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Why and How to Order a Change of Custody or Visitation in New Jersey
By finally coming to a custody agreement, you’ve walked a delicate tightrope to balance the schedules and needs of everyone in your family. Perhaps you needed a court to intervene in your contentious relationship and settle everything. However, when circumstances change and something isn’t working, you might find yourself needing to change your parenting time arrangements.
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How Does New Jersey Family Court Decide Custody?
New Jersey parenting plans are designed to make life easier for the children involved. Child custody can be established by a judge if parents can’t agree, but it is always best if parents work together on the details. When parents agree on a child custody calendar, New Jersey family courts will honor their parenting plan unless it is not in the child’s best interest.
Don’t be intimidated by the courtroom. We’ve got your back.
What Happens During a New Jersey Child Custody Evaluation?
If a previous custody resolution process like an assessment or mediation yields no solution, the court may order a full child custody evaluation at the parents’ expense. Parents may agree to a single evaluator or each retain their own separately, and the court may also order a neutral evaluator.
It is important to your family’s happiness that you succeed in navigating custody with your child’s other parent.
New Jersey Resources and Links for Families and Children
Resources for Families
Free Legal Forms
Healthy Children
Case Law: Cases and Codes
Nurse/Family Partnership
American Academy of Pediatrics
National Alliance on Mental Illness
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
When parents separate, families find help at the Law Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq.
How Do You Prove a Parent to Be Unfit?
Courts distinguish marital faults from misconduct that indicates an unfit parent. In other words, proof of a horrible spouse does not automatically deem that spouse an unfit parent, and seeking custody doesn’t have to eliminate parenting time. Although no one is legally required to parent perfectly, the court can decide that the dangerously imperfect are unfit.
Only specific criteria will convince a New Jersey family court to declare a parent to be unfit.
What Are the Custody Laws for Unmarried Parents in NJ?
Unmarried parents routinely have the same custody, support, and visitation problems that married ones have. Establishing paternity is vital in nondissolution custody cases, when unmarried partners separate. New Jersey family courts make no assumption about a father’s identity when an unmarried woman gives birth.
Divorce lawyers in New Jersey also help parents who never signed a marriage certificate.
Different Types of Child Custody in New Jersey
What are the types of custody in NJ?
In effect, there are nearly as many possible types of custody schedules as there are families. However, there are four main custody categories, types, or distinctions:
Keep your family together by choosing the custody arrangement that works best.
Filing for Child Custody in New Jersey
How to file for custody in NJ
To request custody of your child, you need to file documents to petition the court and make your case before a family court judge. The process to file for custody of a child in New Jersey can vary between jurisdictions, and a judge could issue penalties or dismiss your case outright if any part is filed incorrectly. Make sure to fully understand how the law works in the county where your child lives.
Gather your supporting documents when filing for child custody in New Jersey.
New Jersey Common Child Custody Questions
How do I file for custody of my child?
What type of custody is right for my family?
What is the difference between custody and visitation?
What are the custody laws for unmarried parents?
What should I expect during a custody battle?
How does a family court decide custody?
How do you prove a parent to be unfit?
Can we change custody or visitation arrangements?
How do I find the right custody attorney in NJ?
The Law Offices of Jef Henninger, Esq. fields a successful team of hardworking New Jersey family court pros. Our child custody lawyers know the ins and outs of the NJ family court system, and will deploy the best strategies in order to get your family back on track. Call us at 1-855-9-JEFLAW any time to discuss your case during a free consultation.
Seeking custody after divorce brings up many questions for your lawyer.
New Jersey Child Custody Lawyers
New Jersey Child Custody
When most people call a lawyer for custody issues in New Jersey, they are generally speaking about physical custody. Fighting over legal custody is rarely an issue but it does happen. Click here to learn more about legal custody. The focus of any custody battle in New Jersey will be the best interests of the child. We say custody battle because our attorneys approach every case as if it is a battle. Fortunately, some cases can be resolved without resorting to expensive litigation through mediation and negotiation. However, our team of tough, smart New Jersey custody lawyers have found that the preparation done for a custody battle can often convince the other side to settle the case in our client’s favor.
Gone are the days where the gender of the parent will play a key part in the Court’s decision. Instead, the Court’s decision will be based upon evidence and argument. Thus, having a team of NJ custody attorneys to bring the evidence together and make the tough arguments can vastly improve your chances of getting the result you want. Our child custody lawyers are objective and we will never just tell you what you want to hear. This policy does cost us business as prospective clients will skip us and call other attorneys who will yes them to death. We would rather not have those clients as we would be doing a huge disservice to them if we did not give it to them straight.
The start of your custody case will depend on the status of the case itself. Is this child custody case just starting out due to a divorce, separation or the birth of the child? Are you seeking to change custody by filing a motion in Superior Court? Or are you switching attorneys in the middle of a custody battle already in progress? While the start of your relationship with us will depend on the status of the case, one thing will not change: we need to come up with a battle plan right away. If there are roadblocks in the case, we need to come up with a plan to move them out of the way. Once out of the way, we can go on offense and fight to get the custody arrangement that you want.
Call us anytime to discuss your custody matter and how our team of NJ child custody lawyers can help you.
NJ Child Custody Attorneys 