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I am currently involved in an ongoing custody battle for my 18-month-old child. There was a drug test previously requested in the case, but the father refused to take it. Now that there is a new judge assigned to the case, I am concerned that the father might try to drug test my child at home... View More 
answered on Feb 18, 2025
You said that the prior judge directed the father to submit to a drug test but that the father failed / refused to submit to the test.
Now, there is a new judge assigned to the matter and you are fearful that the father will privately drug test your 18 month old child.
I presume... View More
I am currently involved in an ongoing custody battle for my 18-month-old child. There was a drug test previously requested in the case, but the father refused to take it. Now that there is a new judge assigned to the case, I am concerned that the father might try to drug test my child at home... View More
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answered on Feb 18, 2025
If the father does so, not only would it not be legal it would not be accepted by the Court. You need to retain an experienced matrimonial attorney. Pick the best attorney you can find and remember one rule: a good attorney is generally never cheap, and a cheap attorney is generally never good so... View More
I'm in NJ and about to start a divorce action as my wife was having an affair with a married man and much of their communications was done using email according to her. She has given me some of those emails, but there are many more which are now deleted. I understand that I must prove that the... View More
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answered on Feb 14, 2025
You need to retain an experienced matrimonial attorney to represent you in this matter. In New Jersey the grounds for divorce have no effect at all on the economic issues or property issues. But if you can prove or provide your attorney with proof that your not yet ex-spouse is actually living with... View More
answered on Dec 18, 2024
There are settings where one parent is willing to release the other parent from financial responsibility for the support of their child in exchange for the other parent's termination of relationship with the child (generally, when the other parent has a longer-term relationship, and that... View More
Me and my coparent has joint custody and a custody agreement through a civil restraint. Not filed through family court. We have a 3-4 weekly schedule. My coparent just took our child on an out of state vacation that I did not agree to. The only guild lines that our agreement have are "As for... View More
answered on Dec 1, 2024
Probably the one thing that you and your ex need to do is print out the holiday schedule and identify the rotation between you and your ex. I presume that the holiday schedule includes Thanksgiving, which was on Thursday the 28th and probably, under the holiday schedule, it says that same starts on... View More
Is it a violation of the restraining order? I prepared a full counterclaim, but then I called the family court and there was nothing filed. He faked a lawsuit to communicate with me, wrote a lot of absurd things. Is it harassment?
answered on Nov 21, 2024
The fact that the court system has told you that it does not have his application in the system (at this moment) does not mean that his application is a fake.
Presuming that he legitimately filed an application but failed to pay the filing fee or failed in any of a million other ways, the... View More
Is it a violation of the restraining order? I prepared a full counterclaim, but then I called the family court and there was nothing filed. He faked a lawsuit to communicate with me, wrote a lot of absurd things. Is it harassment?
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answered on Nov 21, 2024
Yes this is harassment which is a violation of the restraining order. Do you have a Temporary Restraining Order(TRO) or a Final Restraining Order (FRO)? If you have an only a TRO you need to to retain an experienced matrimonial attorney who has extensive domestic violence trial experience to obtain... View More
My spouse closed his bank accounts overseas and failing to disclose all of his assets and personal businesses. We’ve subpoenaed the bank but no response. Thus his discovery was very vague and empty. Is there a way to force this information to come to light? I will add that my judge is not helpful... View More
answered on Apr 29, 2024
It sounds like you have a lawyer representing you and your lawyer is attempting to get documents for accounts you believe existed at some point in the past. If you have documentary proof of the existence of those accounts, give those documents to your lawyer so that your lawyer can ask the court to... View More
Honor her wish without me fighting for my daughter to be close to both of us. I’m willing to let her go but not permanently. How should I handle this
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answered on Apr 14, 2024
This could be done straightforward basis except for the part about it not being permanent. After about 1 year, the child's home state becomes FL. and your chances of achieving your objective diminish substantially. You should probably rethink this entire situation. There is no easy answer and... View More
Honor her wish without me fighting for my daughter to be close to both of us. I’m willing to let her go but not permanently. How should I handle this
answered on Apr 18, 2024
This sounds like a difficult decision at an emotionally charged time. I would strongly recommend taking a pause before consenting to the move. When parties are going through a divorce, it can sometimes feel easiest in the short term to just agree and minimize conflict. However, long-term, just... View More
The case worker interviewed my children at school. Didn't contact or attempt to show up to my home for 6 days, she stated it w because she was not concerned, after speaking with children and did not see any need for emergency steps. said it's open and shut, she had no concerns The CPS... View More
