If you are the parent of a disabled child who will soon be 18 and who will never be able to care for himself or herself, you may want to consider guardianship. Learn more at this free webinar presented by South Jersey Legal Services. Registration is required here....
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A recent story in The New York Times reported that in Michigan a couple who had a surrogate carry their biological twins are being forced to adopt their own children following their births. The twins are their full, genetic children, meaning the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg were used to conceive. They have no genetic relationship to the gestational carrier, but, under Michigan law, she is nevertheless considered their legal parent. Michigan law does not recognize the genetic parents as the legal parents of these children at birth. As a result, this couple must now go through the entire,...
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For the people of New Jersey and around the world, the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has turned the world upside down. We’ve never seen anything like this in our lives. The uncertainty created by global shutdowns, unemployment, and even having to stand in line for toilet paper would be a heavyweight to bear for anyone. For those living in a struggling marriage, the stress exacerbated by “shelter-in-place” orders can be the tipping point. If you are considering divorce or facing family law matters including alimony, child support, custody, or grandparent’s rights, you may have questions. You might be wondering what you should do now? Are the...
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Does divorce have to be a financial and emotional nightmare? Do parents have to “go at” one another, destroying any chance at having a workable co-parenting relationship in the years following the divorce? There are options. Divorce, from a legal perspective, involves only children and finances (support and division of property and debt). From a human perspective, divorce involves a massive upheaval of one’s life. While the legal system must ignore the emotions of divorce, they are often the driving factors that keep parents getting divorced from settling. Once a case is settled and an agreement is signed, all a judge...
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I wrote the following article several years ago and was reminded of it again while watching the moving “A Marriage Story.” Watching Laura Dern’s character (Nora) manipulate Scarlett Johansson’s character (Nicole) was extremely uncomfortable. She exhibited a trait that I have, unfortunately, witnessed of colleagues throughout my career, maternalism/paternalism. All too often, divorce lawyers take a paternalistic/maternalistic approach toward their clients and act as if they know what is best for their clients. Nora never really listened to Nicole, she heard bits and pieces of what she was saying and took control; she decided what she believed was best for...
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For many years, judges, lawyers and mediators have referred to a fictional “rule of thumb” for determining alimony. In mediations, many clients have told me that their lawyer said this is the way alimony is calculated. In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about a new “rule of thumb” for calculating alimony now that alimony is no longer taxable. CLE presenters generally begin presentations on this topic with a disclaimer that there is no case, statute, or rule which establishes a formula for calculating alimony. Yet, it seems that everyone in the family law community, including...
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BorgerMatez congratulates BetterWayDivorce (South Jersey Collaborative Divorce Professionals) for being featured among the 2019 Nonprofit Stars by South Jersey Biz....
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An old and rather trite joke goes like this: “Why is divorce so expensive?” Answer: “Because it’s worth it.” While the punchline may not be appreciated or humorous to some, there is an ounce of honesty in any joke, even this one. Because the truth is, whether it was a mutual decision, or the decision was made for you, when divorce is the only option, divorce really is the only option....
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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1, divorce rates in New Jersey are among the lowest nationwide. With the exception of people over the age of 50, who are getting divorced more often than younger couples, divorce rates in New Jersey have continued to drop over the last five years. 2 Overall, statistics reveal that divorce rates have declined over the past 10 years or so, but still almost 40% of all marriages end in divorce....
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by Bruce P. Matez, Esq., APM I was recently referred by a mental health professional to read a book called “Splitopia”. While searching for it, I came across a website established by the author, Wendy Paris. While I haven’t had a chance to read the book yet, I read her article, Happily Ever, After We Split in the NY Times. I am lucky that I have...
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