New Jersey Family Law Blog

Can schools dictate student behavior when classes are not in session? That’s the basis for a court battle between parents and the Haddonfield School District. At issue is the District’s “24/7 Policy” which states underage students caught drinking will be barred from sports and other extra-curricular activities. (1)

The school contends that extracurricular activities are a privilege, not a right, and therefore can be taken away. It also claims students representing the District through sports and other activities can be held to a higher standard. Some parents, on the other hand, argue that the school is overstepping its bounds; monitoring a child’s behavior outside of school is a parental obligation. (2)

Earlier this month, Haddonfield School District won a round when a U.S. District Court refused to oppose the policy. The Court stated there was insufficient proof the policy violated anyone’s rights. As the school pointed out, students do not have to participate in any activities and, if they chose not to, would not be subject to the behavior guidelines. The District now is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit. (1)

The parents involved in the case, however, claim the policy is unfair, particularly to students who have not been convicted, but only charged, with underage drinking. (1)

Haddonfield isn’t the only District struggling with this issue. A similar case occurred in Mountain Lakes where a student was suspended from the girls’ basketball team after attending a party where other underage students allegedly were drinking. The girl’s father fought the school District’s decision. That case was settled out of court. (2)

It’s been reported that about half a dozen school districts in New Jersey have conduct guidelines their students are expected to follow year-round. How serious is the underage drinking problem? A recent study found that the national average age when a person takes a first drink is 14. In New Jersey that age is 12.5 years. (3)

(1) http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010050344

(2) http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-10-11-school-discipline_N.htm

(3) http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010170314

A State lawmaker has introduced a new bill that would amend New Jersey’s Graduated Driver’s License program to provide teens with more training and require parental involvement before those teens could obtain their driver’s licenses. (1)

This bill comes in response to a national study conducted by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The study found that almost half of the parents surveyed felt their teens were lacking experience in one area or another, experience that was necessary to be safe, unsupervised drivers. Among the areas cited where teen driving experience was lacking were heavy traffic/ highway conditions and rainy conditions. (2)

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) sponsored the bill which would increase the amount of training and experience teens receive before getting their licenses and require parents or guardians to accompany their teens to a driver-orientation program specifically designed for teens. (3)

If passed, the bill would bring the following changes:

• Teens under 18 would be required to attend, with their parents or guardians, a teen driver-orientation program approved by the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). This program would also be available to, but not mandatory for, new drivers between 18 and 21 years of age.

• Drivers under 21 holding a special driving permit would need 50 hours of driving practice, including 10 hours at night, with a guardian, parent or other adult supervisor in addition to the 6 hours of certified driving lessons currently required.

• Drivers with an examination permit of the same age would have a choice between the requirements listed above or 100 hours of certified driving practice, including 20 nighttime hours.

• The 6 hours of certified driving lessons currently required would have to be from private, one-on-one instruction.

• The MVC, along with the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, would be required to update guidelines for driver’s education and traffic safety and make them standard between private and public State schools.

• All new drivers between 16 and 20 would be required to hold a driver’s permit for one year, as opposed to the current six-month period, before receiving their probationary license. (1)

The new bill is hoped to make teen drivers better prepared for unsupervised driving and keep the roadways safer.

(1) http://www.assemblydems.com/Article.asp?ArticleID=3197

(2) http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/bill-mandating-additional-education-practice-for-teen-drivers-introduced-in-assembly

(3) http://www.nj1015.com/pages/8392764.php

Child custody issues are difficult enough to resolve, but when parents abduct their children to foreign countries, the matters become even more complicated. Child abductions to Japan by parents or other family members prove to be among the most complicated to resolve.

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abductions promotes returning abducted children to the country they originally came from, but even with this treaty, resolution of these cases is difficult. (1)

A prime example is the case of Tinton Falls resident David Goldman and his son, Sean. Sean was taken by his mother to Brazil, her home country. While there, she filed for divorce and kept Sean with her. She subsequently died but Sean remained in the custody of his stepfather. Brazil is one of the countries that is party to the Hague Convention and still the legal battle to get Sean back to the U.S. took five years. (2)

Japan remains the only major country that has not signed The Hague Convention treaty. Just recently, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming majority to approve a resolution sponsored by Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) to put pressure on Japan to cooperate with international parental child abductions. (3) Smith was instrumental in helping Goldman retrieve his son from Brazil.

There are currently 95 child abduction cases involving American children taken by a parent or family member to Japan. These cases involve a total 136 children, of which 17 are the offspring of U.S. military personnel. (2)

Jade and Michael Elias are one example. Formerly of Rutherford, NJ, the toddlers were taken in 2008 at the ages of 2 and 1, by their mother, who fled to Japan against court orders which restricted their travel. Their father, Iraq War veteran Sgt. Michael Elias has not seen his children since and Japan has done little to help. (2)

The new bill urges Japan to let all parents involved in these cases see their children and to end these wrongful abduction cases immediately. Recent news reports from Japan indicate that the country is considering signing the treaty, but first wants to resolve its own laws in light of a recent change in the political structure of that country. (3)

(1) http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2010/Jul/110545.html
(2) http://chrissmith.house.gov/News/DocumentPrint.aspx?DocumentID=209361
(3) http://bignews.biz/?id=924049&keys=Congressman-Chris-Smith-ChildAbductions

Child support is a court-ordered payment made by the non-custodial parent to help with the expenses of raising the child. It helps to assure that both parents retain responsibility for their children and that children do not suffer financially from the divorce of their parents.

Laws regulating child support payments vary from state to state; New Jersey has some of the strictest child support laws in the country.

In calculating the amount of child support payments, several factors are taken into consideration, including the fair income of each parent. This includes all wages, overtime, unemployment benefits and even lottery winnings. Also considered are the taxes and deductions taken from these wages. Only mandatory deductions, such as income taxes are counted; however, voluntary deductions are not. (1)

If both parents’ earnings are equal, child support responsibility is usually split 50/50. That ratio changes if one parent makes significantly more than the other. Once all income and deductions are calculated, the court issues a final support order. Unfortunately, there are many times when these orders are ignored. (1)

New Jersey law allows wages of the non-custodial parent to be garnished for the payment of child support. It also allows for the suspension of driver’s and professional licenses if the child support payments are in arrears. (2) The State has an annual 63.5% child support collection rate, compared with a 62% national rate. One tactic that makes it more difficult to collect child support payments is when the non-custodial parent moves out of state. It is estimated that this affects at least one-third of New Jersey child support cases. (3)

A new bipartisan bill was introduced recently that would help custodial parents collect support payments even when the non-custodial parent is living in another state. This new law, sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would establish consistent rules for enforcing child support orders across state borders and accelerate those payments to children living in other states. (3)

Under the pending legislation, states would be required to take part in a lien registry. This would ensure that all income, including insurance and legal settlements and lottery winnings is taken into consideration to meet child support obligations. (3)

(1) http://www.njchildsupport.org/article.asp?aid=95
(2) http://www.child-support-laws-state-by-state.com/nj-child-support.html
(3) http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/10/child_support_law_helps_bring.html