I’ve written extensively about how the law looks as pets — basically as property. The NJ Supreme Court had another opportunity to revisit this concept. The outcome: pets are still property. The case is Samolyk v. Berthe III. Defendant’s dog fell into...
It’s no secret that the COVID pandemic has delayed all kinds of trials in NJ state courts. The courts were generally closed for the last two years and several counties either remain closed or are still holding trials via Zoom. In addition to COVID, the courts...
The court aspect of divorce can be a very daunting process. With COVID, one aspect of it has been made easier: filing. You can now do that online from the comfort of your home. Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) allows non-attorneys to file documents with...
How does the law look at pets? Pets are owned by 68% of Americans. Traditionally, many cases have stated that pets are property, just like the couch the pets sleeps on. This offends the many people who think of their pets as children, as a part of the family. The...
Before civil unions, same sex couples could enter into a formal arrangement through New Jersey’s Domestic Partnership (DPA) Act/law. The DPA gave certain rights and obligations to the couple entering the domestic partnership. In 2007, NJ enacted a Civil Union...
In September 2016, an NJ trial court opined (in an unpublished opinion) on proper parental conduct at the sporting events of their children. In the case of D.W. v. M.W. (FV-15-1025-16, Ocean County — a domestic violence case), the estranged wife asked for an...
A mediated divorce often costs less than 1/3rd of a litigated divorce
Mediation can finalize a divorce in much less time than litigation -- months versus years
You lose none of your rights by mediating
Mediation is confidential
Make decisions about your future for yourself
Parties are more satisfied with terms they agree to in mediation than terms imposed by a court
Agreements obtained through mediation are far less likely to end up back in court
Mediation is a forward-looking process (where do you go from here)
Mediation can be used to resolve many types of disputes, including the dissolutions of gay and lesbian (same-sex) relationships, civil unions, domestic partnerships and commercial and community disputes
Mediation allows you to get on with your life more quickly
