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The end of your marriage has the potential for a certain amount of financial confusion, even financial turmoil. Even if you feel you obtained a fair settlement or judgment in your New Jersey marriage dissolution case, you may still have some issues related to divorce finances. There are a trio of keyways in which you can handle your finances following a New Jersey divorce.

You Must Take Budgeting Seriously

A good percentage of married couples admit that they are not particularly diligent when it comes to regularly making and keeping to a budget. In some instances, the failure to budget may seem like it did not have a huge impact on your financial status while you were married.

When you divorce, you need to become far more serious about budgeting. The fact is that your financial status likely will or has changed because of the end of your marriage. And such an alteration very well may mean that you have less money coming in. With less money available, the necessity of budgeting seriously becomes highly serious and needs to be a priority in your life.

The bottom line is that you cannot follow what really is common practice among people across the country. That is taking some time to come up with a budget but not making a commitment to follow it. Continue Reading →

For nearly everyone in New Jersey and across the United States, the use of different types of technology is ubiquitous. Many New Jersey marriage dissolution lawyers will tell you that technology of different types has contributed to more than a few couples seeking divorce. There exist a variety of ways in which technology potentially can and actually does harm marriages. Some of the more commonplace types of situations are explored in this article. Bear in mind that this is just an overview of some of the negative effects of the overuse and misuse of technology.

Rob a Married Couple of Valuable Time Spent Together

Perhaps the most frequently occurring way in which technology can have harmful effects on a marriage is robbing a couple of time together. Time and again, technology of different types can be found significantly occupying the time of one or both spouses, ultimately limiting time spent between the married couple themselves.

The typical course is for one or both spouses to gradually spend what ultimately becomes a damaging amount of time with some type of technology or device. Some describe it as putting a frog in water in which the temperature is gradually ratcheted up. The frog ends up dying in extremely hot water, not extracting itself from the situation until it is too late. Continue Reading →

A trend that is becoming more evident in New Jersey divorce cases is that of collaborative parenting. Collaborative parenting is a set of tactics and strategies by which divorcing and divorced parents undertake their duties and exercise their rights as parents in a truly cooperative manner. This type of parenting is designed to foster a healthier environment for children during divorce proceedings and once a marriage dissolution case has concluded. There are a trio of primary collaborative parenting tactics that need to be borne in mind in order to better guarantee the prospect that this type of co-parenting effort will succeed:

  • Separate your feelings from behavior
  • Keep children out of the fray
  • Enhance communication with other parent

Separate Feelings from Behavior

Emotions can present significant challenges when it comes to parenting in the aftermath of a divorce. Human beings by their very nature are emotionally driven in many circumstances. This particularly can prove to be the case when parents are dealing with matters associated with their children following the end of a marriage. Continue Reading →

You may be like many people who would like to take their children on a vacation out of the state of New Jersey following a divorce. When it comes to children after divorce, there really is nothing at all unusual about an out of state vacation. With that in mind, there are some points to bear in mind when it comes to planning an out of state vacation with children after divorce:

  • Understand terms of divorce decree
  • Begin discussions with other parent early
  • Destinations matter
  • Length of time matters
  • Consider a written vacation plan
  • Arrange for appropriate virtual connections between children and other parent

Understand Divorce Decree

When planning out of state travel with children after divorce, the first step in the process is to make sure that you understand what is and is not permitted pursuant to the terms of the marriage dissolution decree. For example, a New Jersey divorce decree may have some specific travel requirements, particular restrictions, and a pre-trip process that needs to be filed when considering an out of state vacation.

Commence Vacation Discussions Early

Open, reliable communication is important when it comes to addressing issues involving children in a post-divorce world. This certainly is the case when it comes to a parent who desires to take a child or children out of state for a vacation following the end of a marriage. By beginning discussions about an out of state vacation with the kids on a proactive basis, any potential issues can be identified early on and hopefully addressed to the satisfaction of all involved. Continue Reading →

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Several divorce therapists and other experts have determined that there oftentimes are seven steps associated with grief and divorce. This is based on the long-used stages of grief and loss paradigm long used regarding death and dying and other losses. The seven steps or stages of grief and divorce are:

  • Denial
  • Pain
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Guilt
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

Bear in mind that the seven stages of grief and divorce discussed here do not necessarily happen in the sequence in which they are presented in this article. In addition, there are instances in which a person may experience one of these states more than one time. It is also possible for a person to experience more than one of these stages simultaneously.

Denial

Typically, an initial stage experienced by some people (but not all) who face divorce is denial. A person in this stage cannot believe that his or her marriage is ending. Denial may be evident more often in the mind of the person who is being sued for divorce as opposed to the individual that filed the case. With that said, an individual who is the person who files a divorce complaint may also experience denial even if he or she initiated the marriage dissolution case in the first instance.

