New Jersey Family Law

STIRLING MORRIS COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE MEDIATION ARBITRATOR LAWYER

 
Can you get a divorce do-over? Maybe, if you can prove fraud, especially if it's based on a violation of RICO and if the Statute of Limitations hasn't expired.    Patricia Cohen v. Steven Cohen et al., December 16, 2009.

HACKENSACK BERGEN COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE CUSTODY CRIMINAL INTERFERENCE

The trial for a woman who hid her daughter in Spain amid a custody battle with her ex-husband began yesterday, the latest in an international dispute baffling divorce attorneys, judges and diplomats. "This is not a custody case," the Prosecutor told jurors as the trial of Maria Jose Carrascosa opened in Hackensack, New Jersey. "This is a criminal case." Carrascosa, the daughter of a wealthy Spanish businessman, faces up to 10 years in prison on the charge of "interference with custody." She has been held at the Bergen County Jail for more than 3 years for violating a family court order requiring her to return the child to Bergen County. Her incarceration has not produced results, as Carrascosa remained defiant. "If God chose me to die in jail to protect my child, then I will have to do that," she said.     Bergen Record, November 4, 2009

HAWTHORNE PASSAIC COUNTY NEW JERSEY FAMILY LAW MEDIATION ATTORNEY

Terrance Graham committed armed burglary when he was 16. Joe Sullivan committed sexual battery when he was 13. Both are currently serving life sentences in Florida with no possibility of parole. They argue sentencing a juvenile to life imprisonment without parole violates the 8th Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishments. Florida counters such sentences are not constitutionally barred and reflect a state's considered legislative response to the growing problem of juvenile crime. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine whether juveniles may be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for committing non-homicide offenses.   Graham et al. v. Florida, United States Supreme Court, November 2, 2009

MORRISTOWN MORRIS COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE ATTORNEY

 A New Jersey grand jury has indicted the mayor of Carlstadt, New Jersey and his former wife on charges they stole medical insurance benefits. Mayor William Roseman and his ex-wife, Lori Lewin, were divorced in July of 2000. They are charged with failing to notify authorities within 60 days of the divorce, and allowing her to remain on the borough's benefits plan. The pair face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.    June 1, 2009

HOBOKEN HUDSON COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE MEDIATION LAWYER

This case involves the quintessential restaurant cash business. The husband's income was found to be "considerably" higher than reported on the income tax returns. As a result, he got hit in two ways. First, he had to settle with and pay up to the taxing authorities. Second, he had to pay alimony and child support consistent with the parties' marital lifestyle over the 19 year marriage, rather than the income level reflected on the phony tax returns. The New Jersey divorce judge is affirmed on appeal.    Plocharczyk v. Plocharczyk, New Jersey App. Div., May 11, 2009 

BERKELEY HEIGHTS UNION COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE LAWYER

Parents who abuse, abandon, neglect or cause the death of their children will be ineligible for alimony and for inheritances from their children's estates, under a new New Jersey statute, just enacted into law and effective July 1, 2009.  N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23; N.J.S.A. 3B:5-4; N.J.S.A. 34:15-21

CHATHAM MORRIS COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE MEDIATOR

This New Jersey matrimonial matter is now between the father and his daughter. The daughter is emancipated and the administratrix of her mother's estate. The mother was shot to death in 2007 while waiting to pick up the daughter. The father is in jail and awaiting trial. This is the 5th time the Appellate Division has issued an opinion in this matter; it has also been litigated in  federal court.    Galtieri v. Galtieri et al, New Jersey App. Div., February 24, 2009

MORRISTOWN MORRIS COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE ATTORNEY MEDIATOR

New Jersey Legislation is pending to deny alimony to those who kill or plot to kill their spouses and eliminate the right of abusive and neglectful parents to inherit from their children. The measure would bar equitable distribution in a New Jersey divorce to a party convicted of killing or conspiring to kill their spouse. In addition, anyone convicted of murder, manslaughter, criminal homicide or aggravated assault that killed or seriously injured a family member would not be allowed to receive alimony. The bill defines a family member broadly to encompass not just the immediate family but also cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, including those related by marriage or adoption.   New Jersey Assembly Bill A-2681, February 13, 2009

WEST PATERSON PASSAIC COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE TAX FRAUD

 The New Jersey divorce judge turned the husband in to the IRS, the New Jersey Division of Taxation, the Sussex County Prosecutor and the Social Security Administration. The judge found "inconsistencies" between the amounts that the husband reported on the tax returns and his history of earnings. Also, he used two social security numbers and he collected unemployment benefits while he was employed.    Lucci v. Lucci, New Jersey App. Div., February 3, 2009

HANOVER MORRIS COUNTY NEW JERSEY DIVORCE CUSTODY MEDIATION

A Hanover mother who disappeared last week with her 2 children and was picked up in Maryland waived extradition and agreed to be returned to New Jersey to face a charge of interfering with custody. Patricia Schafer, 38, has been charged by Morris County authorities with taking daughter Jessica, 3, and son John, 13, away from their home last without alerting Douglas Schafer, her husband and the children's father, to their whereabouts. Detectives from the prosecutor's office determined the mother was in the Towson Town Center Mall in Baltimore County, Maryland. They contacted mall security, which followed the mother's vehicle until Baltimore County police arrived.    Morristown Daily Record, January 7, 2009