The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled recently that parental rights cannot be terminated merely by a contract entered into by the parties involved, rather parental rights can be terminated only by State law under specific conditions. (1) This question arose in connection with a case of a single woman who…
While entertainment news headlines these days may be full of celebrities and politicians calling it quits on their marriages, divorce is a big step for most couples no matter what problems they may be facing. There can be any number of reasons why a couple in domestic turmoil may not…
In New Jersey when a child is given up for adoption, the rights of the biological parents are terminated at the end of the adoption process. What happens, however, to the rights of the child’s biological grandparents? Prior to the 1970’s, grandparents had no legal visitation rights. Then divorce rates…
Financing a higher education is a daunting task that has high school seniors from all walks vying for whatever tuition aid is available. Because need far exceeds availability these days, it is only logical that criteria for eligibility be set. But when a New Jersey teenager’s application for state aid…
The long-running battle that has pitted the rights of adoptees to have access to their birth records against birth parents’ rights to privacy may soon come to an end in New Jersey. A bill ending that battle was approved by the New Jersey State Legislature earlier this month and now…
Issues of privacy between parents and children can be very sensitive matters, with parents trying to balance their desire to support and protect with their children’s rights. Sometimes, however, a parent’s right to know can supersede the child’s privacy rights, as illustrated in the recent New Jersey case of Van…
Anyone who has ever watched a TV police drama is familiar with the line “. . . You have the right to speak to an attorney . . . If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.” (1) The question currently being considered…
Imagine availing yourself of all the advancements in reproductive technology in order to conceive the child you thought you may never have just to have the courts say you haven’t earned the title of “Mom.” That is exactly what has happened to a Union County couple now fighting to update…
Deciding the fate of the family pet in a divorce is a little more complicated than deciding who gets Great Aunt Sara’s heirloom trinkets, yet most states consider pets as mere property. New Jersey, however, is one state that recognizes the uniqueness of pets and the sentimental value we attach…
Divorce not only separates the nuclear family – father, mother, child – but it can have ramifications for the extended family as well. The grandparent/grandchild relationship is one that can often suffer from the dissolution of a marriage. Since the 1970s, a number of states have passed laws recognizing grandparents’…