SUMMIT NEW JERSEY UNION COUNTY DIVORCE LAWYER MEDIATION

The New Jersey divorce judge erred in suspending child support for the parties' 17-year-old son. While the mother was moving to Vermont, the boy, who was about to start his senior year of high school in Waldwick, preferred to stay in N.J., but rejected the father's offer to come live with him. Accordingly, she made arrangements for the boy to stay with other relatives and/or friends in Waldwick. The father took the position that, if his son was not living with the mother, he did not have to pay her child support. She asserted the son was not emancipated, still needs financial support, and intended to continue on to college. She did not provide any evidence, however, that she was, in fact, providing financial support to the boy, and refused to reveal where the boy was living. While the court sympathizes with the judge's frustration with the parties' dismal submissions, it notes that the child was essentially unrepresented in this battle between his parents. It was not appropriate to suspend child support and "close" the case without hearing oral argument, which should be done on remand.   Finnan, etc. v. Finnan, New Jersey App. Div., November 1, 2007