New Jersey Family Law Blog

New Jersey parents who leave abusive relationships might still find themselves in a custody battle with their abusive spouses. According to the American Psychological Association, most people assume that leaving a relationship because of abuse means the parent and child will be protected from the abusive parent, but this is often not the case. The APA says that because courts are dedicated to keeping children in contact with both parents, they often dismiss allegations of abuse.

A Texas representative has introduced a congressional resolution aimed at extending greater protection to parents and their children who are leaving abusive relationships. The resolution would require courts to thoroughly investigate allegations of abuse before moving ahead with any further decisions regarding custody. However, the bill has been in committee for two years although it has the support of numerous domestic violence organizations and both Republican and Democrat lawmakers. Guidelines from the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in 2016 also recommend investigations into domestic violence reports.

A child visitation schedule may be created by parents or the court in New Jersey either during or after a divorce. It sets out a schedule for the child's time with each parent that parents must abide by. It is separate from a custody schedule, which is a schedule that is set up if parents are sharing custody.

Even if one parent has primary custody, the court system recognizes that barring issues such as abuse and neglect, children should be able to spend time with both parents. When parents are unable to agree on a visitation schedule because of conflict over the divorce, distance from one another that requires one to travel for visitation or for some other reason, the court may step in and make a schedule. If there is a question about a child's well-being with one parent, that parent may be required to only have supervised visitation.

A special needs child requires structure and predictability in their daily schedules. The slightest deviation can compound a special needs child's anxiety. Indeed, parents of a special needs child are quite familiar with the meltdowns that can result from the most minute modifications to that child's schedule. Conversely, a strict maintenance to a consistent schedule can alleviate a special needs child's anxiety over time - as it provides comfort and certainty in a world they struggle to process and understand. 

Picking out wedding rings and signing divorce documents may seem worlds apart to many New Jersey citizens, but high divorce rates are leading many to consider divorce planning right alongside wedding planning. While some consider it cynical, pragmatic couples who want to protect assets from divorce litigation see such planning as a type of insurance they plan on never using.

Pre- and post-nuptial agreements are very common vehicles for divorce planning, but they are not the only tools in the box. Keeping separate investment and checking accounts can aid in providing insulation from divorce settlements if a marriage fails. Following a separate accounts strategy requires both good record-keeping and discipline. Any co-mingling of assets could result in individually held assets being later classified as marital property subject to division. For this reason, couples should keep a joint account used to fund household expenses, buy groceries and pay joint bills. Account statements from investments or other financial holdings should be kept to show their value at the time of marriage.