Although most parents have the best intentions when it comes to their children, there are circumstances that can prevent them from giving their children the proper care. Circumstances such as job loss, mental illness and physical disabilities are often unexpected and not within their control. Par...
The concept of “negligent infliction of emotional distress” is not known to the general public for two reasons: 1) It's a rare occurrence; 2) Proving it is exceptionally difficult. However, it's important to know about marital tort claims if your marriage involves highly sensitive issues such as...
The right to be at your child's birth is typically not an issue for parents who are united couples. However, parents whose relationships have ended (if there was a “relationship” at all) may be in conflict over the father's wish to be present at the birth of his child. First, it's important to ...
Retirement plans, including pension plans are subject to equitable distribution, but the portion that is subject to division is based on the contributions that were made during the marriage. This guideline is essential in cases where spouses were married for a short time, or if most of the pensi...
In June 2015, the New Jersey Legislature began debating a juvenile justice bill that would require defendants to be at least 15 years of age in order to be tried as adults. The current system allows juveniles of any age to be tried as an adult for extremely serious crimes such as murder and aggr...
Criminal mischief is the act of knowingly damaging one's property, or causing damage to someone's property through recklessness or negligence. The key concept of the law is that the property in question belongs to someone else, thus damaging your own property is not a crime. There is, however, ...
No custody dispute is quick and easy, but some cases are downright nightmares. As a general rule, parents are first ordered to mediation, where they can hopefully work things out on their own. Court intervention during mediation has been a tricky issue for many years. On the one hand, parents ...
Legal custody allows both parents to participate in making important decisions for their children. It also allows the non-custodian to object if he or she believes that the primary custodian's choices are not in the child's best interest. Take the issue of preschool and daycare, or example. Th...
The federalization of domestic violence prevention laws is a legal issue that has come up time and time again. Currently, domestic violence laws are set by each individual state. Many states, like New Jersey, have very comprehensive legal protections for victims in a wide array of situations. ...
You may be familiar with the line, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” from William Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet”. This famous quote refers to Juliet's love for Romeo, which remains unchanged even after discovering he is from the rival house of Montague. In a larger context, it...
To most people, custody refers to which parent the child lives with, but custody is actually a two part issue. There's residential custody, which refers to where the child lives. In most cases, one parent is awarded primary custody, meaning that the child lives with that parent for most of the ...
Prior to the legalization of same sex marriage in 2015, New Jersey allowed same sex couples to enter into arrangements known as civil unions. Under a civil union, same sex couples have most of the same legal rights and protections as heterosexual couples. They can also dissolve their union in a...
Moving in together after a period of dating seems to be the norm nowadays. In fact, it's practically expected among millenials who can't imagine marrying someone without living with them first. Then there's the group of people who simply don't see the need for marriage. One can, after all, liv...
Limited possibilities in many areas of your life is an inevitable consequence of divorce. Your options may broaden in the future as you recover financially and emotionally. You may even go back to school to get a degree or obtain higher certification in your chosen field. However, what you ult...
Most of us are familiar with basic rules of court etiquette, such as not talking unless spoken to. Cell phones should be turned off, or at least, on silent. Chewing gum and candy should be saved for after the proceedings. But there are many finer points of courtroom etiquette that you need to ...
Restraining orders protect domestic violence victims by prohibiting their abusers from contacting or communicating with them. Violating a restraining order is a serious offense, punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and a jail sentence of up to 18 months. One of the more confusing aspects of rest...
Anyone who's been through a child support dispute knows that it's a long and bumpy ride, fraught with delays and adjournments. One of the most common consequences of support disputes are the arrears that accrue as a result of retroactive support. Let's say, for example, that a mother initially ...
Financial support for adult children is one of the most complex issues in the field of family law, especially when the child in question is not attending school, and no longer lives with either parent. On the one hand, reaching the age of 18 and choosing work instead of school is legal grounds ...
The division of retirement funds is indisputably one of the most confusing and frustrating aspects the divorce process. Once it's done, however, you have the assurance of knowing that a valuable source of income will be available to you upon you or your spouse's retirement. While spouses focus ...
Paying for child support when your only source of income is from social security is a primary concern for older or disabled parents. This is certainly understandable, considering that the average social security benefit is a little over $1,100 per month. While government benefits such as social...
Earlier this week, Rebecca Bredow of Ferndale, MI was jailed for five days for violating a court order to vaccinate her son. The order was issued on September 27 by Oakland Country Circuit Judge Karen McDonald after a hearing in which Bredow fought her ex-husband, James Home's decision to have t...
While custody and child support orders must be obeyed as a matter of law, they cannot actually force parents to visit or provide for their children. It's a frustrating reality for many divorced or separated parents who take care of their children with little to no help from their former partners...
According to the Census Bureau, the US job market has experienced tremendous changes within the last 20 years. Factors such as the internet and the outsourcing manufacturing jobs overseas, along with the Great Recession of 2008 created job losses in many industries, and virtually eliminated the ...
Custody disputes between divorcing couples often get ugly, with either side pulling no punches when it comes to why he or she is the better parent. As petty as it seems, one of the most common ways to showcase one's superior parenting skills is to draw attention to the other parent's personal fl...
New Jersey child support payments are calculated according to the Income Shares Model, which is largely based on the available income of each parent. While there are many other factors to consider, the calculations are fairly straight-forward when the parents earn a steady paycheck. However, th...
As a founding partner at Villani & DeLuca, Vincent DeLuca is one of only a few Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey. Mr. DeLuca has helped many clients navigate the delicate details of their own divorce. Mr. DeLuca is also a trained divorce mediator and collaborative divorce attorney. Call today at (732) 965-3404 to speak to Mr. DeLuca or one of our experienced NJ Divorce Lawyers.
