When seeking a modification of a current custody or parenting time arrangement, whether you are the one seeking it or if it is the other parent, it is important to understand the potential hurdles the filing party will have to overcome before a Court will actually effectuate any type of requested change to the schedule that is already […]
Who gets to hold my child’s passport when not traveling? The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have instituted certain policies and procedures for single parents travelling internationally with a child. There have been plenty of battles over whether one parent can travel internationally with the child and whether or not they can obtain […]
Indigent parents have a constitutional right to a lawyer when the Division of Child Protection & Permanency (formerly DYFS) seeks to remove children from their care. Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court expanded this right to include indigent parents sued by foster families or private adoption agencies who are seeking to terminate their parental rights. The […]
Recently, a Wisconsin judge pulled a married same-sex couple from Virginia into an eleven-month long legal battle over their parental rights. A woman from Wisconsin had agreed to be the couple’s surrogate and delivered their son last year. Judge Jim Troupis was assigned to their case in Wisconsin. Troupis viewed surrogacy as a form of human trafficking, […]
Because the managing partner of Lyons & Associates, P.C., has a master’s degree in social work, the entire firm is particularly sensitive to issues of mental illness. In fact, New Jersey’s custody statute, N.J.S.A. 9:2-4 lists a parent’s health as one factor the Court must consider. In custody determinations, courts are charged with putting arrangements in place […]
By: Michael Younker Parental alienation is a serious and significant issue in family law. Parental alienation can be described as behavior by one parent, often the custodial parent, to vilify or disparage the other parent in an effort to damage the child/children’s relationship with the other parent. It is crucial to identify parental alienation early on […]
Going through the process of a divorce can be daunting for anyone; regardless of the outstanding issues a couple may have that need to be addressed and resolved during the course of action. Once these issues are agreed upon by the parties and memorialized in an Agreement, or ruled upon by judge resulting in the […]
The short and simple answer to this question is that in most cases a non-custodial parent will not be required to pay additional child support for the children’s extra-curricular activities since the basic child support award under the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines takes such expenses into consideration when child support is calculated. In fact, the basic child […]
Effects on Custody and Parenting Time Before you move out of the marital home, there are several factors that one should consider. First, and likely the most important consideration, is whether you have children. If so, this can be a complicated endeavor if you want to move out with the children. If your spouse will […]
There is a big difference between the Parent of Primary Residence (PPR) and the Parent of Alternate Residence (PAR), but before one can truly understand those differences, there first should be an understanding of the overall custody scheme in New Jersey. When the parents of a minor child(ren) live separately, or are about to do […]
