On December 22, 2017, the President signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. One big change in the act is that alimony payments are no longer tax deductible by the ex-spouse paying the alimony. According to the House Ways and Means Committee, which helped to draft the new tax laws, the ability to ...
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The Barker Chronicles
The Holidays are Over; Time to Start Thinking About the Holidays!
One of the most contentious issues of divorce is holiday parenting time. Usually parenting time for the holidays and vacations supersede the regular access schedule. Typically parents agree without difficulty on a parenting time schedule and will alternate holiday parenting time. So for example if ...
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Prior to Getting Married, Think About What Could Happen in the Event of a Divorce
About five years ago a friend informed me that her son was getting married in two months and invited me to the wedding. I told her congratulations and that I would be happy to attend. Knowing her son was in his second year in law school and that his fiancé was not currently enrolled in school I ...
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Everything Old is New Again – Why the Prenup is Gaining Popularity
We may think the prenuptial agreement ("prenup") is a new tool used by matrimonial lawyers to help minimize the risk involved in a divorce. However, prenups are ancient and were used throughout history to protect the rights of women. For example, in the Jewish faith the prenup is called the ...
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You Cannot Take a Position in a Divorce Proceeding Contrary to the One You Took in Tax Returns
Most married couples do not live their lives under the assumption that they will someday divorce. Even couples who are having difficulty in their marriages tend to believe that their problems will work out and they will remain married. As a result, spouses, when filing joint tax returns, usually ...
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New Case Makes a Significant Change in New Jersey Child Relocation Laws
The vast majority of family law cases settle before going to trial. In order to settle a case, both parties must negotiate in good faith and both parties and their lawyers must provide adequate disclosure to the other party. If it is later found out that one of the parties was not forthcoming, the ...
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Hell Has No Fury Like a Husband Scorned
An Appellate Court in North Carolina ruled in a recent case that a husband, Marc Malecek, can go ahead with suing the doctor, Derek Williams, who had an affair with his wife, Amber Malecek. According to Marc, Derek "lured" Amber, a nurse, into having an affair. Marc claimed Amber would not have ...
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When is a Child “Emancipated?”
Parents are expected to support their children until they are "emancipated." When a parent seeks to have a court declare a child emancipated, the court will makes its decision based on the settled definition in that state. In New Jersey, emancipation occurs when "a parent relinquishes the right ...
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The Presumption of Legitimacy Has Gone Way past its Sell by Date
At one time if a child was born outside of the marriage, the child was considered illegitimate. An illegitimate child had no rights to his father's name. He could not inherit from his father, could not get support from his father and to the eyes of the world the child was less than a child who was ...
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The Application of Some Precedents May Lead to Unfair Results
In a recent case out of Texas, a man, Gabriel Cornejo, was ordered to pay 16 years of back child support for his ex-girlfriend's child even though the man was not the biological father of the child. Indeed, the man had never even met the child before being served papers for child support and he ...
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