New Jersey Family Law

NEW JERSEY DIVORCE & COLLEGE

The parties' daughter moved to intervene in the New Jersey divorce action between her parents in order to compel payment of her college expenses. The trial court erred in denying the motion and is now reversed. The right to support belongs to the child and cannot be destroyed contractually by the parents. This is why it is unrealistic to believe that the daughter's interests were adequately represented by the parents.  Mills v. Mills; Mills, Intervenor, New Jersey App. Div., October 19, 2005

NEW JERSEY COURT ORDERED COUNSELING

In this case arising out of a visitation dispute between the plaintiffs-paternal grandparents, and defendant, the mother of their deceased son's two children, the appellate panel affirms the Family Part order directing that the parties engage in counseling to facilitate future unsupervised grandparental visitation.   DelPizzo, et ux. v. Costanzo, New Jersey App. Div., October 17, 2005

NEW JERSEY ANNULMENT

A judge has granted a New Jersey annulment to a woman who unwittingly "married" a serial fraud artist. Joyce Reynolds was legally freed from what she thought was her 2001 marriage to William Michael Barber, a purported doctor who turned out to be a convicted con man and liar. Reynolds met Barber over the Internet, and he claimed to be a cardiovascular pediatric surgeon taking a sabbatical. They married a few weeks after he showed up in New Jersey to meet her. This summer, she learned that he tricked other women with lies of being a former NFL player, a cancer survivor, an Army hero and former POW. Judge Robert E. McCarthy, sitting in Morristown, granted the 49-year-old Wharton woman's request for an annulment from Barber, who married her on January 19, 2001, under the name James Michael Barber and added 6 years to his real birth date.      Morristown Daily Record, October 13, 2005

NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO CHILD SUPPORT COUNSEL

The New Jersey Supreme Court is going to hear Pasqua v. Council next week. It deals with whether indigent parents have a constitutional right to counsel in New Jersey child support proceedings. It has been suggested that such representation should not be made mandatory pro bono. While New Jersey Legal Services said parents have a constitutional right to the representation, the New Jersey Bar Association did not address constitutionality. The Appellate Division has already reversed a trial court ruling that such parents have a right to representation.    New Jersey Law Journal, October 11, 2005

DRUG TESTING & NEW JERSEY VISITATION

In this heavily-litigated New Jersey divorce, Mom was ordered to undergo testing for both alcohol and non-prescription medication. Dad was given residential custody of the three children. In the interim, Mom was allowed visitation, but only on a supervised basis. Now, based on certifications from two doctors, two parenting supervisors and Mom's therapist, a plenary hearing is ordered as to further parenting time.   Cummings v. Ames, etc., New Jersey App. Div., October 7, 2005

Barring The New Jersey Expert

Can you successfully bar the testimony of a vocational expert in New Jersey divorce cases? You can. And that was the result here. Both the expert's testimony and the expert's report were precluded. Why? Because they were not submitted until after the expiration of the discovery end date and because the "explanations" for the lateness were unjustified.  Repa v. Thompson, New Jersey Law Div., October 5, 2005

Who's Your Daddy?

New Jersey paternity cases sometimes involve denials of fatherhood, accompanied by claims of fraud or deceit. DNA testing has narrowed the false positive cases. But there are still a number of instances when surprises can shock the unwary.  September 28, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/fashion/sundaystyles/02DNA.html