Custody

As a child custody lawyer for over twenty years, I am extremely familiar with the practices a judge may engage in during a contested custody case. If a New Jersey Family Court finds that there are several unresolved issues regarding which party will be granted custody of the child, the court will set a hearing date for both parties to plead their cases. In addition to the hearing, pursuant to Rule 5:8-6 a judge may use his or her discretion to conduct an in camera interview with the child. If the court chooses to do so, it must provide the parties’ attorneys the opportunity to submit questions for the court to ask during the interview. Once the interview is finished, the parties can request to have copies of the transcript; however, they are forbidden from talking about the interview with the child without first obtaining permission from the court. The recent case of E.D. v. D.C. further illustrates this rule. [Read more…] about In A New Jersey Child Custody Case, Will The Judge Conduct An Interview With The Children

In nearly twenty years of practicing divorce and child custody law in New Jersey, this is a question that my law firm is frequently asked. While this is a fairly complex area of the law, I trust the following shall be a helpful and useful explanation. [Read more…] about How Do I Know if New Jersey has Jurisdiction Over My Child Custody Case?