Articles Posted in Support

When a couple comes to an agreement to terminate their marriage, getting a court to make it official usually is not an issue. Resolving the associated aspects of divorce is where it can get complicated. If you are seeking a divorce in Hunterdon County, the family law attorneys at The Rotolo Law Firm can assist you.

Divorce is an emotionally trying process for all involved. Once a couple has come to terms that their relationship is over, they still must deal with the often heated issues related to the dissolution of their marriage — child custody and support, fair and equitable distribution of assets and, perhaps the most contentious of all, alimony.

Alimony is a payment of support from one spouse to another. In New Jersey married couples are responsible for supporting each other. This holds true even after the marriage ends. Alimony is designed to ensure that both spouses can enjoy a lifestyle reasonably similar to the one they had while married. (1)

New Jersey, like most other states, takes the issue of child support seriously. There are processes in place to aid those seeking to collect child support and stiff penalties for those who fail to make their payments. If, after reading the following, you need a Hunterdon County lawyer to assist you with child support issues, contact The Rotolo Law Firm, located in Lebanon, NJ.

Ensuring the payment of child support is primarily the responsibility of individual states. The federal government, however, does provide financial support to state agencies entrusted with this job. In addition, legislation is in place prohibiting someone from using a bankruptcy filing to avoid child support obligations, and it is a federal crime to willfully avoid such payments by moving to another state. Still it is the state’s responsibility to enforce court orders, and even federal agencies are bound to comply with state-ordered child support payments. (1)

States have various means by which they can enforce payment of child support, including garnishment of wages or unemployment payments and liens on or the seizure and sale of property. Even Social Security payments, which are exempt from most garnishments, can be attached for child support payments. (2) While the Social Security Administration (SSA) is bound to comply with state-ordered child support payments, it is immune from suits for damages resulting from its failure to follow such orders. (3)

The $46,000 per month in child support supermodel Linda Evangelista is seeking from the father of her four-year-old son may raise some eyebrows.(1) After all, that’s more than some people earn in a year. And the recent court order requiring actor Mel Gibson to pay his ex $750,000 over five years to settle their bitter custody battle may stir similar reactions.(2) Although these high-cost celebrity cases may feel like revenge of a partner scorned, child custody issues are serious matters.

New Jersey considers all parents responsible for supporting their children, which means providing the basics of food, shelter and clothing. That responsibility does not end when a marriage dissolves.

Oftentimes couples get caught in a financial “catch-22” once they marry and have children. Now there are three or more mouths to feed. If both parents work, they incur the added expense of childcare. If one parent cuts his/her working hours to avoid the childcare expense, that parent’s income is then lowered and there is less money to pay expenses. Finances are generally one of the major stress factors in marriage. Divorce doesn’t solve the problem either; rather, it can make financial problems worse, because after divorce there are two households to support in addition to the continued need to provide the basics.(3)

Issues of privacy between parents and children can be very sensitive matters, with parents trying to balance their desire to support and protect with their children’s rights. Sometimes, however, a parent’s right to know can supersede the child’s privacy rights, as illustrated in the recent New Jersey case of Van Brunt v. Van Brunt.

The question in that case came down to whether children can both evoke their right to privacy under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and claim entitlement to child support and financial assistance with their education. The court’s answer essentially was no.

The Van Brunts are a divorced couple who have joint legal custody of their two children. Under terms of their divorce, Mrs. Van Brunt was named primary residential parent and Mr. Van Brunt was ordered to pay child support, including contributions towards the children’s college expenses, until they become emancipated. The children would not be considered emancipated, according to the agreement, as long as they were enrolled in a full-time, four-year academic college program. (1)

Anyone who has ever watched a TV police drama is familiar with the line “. . . You have the right to speak to an attorney . . . If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.” (1) The question currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court is whether this right, which usually pertains to defendants in criminal cases, should be extended to include defendants in civil cases, specifically child support matters. (2)

The particular case under consideration involves a South Carolina father who has been held in civil contempt on several occasions and sentenced to as much as one year in jail at a time for failure to make his child support payments. (2)

Since 1963, the Supreme Court has held that people facing incarceration must have the opportunity to be represented by an attorney. People who cannot afford an attorney are provided with one. That ruling, however, was tied to the Sixth Amendment and only related to criminal proceedings, not civil matters. Still, a number of states, including New Jersey, make provisions for impoverished people in child support cases. (2)

Efforts by the 21 sheriffs’ departments throughout New Jersey resulted in the arrest of some 953 people on charges of failure to pay child support. Those arrested owed over $14 million in combined child support payments. As of December 10, the State had collected about $233,000 or that amount as a result of the arrests. (1)

This three-day sweep was a cooperative effort by New Jersey’s Child Support Services and the State’s Sheriffs Association to ensure that non-custodial parents abide by the court ordered child support payments. These sweeps seek out both parents who are in arrears on their child support and those who neglect to attend court hearings to set up medical and/or support payment schedules. (2)

New Jersey’s Child Support Agency is entrusted with ensuring that child support payments are made in accordance with court orders. The Agency uncovers incidents of non-payment or late or partial payment of support and takes action to rectify the situation. Those actions can include, but are not limited to, withholding income, seizing assets such as lottery winnings and/or settlements or awards resulting from civil suits, and offsetting tax refunds. (3)

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)