Efforts to provide New Jersey adoptees with access to their medical and genealogical histories while protecting biological parents’ rights to privacy are under way once again. (1) This time, however, lawmakers hope they have found a workable compromise. The latest revisions to a bill first introduced in 1980 are expected…
It is a familiar story. An elderly woman from Watchung answered her phone last month only to be told that her grandson was in custody in Haiti and needed her assistance to bail him out. It was only after she had wired $1,990 that the woman realized she had been…
At what age is it okay to leave a child unattended? In New Jersey, the answer depends on a number of circumstances, including where the child is being left. A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a parent or custodial guardian who leaves a young child unattended in a…
If Gov. Chris Christie signs a pending Bill before the current legislative session ends this week, certain domestic violence offenders could find themselves wearing electronic monitoring devices as part of a pilot program which would be implemented in Ocean County. If the Governor fails to sign the legislation, however, supporters…
Even couples who are convinced their marriage is over hesitate to take the final steps toward divorce during the holiday season. Not wanting to disrupt their families during what is supposed to be a happy time, they put off the inevitable. For that reason, January has become the month in…
The New Jersey Bar Association has joined the fight for alimony reform within the State. The problem, however, is that now two groups are fighting over whose proposed bill is better. For over two years now, a group known as NJ Alimony Reform has sought to eliminate permanent alimony in…
When Megan’s Law was adopted in 1994 the purpose was to warn people of the potential dangers they may face from a convicted sex offender living in their immediate vicinity. Under the law, those convicted of certain sex crimes must enroll in a central registry which, in turn, would be…
Saturday, November 23, is National Adoption Day. This will be the fourteenth year a day has been set aside to highlight the over 100,000 children waiting to be adopted out of the foster care system in this country.(1) That is only a fraction of the total number of children in…
Last month’s National Prescription Take Back Day resulted in almost 15,000 pounds of expired prescription drugs being dropped off at collection sites throughout New Jersey alone. This was the seventh annual Take Back event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in an effort to combat a growing problem of…
Gov. Chris Christie abandoned his appeal of a State Superior Court judge’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriages in New Jersey putting an end to a long-fought battle in the State – at least for now. (1) The Governor’s decision to drop his appeal was announced just hours after the first…