While the debate continues as to whether or not President Obama’s Health Care Reform Plan is beneficial for the country long term, several provisions of that plan took effect this week and are now enforceable by law. Two of these changes, effective September 23, pertain specifically to children. No longer…
This month, New Jersey’s Safe Haven Infant Protection Act celebrates its 10th anniversary. To date, statistics show that at least 47 babies, including one in Hunterdon County, have been surrendered safely under the provisions of this Act. (1) This law was enacted to help prevent instances like that which occurred…
This fall the New Jersey Assembly is expected to vote on the Adoptee Birthrights Bill, satisfying an issue of adoption that the State has been struggling with for about 30 years. Under this Bill, adult adoptees or the parents of minor adoptees would be able to get copies of the…
Supporting a child is an important role a parent and/or a guardian play in a child’s life be it emotional or moral support and certainly, as any parent can attest, monetary support. However, in the case of a family that is no longer intact, monetary child support often is lacking…
With everything reaching a global level these days, child custody battles are no exception. Parental child abduction is a growing international problem, often the result of a failed marriage that ends with one parent taking the children to a different country. The problem affects parents in many countries. The case…
Parties’ daughter was killed in an automobile accident on October 6, 2007. On January 10, 2008, the plaintiff filed a pro se motion seeking, inter alia, to reduce child support. The plaintiff argued that any modification should be retroactive to the date of the daughters death, while the defendant posited…
Court Enunciates New Test for Tolling Child Sex Abuse Statute of Limitations By Michael Booth New Jersey Law Journal June 11, 2009 The state Supreme Court on Thursday set out a two-stage analysis that trial judges must conduct to decide whether and for how long the two-year statute of limitations…
Thorpe v. Wiggan, 405 N.J. Super. 68, (2009). The doctrine of parental immunity has always protected parents from judicial intervention in normal child rearing decisions. The New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division recently reexamined this doctrine in Thorpe v. Wiggan. This matter involves the tragic death of a four year-old…
“[A]ny party is free to retire, take a vow of poverty, write poetry, or hawk roses in an airport, if he or she sees fit. The only limit is discontinuance of the financial aid the former spouse requires. The reason for this is that the duty of self-fulfillment must give…
A three-judge Appellate Division panel recently ruled out binding, nonappealable arbitration as a way to settle custody and parenting time disputes. Arbitration is a favored remedy for settling disputes, but parties can’t bargain away the court’s obligation under the principle of parens patriae to ensure the best interests of children,…