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answered on Mar 26, 2024
When dealing with Child Protective Services (CPS), it's essential to understand your rights and the potential consequences of your actions. Cooperation with CPS can be critical, as they have the authority to investigate allegations of child neglect or abuse. However, you are also entitled to... View More
The case worker interviewed my children at school. Didn't contact or attempt to show up to my home for 6 days, she stated it w because she was not concerned, after speaking with children and did not see any need for emergency steps. said it's open and shut, she had no concerns The CPS... View More
answered on Mar 19, 2024
From your description, it sounds like DCPP (the Department of Child Protection and Permanency, New Jersey's child protective services branch) is conducting an initial investigation into allegations of possible abuse or neglect. If this is an initial investigation, you are not necessarily... View More
Married 8 yrs living together 16. 2 kids 9 & 11 yrs old. The house is only under my husbands name but was bought right after my youngest son was born but before we got married, he doesn’t work(hasn’t for a few yrs) I pay the mortgage (I give him the money cash) and also pay bills thru my... View More
answered on Mar 12, 2024
Abandonment or desertion is a fault-based ground for divorce in New Jersey. It is defined by statute (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2) as "willful and continued desertion" for a term of 12 months or longer. One way to establish abandonment as a fault-based ground for divorce is by providing proof that... View More
award me joint custody of our daughter? I've been accused of doing drugs, which I disproved over and over with clean hair follicle tests, having my child withheld whenever the father feels like changing the schedule. Also, when my daughter was a baby and I asked the judge when I can raise... View More
answered on Feb 16, 2024
I understand your frustration but there are pieces to this story that are missing and the best advice I can give you is to sit down with an experienced divorce lawyer to review the history of the court orders entered in your matter and review the certifications filed in support of your requests and... View More
award me joint custody of our daughter? I've been accused of doing drugs, which I disproved over and over with clean hair follicle tests, having my child withheld whenever the father feels like changing the schedule. Also, when my daughter was a baby and I asked the judge when I can raise... View More
answered on Mar 12, 2024
In order to file for a modification or change to a preexisting custody order, the moving party needs to demonstrate that circumstances have changed since the prior order and that the current custody/parenting time schedule is no longer in the child's best interests. Depending on the facts and... View More
I became pregnant at 17 and made my dad aware. He told me that if I kept the baby, I would be out of the house but if I got rid of the baby, I could stay. I decided to keep the baby but asked if I could stay at least until I finished school and he continued to say that if I kept the baby, I would... View More
answered on Jan 28, 2024
You need to meet with a social service worker from the county where you lived while living with your dad to find out what resources are available to you for healthcare, schooling, housing, etc to be able to finish school and for the baby's benefit. I would also talk with the father of your... View More
I have joint custody of the children, but my adversary hasn't consulted me on any decisions since our divorce.
Without my input, she chose an expensive out-of-state school for our son. Recently, she filed a motion seeking me to cover all college and additional expenses. Do I stand a... View More
answered on Jan 24, 2024
You NEED to meet with an experienced divorce lawyer and have him prepare your opposition paperwork and your cross application addressing your ex's failure / refusal to cooperate with your rights as a joint legal parent under the terms of your agreement. Simply walking into court and thinking... View More
I have joint custody of the children, but my adversary hasn't consulted me on any decisions since our divorce.
Without my input, she chose an expensive out-of-state school for our son. Recently, she filed a motion seeking me to cover all college and additional expenses. Do I stand a... View More
answered on Feb 6, 2024
Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear you are going through this stressful time. In a situation like the one you describe, contesting such an issue is certainly possible but succeeding in same depends on a getting more parenting time could be possible, however this would be based upon a... View More
I'm currently 17 years old and I recently told my father I was pregnant. He's pushing abortion pretty hard but that's not my choice. The father of the baby is very involved and is currently 18. My father has given me an ultimatum: if I don't abort the baby, I'm to not be in... View More
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answered on Jan 10, 2024
In your situation, it's important to understand that parental rights and responsibilities primarily rest with the biological parents of the child, not the grandparents. Once your baby is born, you and your boyfriend, as the biological parents, are the primary individuals responsible for the... View More
current custody schedule is one week on one week off. Both guardians live in the same state. One will relocate for a job out of state.
answered on Jan 8, 2024
Thank you for your question. As a general rule, a parent cannot move out of the state with a child unless both parties agree in writing or the parent is authorized to move out of the State by the Court. Relocation is a very fact-sensitive question and I highly recommend that you schedule a... View More
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