Blog Archives
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.
Passaic County Child Custody Lawyers help client defeat motion to change custody
Passaic County Child Custody Lawyers help client defeat motion to change custody
Tracy B.
This client made a real mess out of her situation. She had been handling her case without an attorney for years and she made a lot of wrong moves that could have cost her custody of her children. The father sought to change custody and to remove the children to another state. In addition to dating a boyfriend that was a sex offender, the client also had DYFS (now DCPP) involvement and was alleged to have a drug problem. Nevertheless, our lawyers fought back hard against the motion and it was completely defeated. The father stormed out of court in anger.
This once again shows that this firm handles both sides of custody matters.
Gloucester County Child Custody Attorney helps client win parenting time motion
T.M. Gloucester County Child Custody Motion
In this case, the client was facing a motion from the father of the child for increased visitation in Gloucester County Superior Court (Woodbury). She was very nervous because she wanted to protect the child from the father. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do but we assured her that if we fought the case hard and shut it down, she could then be in complete control of the parenting time schedule instead of having it forced upon her. This allows her to protect her child much better since the father had a history of drug use, unstable housing and criminal activity. While it involved a lot of work, we were able to shut down the father’s motion for increased visitation.
If you have a child custody issue that you need help with, call the team of tough, smart Gloucester County Child Custody Lawyers today.
Union County Child Custody Lawyer helps Father keep custody of child
V.C. – Union County Child Custody Case
In this case, both parents were fighting over custody of their young child. The parties were not married and they had never been to court before. Due to some of the mother’s mental health issues, the father claimed custody of the child when the parties broke up. Popular thinking is that fathers cannot get custody of young children. Our Union County Child Custody Lawyers were confident going in to the court appearance that we would be able to maintain the father as the primary custody of the child. However, when the mother showed up with her own lawyer, who is clearly a top Child Custody Lawyer, we knew that this was going to be a knock down, drag out fight. It is rare to see a case with two child custody lawyers in a FD case in Union County. After arguing the case in front of the judge, the court sides with our lawyers and the father was awarded physical custody of the child. Our lawyers were also successful in making sure that the mother’s parenting time was supervised.
Don’t let someone tell you that fathers cannot get custody of children in New Jersey. It is possible. Call our Union County Child Custody Lawyers today to discuss your case.
Bergen County Child Custody Attorney ends long custody war in favor of client
A.F.
Bergen County
This case was the battle that would never end but it also proved that this firm never backs down. We were the fifth law firm on the case. Most lawyers will never be the second lawyer on a case, let alone the third, fourth or fifth. While we are skeptical about being the fifth law firm on a case, we never take such hard positions and we are thankful we didn’t do that here. This client wound up being one of our best clients ever. This case went on for five years and we really got to know the client, the child and her family. It was a blessing to be involved in their lives.
In addition to being the fifth law firm in the case, this case was tough because the other side had one of the best law firms in the state. They were relentless in their pursuit for their client but we back down to no one. No one scares us. The case involved a father that had a number of mental health problems that posed a danger to a special needs child with very severe health problems. Despite all of his challenges and setbacks, the child was a sweetheart and we fought hard for him and our client. The Court was against us from the start. It didn’t help that the client made a number of outbursts prior to our involvement with the case.
After about a year into the case, we filed a motion so big it weighed several pounds. In the end, it was denied but we filed an appeal. The Appellate Division heard oral argument and we battled back the panel of judges that questioned us on the case. The other side was very confident that we would lose. Of course, we won. We then set the case up for a trial. We had some of the top experts in the state on our side and we continued the fight in advance of trial. These cases sometimes come down to a war of attrition and in this case, the other side caved in and we worked out a settlement some six years since the case began and five years since our involvement in the case. This was easily one of our favorite victories of all time both because of the hell we all went through and the sweet child that grew up in front of our eyes during the battle.
NJ Child Custody Attorneys 