New Jersey Family Law

Sperm Theft

A woman accused of using her lover's sperm to impregnate herself without his knowledge can be held liable for the father's emotional pain, an Illinois Court has ruled. The ruling reinstates part of a lawsuit against Sharon Irons, a doctor, by her former lover, another doctor, Richard O. Phillips, who accused her of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" after an affair they had 6 years ago. Phillips alleges that he and Irons never had intercourse during their 4 month affair, although they did have oral sex 3 times. He contends that Irons, without his knowledge, kept his semen and used it to impregnate herself. The relationship ended when he learned she had lied to him about being recently divorced and was, in fact, still married to a third doctor. Nearly 2 years later, she hit him with a paternity suit. DNA tests showed Phillips was indeed the father and he was ordered to pay child support. He then sued her, claiming her actions robbed him of sleep and caused him to have trouble eating. CBS 2 Chicago WBBM-TV, February 25, 2005

What Does It Take : Domestic Violence

New Jersey divorce lawyers often debate how little/how much is required to prove domestic violence. Part of the answer is that physical harm is not required. In this case, domestic violence was established, where the husband sent three letters, intending to embarrass the wife by revealing intimate details of the marriage, its breakup and various negative facts about the family. Even though these letters were not sent to the wife, they were "seriously annoying" to her within the harassment statute, coupled with one instance in which he went to her place of work and stared at her. Basra v. Sehgal, New Jersey App. Div., February 24, 2005

To Grandmother's House We Go...Maybe Not

Under New Jersey law [N.J.S.A 9:2-7.1] and Moriarty v. Bradt, grandparents [or other relatives] may be able to compel visitation with minor children of divorced or divorcing parents. In this case, however, the grandparents' case was dismissed, because they had had very little contact with the young grandchildren, both parents lived together and sought to prevent that visitation, and the grandchildren would suffer with visitation since it was against their own parents’ desires. Deering, et al. v. Deering, et al., New Jersey App. Div., February 24, 2005.

Turnabout

Most New Jersey domestic violence cases involve women as the victims and men as the perpetrators. In this case, however, it was the opposite. Here, the mother went to the father's beach house to pick up their three children, had a verbal altercation with his mother, began to "fight with the door," and struck the father in the face. The trial court found her guilty of domestic violence and was affirmed on appeal. Parziale v. Swaney, New Jersey App. Div., February 23, 2005.

Interview The Child

Every state has an agency whose function is to protect children who are victimized by abusive parents. In New Jersey, that agency is the Division of Youth and Family Services [DYFS]. In this case, DYFS stepped in because the defendant mother had exposed her daughter to at least 18 months of emotional and physical abuse by the stepfather. Here, the trial court erred by refusing to interview the daughter in camera. DYFS v. H.B., New Jersey App. Div., February 23, 2005

Palimony

Palimony is alive and well in New Jersey family law. This case demonstrates the risk of a long-term relationship without benefit of a written agreement defining the parties' respective rights. Here, the court dealt with a 30-plus-year relationship between the 78-year-old defendant and the 71-year-old plaintiff. The court found that defendant made a promise, both express and implied, to take care of plaintiff for the rest of her life. The award included (a) free-and-clear transfer of his  Mystic Island property to her, (b)a one-time lump sum judgment of $384,256.21, based on the present value of reasonable future support he promised to provide her, computed on her life expectancy, reduced by a market discount rate of interest and (c) counsel fees to her as well. Browner v. DeAngelis, New Jersey Ch. Div., February 22, 2005.

Embryo : Wrongful Death

A Chicago judge has ruled that a husband and wife will be allowed to proceed with a wrongful death suit against a fertility clinic that allegedly discarded their fertilized egg. This may affect abortion law, stem cell research, genetic testing and a wide range of other issues. The Judge focused on two questions: is a pre-embryo a human being? must it be implanted in its mother's womb to give rise to a wrongful death action? The Court said the terms "fertilization" and "conception" are synonymous under Illinois abortion laws, making a pre-embryo a human being. Miller v. American Infertility Group, No. 02L7394 (Cook County, Ill., Cir. Ct.). February 18, 2005

Reimbursement Alimony

Under New Jersey divorce law, several different types of alimony can be awarded. They include permanent, limited duration, pendente lite, restitutional and reimbursement. In this case, the ex-husband attended medical school and worked as a dialysis technician after he earned his degree. The trial court deemed it appropriate for the ex-wife to receive reimbursement alimony and was affirmed on appeal. Uribe-Santana v. Santana, New Jersey App. Div., February 17, 2005

5 Time Alimony Loser

He lost his $90,000-per year job. He's over 60. He only has a high-school degree. Does he get to terminate his alimony payments? Not only did the court deny his application, but it did so for the fifth time. Reason : he repeatedly failed to provide information regarding the amount available to him from his pension. Moreover,  he chose to postpone receipt of available pension benefits, thereby proving his voluntary failure to maximize income. Mix v. Mix, New Jersey App. Div., February 16, 2005

Innocent Spouse

If you file joint income tax returns, can you be held liable for your spouse's tax fraud? Yes, unless you can prove that you're an "Innocent Spouse". Under §6015 of the Internal Revenue Code, it's possible to avoid joint liability, if you can prove that you were not involved with or had knowledge of the claimed wrongdoing. In this case,  the deficiency was all allocable to unreported income from the husband's business. The wife had prepared the invoices for her husband's business based on information she received from him. But she didn't see the amounts he collected, nor did she see records of deposits or sign on his bank accounts. Further, she couldn't insist on examining his records because he physically and emotionally abused her throughout the marriage. Because the wife lacked actual knowledge of unreported income, she qualified as an "Innocent Spouse" and was thus entitled to relief from liability. Cook v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2005-22, February 16, 2005.