The post 3 reasons to change a child custody order appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>The following are three reasons to change a child custody order:
If the parent with physical custody is relocating to a different state or country and has decided the kids will remain in New Jersey, you may request a modification. This is especially necessary if the move will harm the kids and the noncustodial parent.
If you are the one relocating, you can have the other parent take physical custody and vice versa. However, this may not be a big deal if the parent relocating doesn’t have physical custody. All you may need to do is change the parenting plan and create more time for virtual visits.
A custodial parent should ensure that the kids eat, go to school, are groomed and so on. Actions contrary to this may constitute negligence or abandonment. Thus, when you realize your children are missing from school for unexplained reasons, stay at home without an adult or lack other daily needs, you may request a modification.
However, before doing this, reach out to your co-parent to find out the root of the problem and suggest solutions. If they don’t follow agreed solutions, they may be neglecting the kids.
If your kid’s physical, mental or emotional needs have changed and one parent is best suited for such situations, you may modify the custody order.
Child custody orders are not permanent – they can be changed. It may help to get legal guidance to increase the chances of your request being approved.
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]]>The post 2 ways to address your pet in your New Jersey divorce appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>When there are companion animals in a family unit, divorce becomes infinitely more complex, and the potential for emotional disputes increases notably. How can you effectively address your pets while navigating a New Jersey divorce?
You love your pet so much that you probably want to preserve your right to spend time with it. You may find yourself unable to compromise when it comes to your beloved companion animal, forcing you to go to court.
Unfortunately, a judge will treat a pet as property, which means they will not invest time creating a shared custody arrangement but will instead award it to one spouse and use its value during other property division decisions.
Many New Jersey couples would rather keep their marital matters out of family court if possible. Spouses have the option of settling their own property division issues, including what will happen with their family pet.
If you have multiple pets, you could agree for each spouse to keep specific animals. If you have children, you could have the animals travel back and forth between households with the kids as part of a shared custody arrangement.
Sometimes, one spouse will have to admit to themselves that their career demands would not make them an ideal pet parent without a spouse to help them. Families that reach their own arrangements can technically agree to shared pet custody and may allow one spouse to keep the pet because they view that as the best option for the animal.
The fact that both of you have an intense emotional attachment to an animal can make it a real sticking point in divorce negotiations. Learning about what you can expect from the New Jersey family courts during your divorce can potentially help you handle difficult property decision issues, like who gets to keep your canine companion(s).
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]]>The post 3 situations when mediating a divorce won’t work appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>So, how do you know if mediation is right for you? Or, more importantly – how do you know if it’s not?
For mediation to work, you and your ex-spouse need to be in a position where you can talk to each other. If there’s too much animosity and every conversation turns into an argument, you may not be in the position to reap the benefits of working with a mediator.
This can cause difficulties for a number of reasons. The repercussions of domestic violence can be devastating. It can make it difficult, or even impossible, to be in the same room as your ex-spouse if you’re scared of them. If they have drug or alcohol issues, too, this compounds the situation as they may not be in the right frame of mind to be able to compromise or talk rationally.
Both parties need to want mediation to work if it’s going to have any chance of success. If one, or both, parties are unwilling to agree on such things as custody arrangements and child support, then it’s unlikely the process will result in a meaningful resolution.
Having said that, there are often many workarounds that can be put in place to facilitate the process. People also often find that while there may be some resistance at first, their ex-spouse will work with them and the mediator after a few sessions.
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]]>The post Divorce in the age of digital surveillance appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>Before determining whether you should surveil your spouse by any legal means, what does the law say about it?
Under state law, as long as one person in the conversation gives consent (you), recording it is legal. But the popularity of digital devices like AirPods and their knock-offs that can be used to both amplify and record conversations is a potential game-changer.
For instance, if someone enables the LiveListen feature on their AirPods to better hear their spouse during a conversation, they could leave their phone on the table and walk away. The phone will still transmit and potentially record the continuation of conversations at the table.
Is that legal? Right now, it is. But laws change frequently. When it comes to divorce and child custody, you always want to err on the side of the law. The family law courts take a dim view of spouses who trample on New Jersey laws to try to manipulate the divorce process. If you don’t know whether something is legal, find out first.
As New Jersey is both a fault- and no-fault state, strategy can be an important component in divorce and custody matters. It is important not to jump the gun and rush to file a petition for divorce before determining your goals for your post-divorce life.
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]]>The post If you file for divorce, does your spouse have to leave the house? appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>However, this may also make you wonder if it’s really possible to force your spouse to leave. If you’re the one who files for divorce, can you come home and tell them that they have to find a new living situation? Or, as is so common, are movies and TV shows just not as accurate as people assume?
The key to this question simply lies in homeownership. Most of the time, people will get married and then buy a home together. Some of them will buy a home together first and then tie the knot. Either way, both of them have their name on the deed to the house, and both of them have their name on the mortgage papers.
What this means is that they each retain the right to live in that house. It doesn’t matter if they’re married, if they are friends, if they don’t like each other, or anything else. From a legal perspective, someone who co-owns a home has a right to live in it if they choose to do so, and no one else can force them out.
If you want your spouse to leave, this means that the best thing to do is to have a conversation about how finding a new living situation might be best. They may agree to make things go smoothly, but you can’t force them. At the same time, always remember what legal rights you have and what steps you’ll need to take.
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]]>The post Creating a parenting plan that works for everyone appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>Most of the time, New Jersey courts require that a parenting plan be formalized before a divorce or non-marital child custody case can be formalized and closed. If your child’s needs or your family’s circumstances evolve, you can modify the terms of your parenting plan by mutual agreement and submit the changes to the court for approval. But, crafting your parenting plan in thoughtful ways from the start should keep modification needs to a minimum.
