond the dependent’s 19^th birthday – if they are in college, for example – you will receive a Final Notice of Child Support Termination 90 days before the dependent’s 23^rd birthday (or other extended termination date) informing you that the child support will end.

In order to ensure that all notices and informational updates are received, please confirm that the Child Support Program has your most current mailing address, cell phone number and email address.

More information regarding the new child support termination process will be posted on www.njchildsupport.org in the upcoming weeks and months.

Our law office is located in Manalapan. Contact us by contact form or call (732) 972-1600 to schedule a convenient appointment. Evening and weekend appointments are available.

We take cases throughout New Jersey, to include Monmouth, Middlesex, Ocean, Somerset, Burlington, Mercer, Morris, Bergen, Essex and Hudson Counties.