Continue Reading →

One of the most challenging aspects of parents making the decision to end their marriage is finding the best way to tell their children of their intentions. Parents understandably want to limit the emotional impact divorce has on children whenever possible. Nonetheless, issues surrounding children and divorce are complex and fraught with the possibility for challenges. With all of this in mind, there are some tactics to consider employing when it comes to how you tell your children about your decision to divorce.

Establish a Unified Front as Parents

Co-parenting is word that you will hear or read with some regularity when it comes to a divorce involving children. You and your spouse need to find a way to co-parent going forward into the future in order to protect the best interests of your children.

An ideal time to begin the process of co-parenting is when you inform your children that you have made a decision to divorce. If at all possible, you and your spouse should discuss the decision to seek a marriage dissolution together. The wellbeing of your children is better served if both parents share in communicating the decision to divorcer with their offspring. Continue Reading →

High-asset or high net worth divorces have historically been those in which more than $1 million in liquid assets are involved. Given the skyrocketing values of property in recent years, simply owning a modest home in certain cities may be enough to technically qualify as a high-asset divorce. However, the typical high-asset divorce today involves multi-million-dollar property ownership.

The issues in a high-asset divorce are the same as in any divorce. Property and debts must be divided, alimony may be considered, and where children are involved, child support, custody, and visitation need to be addressed. The issue that usually makes high asset divorces more difficult, costly, and time-consuming is property division.

Spouses in high net worth divorces may own multiple properties or businesses, have investments, intellectual property, stocks, retirement accounts, and valuable items of personal property such as artwork, furniture, jewelry, and vehicles. There may be issues involving deferred compensation, stock voting rights, and real estate or business partnerships that can prove difficult to sort out. Continue Reading →

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Many people in the United States have general ideas of what is involved in divorce proceedings, even when they personally have not been involved in such cases themselves. Television shows and films regularly feature divorce cases and marriage dissolution proceedings as part of their productions. With that said, a most Americans likely are unfamiliar with a guardian ad litem and what such a person does in a divorce case.

There are three primary points of consideration when it comes to having a basic understanding of the functions of a guardian ad litem in a divorce case:

  • Definition of guardian ad litem
  • Types of domestic court or family court cases in which a guardian ad litem is appointed
  • Guardian ad litem and child custody and parenting time issues

Definition of a Guardian Ad Litem

The training and functions of individuals appointed by courts to serve as a guardian ad litem are based on the provisions of the laws of a particular state. There can be some fairly significant differences in the laws from one state to another.

With that said, the basic definition used across the country is a person appointed by a court to watch over or protect an individual during a judicial proceeding. At first blush, this may sound like the duties of an attorney representing a party to a case. In fact, in many jurisdictions, a guardian ad litem has a law degree and additional specialized training. Continue Reading →

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Many people are familiar with the most basic types of custody arrangements in divorce, separation, and paternity cases. They likely have some basic concept of joint custody, sole custody, and shared custody. What they probably are unfamiliar with is a fairly new custodial concept known as bird’s nest custody. With that in mind, there are some basic facts and factors important to understand about bird’s nest custody:

  • Basic definition of bird’s nest custody
  • Bird’s nest custody and the best interests of a child
  • Enhanced stability for a child
  • Challenges if a parent has a new relationship

Basic Definition of Bird’s Nest Custody

Bird’s nest custody is an arrangement in which the child or children always reside in the same residence during and after a divorce of legal separation. Each parent takes turns staying in that residence with the minor child, a process oftentimes referred to as “bird nesting.” Bird’s nest custody differs from more traditional schemes where the child shuttles back and forth between the two residences maintained by the parents. Continue Reading →

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Parenting time is the legal term of art applied to the time noncustodial parents spend with children in divorce, legal separation, and paternity actions. The phrase “parenting time” has been broadly adopted in the past generation as a replacement to “visitation,” the long-used term used to identify the time spent between noncustodial parents and children. Generally, parenting time should be regular and generous. The objective is to ensure that noncustodial parents and children develop meaningful relationships. Understanding this basic background, situations to arise when supervised parenting time or visitation becomes necessary.

A number of points warrant discussion when considering supervised parenting time. These include:

  • Overview of parenting time supervision
  • Situations that give rise to need for parenting time supervision
  • Termination of supervised parenting time
  • Suspension of parenting time

Overview of Parenting Time Supervision

When an issue arises as to whether parenting time should be supervised, a court applies a judicial standard that focuses on what is in the best interests of a child. Supervised parenting time is instituted when protecting and preserving the best interests of a child necessitates this step, a move that is considered drastic in the grand scheme of things. Continue Reading →

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