In 2018, New Jersey Governor Murphy signed a bill into law that would prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from marrying or entering into a civil union. As of July 2022, seven U.S. states have banned underage marriages, with no exception, including New Jersey.

Historically, child marriage... Read more »

Presuming you and your spouse have a written signed settlement agreement resolving all issues in dispute between the 2 of you including the resolution of any alimony claim, child support, custody, parenting time, equitable distribution of all assets and liabilities of the marriage, and resolution... Read more »

Unless you sit down with a family law attorney to review the terms of the court's order or your settlement agreement, it is impossible to determine your equity interest, what responsibilities your ex has for payment purposes for the mortgage balance and whether your equity interest is valued... Read more »

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that I am concerned that another family is willing to tell you that it's okay to move out of your house and move in with them without addressing the legality of your actions / their actions.

If you are so unhappy in your home setting and... Read more »

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is designed to act as a surrogate decision-maker for residents of our state who are 60 years old and over, who have been deemed incapacitated by a superior court judge. When a judge deems someone incompetent to handle his / her affairs, the court then... Read more »

Politely, I'm not sure that you are grasping the severity of your current setting and your response to an inquiry by DCCP has the potential to make things worse. You and your partner had a physical altercation in the presence of your child, and someone called the police and reported a domestic... Read more »

There is a court order that required your ex-husband to pay for the mortgage for the marital home until the date of its sale. Ex-husband failed to pay the mortgage and ..... you did not take him back to court immediately to address his noncompliance and ... each time that a buyer has expressed an... Read more »

You need to sit down with a divorce lawyer to discuss whether both states have jurisdiction and presuming so, which state is a better state for you to proceed with the divorce matter. Based on the extremely limited information provided, it sounds like both states have jurisdiction to proceed with a... Read more »

If its a criminal matter and your estranged wife is being criminally charged, the matter is handled by a muni, county, or state prosecutor. You can tell the prosecutor what information you have, and he can decide whether he can use it.

If you are being criminally prosecuted and she is... Read more »

Yes, you should have a lawyer knowledgeable with domestic violence matters prepare it.

Here are a few "basic" questions that an experienced lawyer handling domestic violence matters should address in the document:

Is it going to be a consent order or consent agreement... Read more »

I am not sure how the terms of your prenuptial agreement with your fiancé connect at this moment to your fiancé's child support obligation for children from his prior marriage.

Your fiancé has a child support obligation based on his current income setting from employment and... Read more »

The short answer is no. Under the law, if you and he do not have an agreement permitting the relocation to take place, you must get an order of the court permitting the relocation to take place. If you move without his permission/court order, he can file an application with the court to compel the... Read more »

Under the law, you have the right to file an application with the court to determine the child's paternity. As part of that application, you will need to provide as much detail as possible to support your claim that you may not be the child's biological father since you already signed the... Read more »

Sounds like your children are not emancipated - which means that he is not entitled to terminate his child support obligation. The issue is where should his child support payment be directed? Maybe the payment should be directed to your aunt since she is the one caring for and paying for the... Read more »

A witness list is an identification of the witnesses you plan to call at trial. I am sure that the court also required you to submit a pre-marking schedule of documents you plan to you on your case starting with a complete listing of each document. As part of the pre-marking requirement, I am sure... Read more »

If I understand your inquiry correctly, you have filed an application with the family court seeking physical custody of your niece and presumably, the other party in the family court matter is the child's biological father.

I am not sure if there is a parallel investigation taking... Read more »

Despite the fact that he has not seen your child in over 2 years, to relocate with your son out of state, you either need a signed writing from him agreeing to the move or you need a court order permitting it to occur. I know that it seems like a waste of time / money, but I am a big believer in... Read more »

The filing of an appeal of a trial court's decision on a custody/parenting time decision must be within 45 days of the date of the order. Appeals are also expensive and time consuming. My suggestion is that you meet with a family law attorney experienced in handling family law appellate work... Read more »

I don't know why a domestic violence restraining order's requirements are not being enforced by the court/probation department. My suggestion is that you sit down with a family law specialist, with experience handling domestic violence matters to review the terms of the court's... Read more »

My advice (which should not come as a surprise) is that it's worth your while to schedule a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in divorce law (not a general practitioner who also handles divorce matters) to review your asset setting, respective employment settings, etc to give you... Read more »