Articles Tagged with nj child custody laws

Family law in New Jersey certainly revolves around the individual facts of each case. But what some individuals take for granted is how crucial a firm understanding of basic procedural rules of court can be to someone’s custody dispute. Of course, judges are not exempt from this requirement. But one recent case required an examination of whether a judge had properly followed child custody laws in NJ to ensure the correct decision had been reached.

In JG v. JH, the two parents in question were not married when their son, John, was born in 2012. At first, things were going well. In 2014, the court ordered the parents to share joint legal custody of their son, with the mother (Jane) having primary residential custody, and the dad (Joseph) having significant parenting time. The next year, the parents attempted to reconcile and so the consent order was vacated. It was not meant to be, and eventually, the parents grew apart, Jane entered a new relationship and became pregnant with another man, now her fiancé. Joseph claims he is a known drug user and is a convicted felon who has multiple prison sentences. As a result, Joseph filed an order to show cause under the original order (since vacated) asking for sole custody of John.

The court denied the order to show cause, stating that there was a failure by Joseph to show ‘actual imminent threat of harm’ to the child,’ and the court could not grant such emergency relief based on speculation. It did, however, grant temporary sole physical custody of the child to Joseph, pending a resolution on the application, because the court felt that there was the potential for violence in the mother’s home, which could negatively impact the child. Jane’s parenting time was also to be supervised by her mother. In turn, Jane responded with her own order to show cause, claiming that the child would suffer by his sudden separation from her. This was denied, with the judge again claiming there was no evidence for imminent harm supplied.  Continue Reading →

In New Jersey, family law cases always provide courts the opportunity to create new law, particularly when it comes to child relocation laws in NJ. One very recent case, Bisbing v. Bisbing, added an interpretation for what is necessary to establish “cause” to allow a child to permanently relocate out of state with the child, even if the other parent objects to the move.

The parties agreed in Bisbing v. Bisbing to a marital settlement agreement when they separated. The agreement included that the mother, Jaime, would have primary residential custody with their twin daughters. The agreement also mentioned a relocation provision, stating that “[n]either party shall permanently relocate with the Children from the State of New Jersey without the prior written consent of the other.” About a year after the divorce was final, Jaime told her ex that she intended to marry another man, who lived in Utah. Significantly, the wife had been dating this gentlemen prior to the resolution of the agreement. She requested that her ex-spouse consent to the relocation of the children with her to Utah. Her ex-husband said she was free to go, but the children must remain in New Jersey with him.

Plaintiff in Bisbing v. Bisbing went to court, filing a motion under N.J.S.A. 9:2-2, requesting that she be allowed to permanently relocate to Utah with her children. In response, her ex-husband argued that she had negotiated the agreement in bad faith, knowing she was planning on relocating without telling him so he would agree to give her primary residential custody. Child relocation laws in NJ at the time, under the Baures standard, required the parent who is requesting relocation despite opposition from the other parent to show that there is a good-faith reason to move and that it will not negatively affect the child’s interests. At trial, the court agreed that the move was in good faith and the children would not be harmed by it, and granted plaintiff’s request. She promptly moved to Utah, and enrolled the children in school. Continue Reading →