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…
New York Times By: Julie Bosman The same story echoed a dozen times through Room E8 of Manhattan Family Court in a single day: fathers, pinched by the recession, pleading for a reduction in child support. A salesman at Saks Fifth Avenue who is estranged from his teenage daughter said…
Judges may invoke specific performance remedy, appeals panel says By Mary Pat Gallagher New Jersey Law Journal March 10, 2009 When couples break up, judges can decide who gets custody of pets based on their unique sentimental value, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Tuesday, setting a precedent in the…
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…
By Michael Booth New Jersey Law Journal The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday approved bipartisan-sponsored legislation that would require all palimony agreements to be in writing and signed in order to be enforceable. The bill, S-2091 , amends N.J.S.A. 25:1-5, which already requires that prenuptial agreements be put into writing,…
Appellant, Carol J. Broach, suffered a stroke in 2005. After she suffered this stroker her son, William S. Broach, was appointed as her guardian. As a result of the stroke appellant was left mentally incompetent. She is unable to testify intelligently or express her wishes. Acting in his capacity as…
Court holds that cohabitation is not essential for an award By Edward S. Snyder, 193 N.J.L.J.652 The law of palimony has evolved and expanded over the last three decades and the Supreme Court of New Jersey has been active in defining its parameters. During the 2007-08 term the court once…
“[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,…