It’s important that your parenting plan reflect your child’s best interests. Yet, it’s also important that the ways in which these interests are addressed are truly manageable for all involved. For example, it is likely in your child’s best interests to speak with both of their parents every day. Yet, a phone call may not always be workable with everyone’s schedules. Consider crafting a term that allows for a call or, on days when both co-parents agree in advance, a video message could be sent by both you/your co-parent and your child instead.
When possible, keep expectations stable enough that your child benefits from a stable arrangement. Yet, also allow for flexibility when making that allowance is appropriate. Life is unpredictable. The more reasonable flexibility you can inject into your plan from the start, the less likely it will be that unnecessary tensions will arise between you and your co-parent and you and your child.
If you and your child’s other parent keep your child’s best interests and the idea of “stable yet flexible” terms in mind when crafting your parenting plan, it is far more likely to be both effective and manageable than it would be otherwise.
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]]>The post 2 ways your ex may try to keep your assets appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>Unfortunately, your ex may do things to try to keep you from the assets that you deserve. In some cases, these actions can be in violation of court orders, but these kinds of events do still take place. Here are two things that you want to watch out for as you work to ensure that you get what you truly deserve.
First and foremost, many people will attempt to hide assets from their spouse, figuring that they don’t have to divide assets that their spouse doesn’t know exist in the first place. One tactic to do this may be transferring money into cryptocurrency or other types of investments, hoping that you are unaware of the existence of these accounts. Another example is simply when someone gives money or expensive assets to a friend and then claims they have no possession of them – until they get them back after the divorce.
Dissipating assets is a similar tactic, but it is focused more on spending the assets than hiding them. Instead of spending them in a way that would benefit both of you, or buying an asset that can be divided in the divorce, your spouse will spend the money on themselves. They could spend excessively on food, drinks, vacations, trips, entertainment and other things that are nonrefundable.
If you believe either of these things are taking place, then it’s even more important for you to know about all of your legal options.
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]]>The post 3 reasons people choose to draft prenuptial agreements appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>Rather than judging someone’s commitment to a marriage, those who hear about someone signing a prenuptial agreement will probably assume that their situation fits into one of the three scenarios below.
When someone has previously divorced, their risk of divorcing again is higher, which may make advance planning for that possibility a wise choice. Even if someone loses a spouse to death rather than divorce, marrying someone who is not the parent of their children raises some unique concerns.
Their spouse would have certain inheritance rights that could deprive their children of assets. A prenuptial agreement helps clarify the inheritance rights of a spouse and what property is the separate property of either spouse.
When someone already has very valuable property in their name, they may not want to risk losing that property to their spouse if they divorce. A prenuptial agreement allows someone with resources that they don’t want to split with their spouse in the event of a divorce to clearly protect that property from claims of commingling and vulnerability during property division proceedings in a litigated divorce.
Technically, even if someone inherits property while married, those inherited assets are typically separate property. Of course, the way that someone handles their inheritance can make it vulnerable in a divorce.
Whether one spouse has already inherited sizable resources from their parents or stands to inherit noteworthy resources in the future, they may require the protection prenuptial agreement to ensure their inheritance is never at risk. The strongest prenuptial agreements create protections for both spouses and focus primarily on practical concerns rather than on personal preferences, like someone’s weight during the marriage.
Signing a prenuptial agreement can be a very smart move when you have people or property you want to protect as you embark on a new marital relationship.
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]]>The post Divorce cases will likely spike after the new year appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>As fun as all that is, it’s important to note that divorce cases also spike in January. This may mean that the fresh start you get is a bit different than what you expected. If your spouse decides to start their year by filing for divorce, you may find yourself asking why this happened when it did.
One of the reasons that divorce cases increase in January is because the holiday months are not ideal for starting a divorce. It’s a time when you tend to see a lot of family members and friends, so you may not want to have to discuss your upcoming divorce over and over. For married couples who have children, there’s also some incentive to insulate this magical holiday from the realities of an adult divorce.
But there are some tangible benefits to filing for divorce in January, as well. For one thing, couples will begin keeping track of separate finances. This means that they don’t have to file a joint tax return after the year is over. Getting divorced in January gives you a fresh start, a clean break and a full year to move forward with this new stage in your life.
If you do find that your marriage is going to end in divorce this year, be sure you understand all of your legal options. This is especially true if you’re a parent and you need to divide custody of your children.
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]]>The post What equitable division of marital property means appeared first on Newsome O'Donnell, LLC.
]]>First, it is necessary to understand what constitutes marital assets. All property, assets and liabilities acquired throughout the marriage are considered part of the marital estate and will be split accordingly. They include the family home, vehicles, retirement accounts, businesses, shares and investments.
If the couple cannot agree on a divorce settlement or how to divide the marital assets and there is no pre-agreed legally binding agreement like a prenup that states each couple’s stake in the marital estate, the court will have to step in. A judge will determine how the marital assets will be divided.
Under equitable distribution, the court will factor in various aspects of the divorce and the economic circumstances of each spouse. Some of the things that will weigh in the property division phase of your divorce proceedings include:
If a couple can’t agree on what’s equitable, the judge will assign each spouse their share of the marital estate once they are satisfied that the division is in the bests interests of equality and fairness.
The proper legal guidance during the divorce will go a long way in protecting your interests while ensuring you avoid making any mistakes that may work against you.
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