On May 7th, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court issued an important decision in the case of Orlowsky v. Orlowsky, ruling that federally-protected retirement plans can be invaded to pay child support arrears and college tuition expenses, as well as attorney and expert fees.
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Divorce, Suicide, and Life Insurance
In a decision approved for publication on May 6 entitled Woylas v. Greenwood Tree Experts, Inc., the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld a claim by Christina Woylas against her former husband Timothy’s estate following his suicide.
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Companion Pets and Divorce
The legal wheel is (slowly) turning toward recognition of companion pets as more than mere “property” in divorce proceedings. The traditional view that family pets are no different from tables or chairs is evolving toward acknowledging of their “special subjective value,” most notably in custody cases but also in divorce cases where no children are involved.
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Court Declares Right to Obtain Counsel in Domestic Violence Cases
On May 9, 2019, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court ruled that defendants in domestic violence cases must be informed of the right to obtain counsel and of the serious consequences that could result from the entry of a Final Restraining Order (FRO).
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New Jersey or Pennsylvania Child Support: Which Law Applies?
In the recently decided case of Flynn v. Flynn, a New Jersey appeals court was faced with whether to apply New Jersey or Pennsylvania child support law regarding a parent’s obligation to an eighteen-year-old full-time college student. Although Flynn was fact-specific due to the parties’ prior legal entanglements, the decision explores the substantial differences between Pennsylvania and New Jersey with respect to child support.
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Stock Awards in Divorce Revisited
To be or not to be vested—that is the question. Well, at least that was the question considered by a New Jersey appeals court in the recent decision of M.G. v. S.G.
Otherwise stated, the question concerned whether a stock award which was issued to an employee prior to a divorce filing but which was vested after the divorce complaint was filed be subject to equitable distribution between the parties.
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Limits to Confidentiality: A Potential Divorce Mediation Pitfall
What are the limits to confidentiality at divorce mediation? This issue is of growing interest given the rise of mediation as a sensible and cost-effective alternative to divorce litigation.
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Can College Loans Be Required In a Marital Settlement Agreement?
During a divorce, many topics are covered in the Marital Settlement Agreement, and many more when the divorcing couple have children together. This can include child support as well as future college contributions. Depending on the agreement, the divorcing parties may specifically determine the percentages that each will pay for college costs, or will—if the child or children are young—defer setting any percentages until the child is in their senior year of high school. Within these agreements, there is often language that stipulates the children are required to apply for any available financial aid, grants and/or loans. However, does this mean children must be forced to take out loans for an obligation that is intended to part of their parents’ obligation?
A recent New Jersey Appellate Division opinion tackled this complicated question in the matter of M.F.W. v. G.O. In the case, the parties divorced in 2003 when their daughter was 5 years old, and their settlement included an agreement to pay for college and included language requiring that the daughter “…shall apply for all loans, grants, aid and scholarships available to her, the proceeds of which shall be first applied to college costs.”
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Appellate Division Affirms Stalking with iPad in Restraining Order
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has affirmed a Domestic Violence Restraining Order which had been levied against a husband in the midst of a divorce. The decision, captioned, E.D.B. v. D.S. for privacy reasons, came about when the wife discovered the husband had placed an iPad in their shared home office and an iPhone under his bed in order to monitor his wife’s activities when he was not home. The couple was in the process of a divorce prior to this discovery, but was still living together in the same house with their children.
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Domestic Violence and Free Speech
In the world of domestic violence law, it is virtually axiomatic that “words alone” may be sufficient for a Court to conclude that a predicate act of domestic violence had occurred. That assumption was upset in the recently decided case of State v. Burket, a non-family law decision.
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