The Barker Chronicles

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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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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This year my young son and I decided that we were going to grow cherry tomatoes.  Together, we went to the garden center, chose the tomato plants and purchased the pots and soil.  We then planted and tended them.  When we got our first crop, a handful of delicious tomatoes, we tasted them.  He ...

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Besides preventing a litigant from filing additional motions without the prior permission of a court, the court can also sanction a litigant and or his/her attorney that engages in vexatious or frivolous conduct.  That is what happened in 20-2-3688 Doblin v. Doblin, N.J. Super. App. Div. (per ...

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For the vast majority of clients a divorce is an unpleasant experience.  Most clients divorce as fast as possible, execute a settlement agreement, and put the agreement away in a drawer and never look at it again. However, for a small minority, the actual divorce is just the warm-up for many ...

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Since I lead a very busy life, I usually have summer activities planned three months in advance. Things do not always go as planned, but with the blueprint, I ensure that the most important things will get done.  As the saying goes, "Those who fail to plan; plan to fail." This is also true for ...

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In most legal proceedings the person initiating the lawsuit (the "plaintiff") has the burden of giving the person being sued (the "defendant") notice that he or she is being sued. Courts, especially in divorce cases, are so deeply concerned that the defendant has had all opportunity to find out ...

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Seven counties in New York have just launched a pilot program whereby a person alleging abuse can get a temporary order of protection via Skype. In order to qualify, victims seeking orders of protection must meet certain criteria to prove that they are afraid to come to court and face their ...

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Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam died in April  under tragic circumstances. Since 2013, she sat on the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court. I never appeared before Judge Abdus- Salaam, but I knew her because she had a firm commitment to giving back to others.  I first met Judge Abdus-Salaam, ...

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After nearly 20 years of studying family law and practicing matrimonial, divorce and family law, it has been my experience that one of the biggest stressors leading to divorce is money woes. If a couple is experiencing issues with money due to job loss, mental or physical illness, addiction or ...

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