New Jersey Family Law

CHARLES C. ABUT : BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA

 

For the 7th consecutive year [2000-2006], Charles C. Abut, Esq. has been peer-selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America . In addition, he is again listed in the Top 100 New Jersey SuperLawyers in New Jersey Monthly Magazine [April 2006]. A family lawyer, a divorce mediator and a marital arbitrator, Mr. Abut has been certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a matrimonial attorney. With offices in Bergen and Union Counties, Mr. Abut was chosen from among the more than 70,000 lawyers in New Jersey. He is a graduate of Columbia University [BA with honors] and Cornell University [JD]. March 31, 2006

NEW JERSEY DIVORCE RATES

During the first five years of marriage, the divorce rate for a couple of the same religion hovers around 24 percent, no matter what that religion is. But it jumps to 38 percent for a marriage between a mainline Protestant and a Catholic and 42 percent for one between a Jew and a Christian, according to Evelyn L. Lehrer, an economist at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Divorce rates are also somewhat higher for interracial couples and for couples with a wife who is at least four years older than her husband. When the man is a lot older, on the other hand, divorce is no more likely than when spouses are about the same age. The New York Times, March 29, 2006, Business Section, page 1

NEW JERSEY DIVORCE : BIFURCATION

A New Jersey judgment of divorce shall not be entered until all issues are resolved. The only exception is if the New Jersey divorce Presiding Judge approves of bifurcating the issues, "which approval shall be granted only in extraordinary circumstances and for good cause shown." Further, a New Jersey divorce judgment incorporating an agreement shall have a copy of the written document (not a transcript) appended. Finally, New Jersey divorce judges shall provide adequate oral or written statements of reasons and conclusions of law in all actions tried without a jury and shall address all issues raised.    Clemente-Costanza v. Clemente, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2006); New Jersey App. Div., March 29, 2006

WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

Yankee superstar Randy "Big Unit" Johnson has a secret 16-year-old love child he's never spoken to - but the pitching ace now wants the girl's mom to return nearly $100,000 he's paid for day care. The $16-million-a-year hurler last month petitioned a judge to recoup 8 years of day-care expenses - plus interest - after the teen's mother asked Johnson to buy a truck and computer for the girl, Heather, as well as cover community college expenses. The hot-tempered future Hall of Famer, who is a born-again Christian, has seen Heather only once - right after her out-of-wedlock birth in 1989, and he demanded a paternity test when Roszell first sought child support in 1998. The 6-foot-1 high-school student "looks like him, walking and talking, a young girl with attitude," said Roszell, who is married and has a son. The New York Post, March 28, 2006

NEW JERSEY DIVORCE : INTEREST ON CHILD SUPPORT ARREARS

In this Bergen County divorce case, the child support judgment was to bear post-judgment interest . Where the support is being paid through Probation, it  must calculate and collect the interest. But the Rule only requires Probation to calculate and collect the interest when it locates assets on which to execute, or when the debtor seeks a Warrant of Satisfaction. Where plaintiff calculates the interest herself, she is entitled to an order adding the interest to her former husband's Probation-enforced child support account. The court rejects the contentions that New Jersey Probation has the discretion either to determine that New Jersey child support judgments do not bear interest or to decline to collect it.     Pryce v. Scharff, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2006); New Jersey App. Div., April 7, 2006

NEW JERSEY DIVORCE : ANNULMENT & THE 5th AMENDMENT

In husband's appeal of the New Jersey divorce judge's order granting a dual New Jersey judgment of divorce and dismissing his claim for an annulment, the judge erred in suggesting and then allowing wife to assert her 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination because her testimony was also being given in support of her counterclaim for divorce. By testifying, wife waived any protection afforded by the privilege. Additionally, she improperly asserted the privilege because she failed to show she faced potential criminal prosecution based on her testimony. By doing so, the judge permitted her to avoid meaningful cross-examination by husband on the issue of the validity of the marriage, the ultimate issue in the case.        Attor v. Attor, ___ N.J. Super. ___(App. Div. 2006); New Jersey App. Div.; April 6, 2006

NEW JERSEY PARENT LIABILITY

When a New Jersey child resides in his parents' New Jersey home and is designated in his parents' automobile policy as the driver of a car owned by his parents, he is treated as if he were the owner of a vehicle covered by his parents' selection of the limitation on lawsuit option. Koff v. Carruba, 290 N.J. Super. 544, 549 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 146 N.J. 498 (1996). Because plaintiff was also the owner of an automobile principally garaged in New Jersey, he may only recover for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident if he meets the injury threshold of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a).   Echeverri v. Bakely, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2006); New Jersey App. Div., April 5, 2006

NEW JERSEY VISITATION : WHO DRIVES?

The court affirms the New Jersey divorce judge's order requiring the mother to share the driving responsibilities necessary to effectuate the parenting time of the father. "It is an unfortunate reality that many divorced parents are unable to resolve amicably the tensions that invariably arise when children are involved. The dispute exemplified by the parties' positions here is typical of those faced daily by Family Part judges throughout the State. Those judges 'have developed a special expertise in dealing with family and family-type matters' " O'Donnell v. Singleton, etc., New Jersey App. Div.; ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2006); April 4, 2006

CAN DAUGHTER SUE DAD FOR CHILD SUPPORT?

The adult daughter of a failed marriage should not be able to sue her father to enforce a child support provision from her parents' divorce agreement that would benefit her directly, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in a case of first impression. However, the six justices split as to whether the result should be based on contract law or public policy grounds. Two justices argued the majority should not have pointed to public policy concerns in their opinion, while two other justices reasoned that public policy was the central issue. In so holding, the justices reversed both the trial court and a three-judge panel of the Superior Court.  Chen v. Chen, April 3, 2006

NEW JERSEY PATERNITY FRAUD

It was proper to terminate the defendant's child support payments, even though he treated the boy as his own son and supported him since his birth in 1989 as a result of the parties' unmarried relationship. At age 16, it was first learned this not his biological child. Despite the mother's claim defendant should not be permitted to disavow the obligations he had "voluntarily" undertaken, the judge found she had defrauded defendant with the intention of inducing him to pay for the child, when she knew it was not his. Consent given by virtue of fraud is no consent at all; and any action induced by fraud cannot be deemed "voluntary". Dellavecchio v. Hicks, New Jersey App. Div., March 31, 2006