Divorce Without the Drama
A Family Law Blog

Mediation is an excellent method of resolving a case, regardless of whether a settlement agreement is reached. Most divorce cases are resolved before going to trial To “settle” a case means to reach an official resolution of your dispute without ...

Learn More about this Alternative to Traditional Divorce

It happens all the time: a parent makes an accusation against the other parent and the court has to make a quick decision, based on limited information, on what to do with parenting time for the accused parent. It should be unsurprising that courts ...

Carolyn Daly, founder and Managing Partner of Daly & Associates was sworn in as the Vice President of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) on Thursday, June 10 in a virtual swearing-in ceremony. Ms. Daly, ...

Courts in New Jersey try to help parties resolve their divorce at several different stages of the litigation. There is Custody and Parenting Mediation, Case Management Conferences with parties and counsel, the Early Settlement Panel (ESP), and ...

Why the New Stimulus Bill is Set to Cause Headaches for Divorced Parents. By Carolyn Daly, Esq., Founder and Managing Partner of Daly & Associates, LLC with help from special guest contributor Barbara Bel, CPA The new stimulus bill sounds like a ...

Says Parents Must be Notified of Underage Marijuana/Alcohol Offenses Normally, you equate the government with “deadlock,” “slow-moving,” or “red tape,” but not this time. After hearing an outcry from the public about new rules that ...

In one of our prior posts, we discussed the importance of the Early Settlement Panel (ESP) and how the panelists can help you resolve your case. However, not all cases successfully resolve at ESP. If your case doesn’t resolve, what comes next? If ...

After years of talk, it has finally happened: marijuana is legal in New Jersey. On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed three different bills that, together, both legalized marijuana and addressed previous charges and convictions relating ...

Are kids allowed to use marijuana or drink alcohol? It may be easier than you think. After years of talk, it has finally happened: marijuana is legal in New Jersey. On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed three different bills that, ...

New laws change the past, present, and future in New Jersey After years of talk, it has finally happened: marijuana is legal in New Jersey. On February 22, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed three different bills that, together, both legalized ...

What if parents disagree on whether or not to give their children the vaccine? A few of our clients have begun to reach out to ask the question: What happens if my ex and I disagree about whether our child(ren) should receive the COVID-19 ...

Once discovery has been completed, or in some cases, largely completed, the court will schedule your case for an Early Settlement Panel (ESP). The panelists are experienced family lawyers who have no involvement in the case, but serve in counties ...

If you have minor children and custody is at issue in your divorce (or in cases where the parties were not married), the court has a number of services available to parents to attempt to help them determine a custody and parenting time plan that ...

The Parent Education Program is a mandatory program for litigants with children to attend. Both litigants are required, by statute, to attend the program, but are scheduled for different dates. It takes place at the courthouse, or via Zoom or ...

First, the other party is served with the Complaint for Divorce or Acknowledges the Complaint for Divorce and files a responsive pleading; an Answer, an Appearance, or an Answer and Counterclaim for Divorce.  If they don’t answer, a default can ...

The job of a Custody Evaluator is to make a determination regarding the best interests of the child. Depending on the facts of your case, an evaluator’s determination regarding the “best interests” may include whether a party should have sole ...

Since the pandemic began, the backlog of cases in the New Jersey court system has more than doubled. Case backlogs are growing fastest in the Family Part. According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, which monitors this data, the backlog in ...

Do you have a “sexting” partner? If so, the Appellate Division says you could be in a “Dating Relationship” under the NJ Prevention of Domestic Violence Act Want to obtain a restraining order in New Jersey? The appellate division made that ...

With the onset of COVID-19 and Governor Murphy’s stay-at-home order, the court system has had to implement a number of procedures and protocols in order to allow courts to continue functioning while we all continue to social distance. Although ...