Excellent law guidance New Jersey, US from Sandy Ferner? What Is Mediation Parenting? Mediation is an excellent alternative to litigation in many areas of divorce and post-divorce matters. Many people think that mediation is mostly used for financial matters and don’t really think about mediation for custody and parenting time matters. I think that mediation is the perfect forum to discuss and resolve parenting time and custody issues whether that’s in a divorce or post-divorce. The best thing about mediation for parenting time and custody issues is that the mediator and the parties can work together in an environment outside the courtroom that focuses on the best interests of the children. Except in extreme circumstances, most parents want what is best for their child. Sometimes they just have a problem reaching those goals, and sometimes their emotions get in the way of clear thinking. See more details about John Sandy Ferner.
Legal tip today with Sandy Ferner : Recently a person reached out to us and wanted to know, “How do I file for child support if my spouse or other parent of my child lives in another state?” If you are the parent that the child is currently living with, you can file for child support in the state where you are currently living. If the other party lives out of state, then you will have to serve the other party with whatever application you are filing. There are different ways of filing the applications, but in certain circumstances the courts will assist you in having those papers served on the other party. If you have an attorney, you can also use them to help you with that service process. There are companies that are process serving companies and also sheriff’s officers that can assist with having those documents served on the other party, even if they’re out of state.
Anytime somebody loses their life due to the careless, negligent, or intentional actions of another person or entity, the family member or personal representative of the deceased may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit in order to recover compensation. These cases can become immensely complicated, but family members deserve to have some sort of compensation and closure for their losses. Wrongful death claims arise in various ways, including vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, defective product incidents, and more.
After the lawsuit is filed, the creditor will hire a constable or private process server whose job is to deliver a copy of the lawsuit to you (this process is what is referred to as ‘being served’). The constable or private process server will usually be looking for you at your last known address. Occasionally they will attempt to serve you are your place of employment. If the constable or private process server cannot find you to serve you (for example, if they have an incorrect or outdated address or if you are at work each time they come by), the lawyers may ask the judge for permission to serve you by another method – such as leaving the lawsuit at your house with anyone over the age of 16 or affixing the lawsuit to your door.
Presuming that there is no justifiable or reality-based reason why that parent cannot see the children – it’s not an abuse situation, there’s not a neglect situation, there’s nothing like that – just a refusal by one parent to allow the other parent to see the children and that refusal is unreasonable, then we need to rectify that quickly. We may need to get the court involved quickly and file an application to have immediate parenting time with the children. Whatever that schedule looks like, we would have to talk about it – if it’s overnights, if it’s 50/50, and what that means – and we’re going to have to get into court really fast to have a judge address this quickly. The last thing you want to do is let that go on or prolong that because then you get stuck in the situation of, “You let this go on for too long. You didn’t really want to see the kids, and now you’re coming back and you want to see them.”
State v. Laura Gonzalez (A-47-20) (085132): Justice Albin concurred in this decision. His concern in this case was the officer’s use of lies and trickery in order to get the defendant to admit to fracturing the baby’s limb during interrogation. Detective Reyes had told the defendant, Laura Gonzalez that there are surveillance cameras in the house and they captured when she hurt the child. Gonzalez was told by Detective Reyes is better off telling the truth about the baby’s injuries. This was not the truth as there were no cameras in the house and telling her that the truth will help her out. According to Justice Albin, the detective’s statements “contravene the Miranda warnings.” Additionally, Gonzalez asked “But now what do I do about an attorney?” and the detective replied that “That is your decision. I can’t give you an opinion about anything.” In another case State v. Reed, 133 N.J. 237, 253 (1993), “A suspect need not be articulate, clear or explicit in requesting counsel; any indication of a desire for counsel, however ambiguous, will trigger entitlement to counsel.” Even if Detectives Reyes was not sure whether or not Gonzalez wanted counsel, she should have asked her to clarify. Since Detective Reyes did not ask to clarify and she did not stop questioning Gonzalez, the apology letter that she wrote to her employers and her confession that she injured the baby were excluded as evidence at trial.
