Archives for November 2012

November 15, 2012 By

Parental Relocation in New Jersey

An increasing number of New Jersey parents are seeking to relocate with their children out of state. They move for various reasons. These include relocating to advance a career, attend an out-of-state college, move nearer to family for support, or due to remarriage with the new spouse living out of state.

Whether you seeking to relocate with your child and are an unmarried parent with the other parent living in New Jersey, or you are married and going through a divorce, or you are a parent who has divorced and is now seeking to move out of state, the process can be complex.

In New Jersey, the courts recognize that there are valid reasons for people to move, but a parent cannot relocate with a child without having the other parent’s agreement in writing and the family court judge’s agreement. The move must not be detrimental to the involved child or children.

Generally, a move like this involves the custodial parent moving away from the noncustodial mother or father. A major concern of noncustodial parents is that they will not be able to have the time they need or want to truly parent their child.

In any move-away case, your attorneys and the judge be looking at parental relocation solutions that continue to foster strong parent-child bonds with both parents, despite a move out of state. Parent time and visitation will need to be reevaluated.

With Skype and other emerging technology, new ways to connect with family members may also become part of a relocation arrangement. Attorneys and parents need to get creative in order to make situations like these work.

At the law office of Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, we have extensive experience helping parents address the issues involved in relocating a family.

New Jersey family law judges look at these types of issues when they are reviewing a relocation case:

How will the parent-child bond of the non-moving parent be sustained?
How far away is the custodial parent moving?
Will the time that the child spends with either parent be impacted?
Is it possible and feasible for the other parent to relocate so he or she can be nearby to the child?
Is the other parent seeking to relocate in good faith or with the goal of alienating the child from the other parent?
How will costs for the child or the parent to visit be addressed?

Parental Relocation Attorneys and Sound Representation at 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233

At the law office of Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, NJ, we have more than 65 years’ combined experience in fighting for the rights of parents and children. We are able to address a move-away issue, whether you were never married to your child’s other parent, or you are already divorced and need to move or prevent a move. We can help you understand how to protect your rights at every stage of a family law matter.

Filed Under: Child Visitation, Divorce, Divorce Mediation Tagged With: , ,
November 15, 2012 By

New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Insurance Requirements

Any New Jersey employer not covered by a federal program must carry workers’ compensation insurance for its workers or be approved for and carry self-insurance. Failure to insure your workers can result in a disorderly person’s offense in the state of New Jersey.
If a corporation, LLC or partnership, or sole proprietorship is found to have willfully or knowingly denied workers compensation, the corporate officers, partners, or owner could be charged with a fourth degree crime, which carries a fine up to $5000 for the first ten days of failure to insure. This fine continues with each 10-day time period that the organization failed to insure.

Rules for Workers Compensation Insurance

Corporations. All corporations must carry workers’ compensation insurance or obtain approval for self-insurance if there are one or more people working for the company for pay. This includes corporate officers.

LLCs and Partnerships. LLCs and partnerships must carry work comp insurance or approved self-insurance so long as one or more people, not including partners or LLC members, work for the organization.

Sole Proprietors. All sole proprietors must have workers compensation or be approved for self-insurance so long as one or more people, not including the primary owner, work for the company for pay.

Consequences When Injury Occurs and There Is No Insurance

In New Jersey, if a worker is injured or dies in a work-related injury the employer will be liable for all medical costs, disability benefits and other types of related benefits. These types of liabilities are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, either.
The Office of Special Compensation Funds regularly employs a number of strategies, including cross-matching databases, to identify non-compliant employers.

Do you have questions about your work comp coverage?

Discuss your concerns with an experienced workers compensation attorney at the law office of Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Please call 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233 or contact us online.  

Filed Under: Work - Related Injury, Workers Compensation Tagged With:
November 15, 2012 By

Dividing Marital Debt in New Jersey

If you or your spouse has been carrying serious debt, then debt division can have a huge impact on how you move forward with your life after divorce. How do you protect yourself financially from a spouse’s debt? What do you do if you have joint credit card debt but your spouse is the one who did the spending? How do you find ways to work together prior to the divorce to resolve your debt issues so that you do not need to worry about creditors coming after you once you are divorced?

Most people do not realize that if one spouse files for bankruptcy, the other spouse might be in the uncomfortable position of being assigned the debts that the indebted spouse has wiped out or reorganized through bankruptcy.

New Jersey is an equitable property and debt division state. This means that division of your debt and assets acquired during the marriage (with some exceptions) must also be fairly executed, though not necessarily equally.

What Is Marital and Non-Marital Debt?

Debts in a divorce will be either marital or non-marital. However, it is not so easy to make this determination. Questions that attorneys and a judge will take into account include what the purpose of the debt was, who took on the debt and when that happened, whether both spouses agreed to the debt, who benefited from the debt, and who can more effectively pay off the debt after divorce.

How Does Debt Division Apply to Credit Card Debt?

Essentially, any debt incurred from a joint credit card or line of credit means that both you and your spouse are responsible for payment of that debt. However, if your spouse racked up a significant amount of debt that did not contribute to the marriage or the family, then that debt may be divided up disproportionately, with the indebted spouse being assigned more of that particular joint credit card debt.

However, if the indebted spouse files for bankruptcy and the debt is wiped out, creditors may come after you for the remainder of the debt.

Marital debt will generally include:

Joint credit card debt, in which both your names are on the credit card agreement
Mortgage loans
Car loan debt
Debt you owe from a company you both own

Equitable distribution of debt and assets does not mean 50/50. In most cases, the debt will be divided according to each spouse’s ability to pay off the debt, along with a number of other factors.

Contact an Experienced Marital Property Division Lawyer in New Jersey

To discuss your concerns and how to approach division of debt and assets in a divorce in southern New Jersey, talk with an experienced family law attorney at Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, NJ. Please call 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233 or contact us online.

Filed Under: division of marital debt, Divorce, Divorce Mediation Tagged With: