Category: Family Law

Brick and Sea Girt Attorneys Offer Virtual Consultations to Serve Clients

We leverage technology to meet the needs of our clients, by providing dynamic, client-focused representation in Family Law matters

As the world comes to terms with the spread of the coronavirus, countless New Jersey citizens asked to practice “social-distancing” and “shelter in place” are in dire need of legal services, and are finding it challenging to find experienced and flexible legal counsel able to meet their unique needs amid the growing pandemic. Attorneys prepared for what is in many ways a new legal landscape know that in this digital age, it’s possible to provide legal services in a safe and convenient way without compromising on quality.

At The Bronzino Law Firm, LLC, located in Brick, New Jersey, we believe legal services should be accessible at everyone’s fingertips and clients should be able to get the services of an attorney even without an initial physical meeting. We leverage technology to meet the needs of our clients, by providing dynamic, client-focused representation in Family Law matters (i.e., Alimony and Spousal Support, Child Support, Child Custody, Domestic Violence, Criminal Charges, and Municipal Court summons, Real-Estate ventures, and Wills, Trusts & Estates). We understand and believe that each client is different, with distinctive needs and goals, and as such, unique strategies must be crafted for each case in order to favorably settle them for our clients.

Our lawyers are prepared to protect your rights and are ready to arrange convenient, virtual meetings via Skype, WhatsApp video, FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangout, Clio Connect or Legaler to discuss how we can best support you and meet your legal needs.

How Do I Schedule a Virtual Legal Consultation with a Bronzino Law Firm Attorney?

From the comfort of your home or office and with the convenience of your smartphone, laptop or tablet, you can arrange to speak with a lawyer from The Bronzino Law Firm, LLC, to answer your legal questions or issues. If you would like to speak with an attorney about your case in a free and confidential consultation today, you can:

1) Contact us online or

2) Call our Brick or Sea Girt offices at (732) 812-3102 or

3) Direct Message (DM) us over Twitter or Facebook or Linkedin

To schedule a call and free 20-minute virtual consultation/meet up to discuss your family law needs. During the consultation feel free to ask questions, as we will discuss the best plan to protect your rights and future going forward.

We believe in keeping our clients informed and involved in the legal process and are prepared to use various technologies in order to do so. By having up-to-date and detailed information about your case, you can make the best possible decisions for your family’s future.

CONTACT A BRICK, NJ FAMILY LAW LAWYER

Serving Families across Monmouth County and Ocean County towns including Neptune, Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Toms River, Brick, Asbury Park, Wall and more

Across all areas of Family Law, our lawyers can answer your questions today. Our attention to detail and priority to the attorney-client relationship often leads to outcomes that are both beneficial and personalized to the individual needs and concerns of our clients and their families. Our experienced attorneys work to resolve legal conflicts outside of the courtroom when possible, but will never hesitate to aggressively litigate and defend our clients’ legal rights when necessary.

Call our Brick or Sea Girt Bronzino Law, LLC office at (732) 812-3102 for a free and confidential virtual consultation today to discuss your unique needs, concerns, or situation when it comes to any kind of family law matter.

Divorce or Legal Separation Agreement? Consult a Brick and Sea Girt Family Lawyer Today

How to decide whether separation or reconciliation is the correct move to make? Learn more about divorce in NJ, so that your next steps can be informed.

The process of choosing whether to divorce or legally separate from your spouse, or dissolve a domestic partnership, is a trying one. There are many factors to take into consideration, both personal and financial. How does one decide whether separation or reconciliation is the correct move to make? And once the decision to separate has been made, what is the best route to take for the individual and the family? Before making a decision, educating oneself about New Jersey laws surrounding divorce is an important step.

Continue reading to learn more about divorce in New Jersey, so that your next steps can be informed.

What is the difference between divorce and legal separation?

In New Jersey, divorce and legal separation are considered different. When one is filing for divorce in New Jersey, they must file a complaint with the County Clerk’s Office of the county in which you live or work. New Jersey law does not require that you provide a reason for the request to file for divorce other than irreconcilable differences; however, depending upon the nature of the separation, the filer may provide a different reason.

There is no need for a judge’s permission in order to legally separate. As such, a couple deciding to legally separate can simply draft a separation agreement, which is legally binding until a divorce is finalized or until reconciliation occurs. A separation agreement is a document drawn up privately between you and your spouse, or with the support of an attorney, which addresses how certain aspects of the marital life will be handled until a more permanent set of terms in a divorce is finalized, or until reconciliation is reached. Such aspects of a separation agreement include

distribution of marital costs such as mortgage and other bills
temporary alimony
distribution and management of shared assets
temporary child custody and parenting time agreements
financial child support

If even in the presence of a professional mediator or attorney, no terms of a legal separation agreement can be reached, the couple can approach the New Jersey Superior Court Family Part to request temporary orders regarding such issues as child support and custody. Once a legal separation agreement is signed and notarized or the court issues a temporary order, the terms are legally binding.

Why choose legal separation over divorce?

A divorce is a final act. If a couple is considering or holds the hope of future reconciliation, but it is clear that legal support for separation is required to handle shared assets and parenting roles, a legal separation may be the correct next step to take. New Jersey, unlike some other states, does not require a period of separation before divorce, and the state also does not require that a separation be legalized. A couple is free to separate for as temporary or permanent a period as desired, and they may do so while remaining legally married, with no additional legally-binding agreement.

However, the court system acknowledges what any couple going through separation knows to be true – during this emotionally, mentally, and perhaps financially trying time, having the support of standardized agreements can make all the difference. As such, legal devices are in place in New Jersey through legal separation agreements to create containers for the transitional expectations as they relate to marital assets, children, and other important aspects of a couple’s shared life.

By being able to rely on separation agreements, separating spouses and their families are able to undergo the emotional work required at this time and align themselves with the future without the worry that some essential element of the shared life will be laid by the wayside or misappropriated during this time. Joint assets, accounts, shared debts, and child support payments, as well as alimony coverage, smooth out potential conflict.

A legal separation agreement must be signed by both spouses. Therefore, if one partner refuses to sign or provide child support payments, coming to a legal separation agreement is not possible. In this case, the spouse would need to file a complaint with the Superior Court of New Jersey, seeking temporary child custody, child support, and/or parenting time in the absence of a legal filing for divorce.

Talk to an Experienced Wall Township Divorce and Separation Attorney

At Bronzino Law Firm, our divorce attorneys are experienced in facilitating legal separation agreements between spouses and guiding the divorce process for our clients across Point Pleasant, Brick, Wall, Sea Girt, Spring Lake and the greater Ocean and Monmouth County Areas.

Our direct approach is intentionally designed to provide an amicable and just separation, reconciliation, or divorce for our clients and their families, so they can focus on a clear and healthy future.

To schedule a consultation with an experienced member of our firm today regarding your legal separation agreement or divorce, please fill out our online form or call us at (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

Life After Divorce: Tips from Monmouth and Ocean County Family Lawyers

Divorce Attorneys Guiding Clients through the Post Divorce Process in Brick, Sea Girt, Wall, Toms River and across the Jersey Shore

Divorce is an emotionally, mentally, and financially stressful time that can wreak havoc on the life of you and your family. Heart-wrenching considerations and actions litter the process, from making the decision to divorce instead of reconcile, to determining best next steps for yourself and your family, to engaging with attorneys representing you and your spouse and attempting to care for your emotional health as you parse through logistics of splitting the marital assets and determining child custody arrangements. Following the legal proceedings that result in a finalized divorce, when the majority of the mental and financial groundwork has been laid and it’s time to put it into practice, the emotional work of integrating this new change into your life really begins.

During the course of the divorce process and after, it is essential that you take your personal health into account and prioritize activities and routines that support your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Below is a list of ways to support you through the divorce and post-separation process, setting you up for an aligned path forward to your happiest future.

Staying Healthy After Divorce

Listen to your body

It has often been said that your body keeps the score. We don’t often realize that our consistent states of mind and emotion affect our biochemistry, including our hormones, our muscles, and our nervous system. When we experience stress in our lives, an ancient part of the brain called the amygdala, which is responsible for ensuring our survival and initiates the fight-or-flight stress response, is activated. This means that when we feel stressed, our body receives directives to be on guard for a life-threatening situation. We move through the world as if we are about to be attacked by a bear, and our bodies take on a chronic state of muscle tension, elevated stress hormones like cortisol flooding our system, and digestive and reproductive imbalance.
Getting into the habit of listening to your body and checking for symptoms of stress like tight shoulders or jaw, constipation or diarrhea, or headache can point to the need to take a step back and rest.

Rest more than usual

Getting eight hours of sleep per night is a long-held doctor’s recommendation that few of us follow in this day and age. However, because of the elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol that almost certainly accompanies divorce proceedings in all of its stages, the body needs extra time to recover its parasympathetic state of rest and digest.

Feel, from above

Emotions are energy in motion. When we are triggered by intense emotion, our thoughts often immediately go to a story that matches the ‘reason’ for that emotion. The thoughts, then,
generate a biochemical response that creates more of the same feeling, which encourages the thoughts, and off we go into a hamster wheel of downward spiraling distress. Waves of emotion after divorce are inevitable, as your whole being releases what no longer serves it and creates space for a new life. When an intense feeling comes, tune into your breath to stay present with right here and now, resisting the urge to follow the story that arises.
Feel the physical sensation of the emotion and the sensation of the breath moving through it, as if you are a curious child witnessing something in nature that you’ve never before experienced.

Eat the rainbow

Getting a vast array of nutrients through the form of a plant-based diet will help keep the body clean and detoxified, which can help detox your emotional and mental states, too. Drinking tons of water is also essential.

Move-in nature

Spending time with the elements is an ancient and wise practice. Tapping into the profound simplicity of the earth helps put your conflicts into a larger perspective and creates space for new inspiration and ideas to come through to you.
Exercising your body, also, is crucial at this time and reduces stress and inflammation while oxygenating the muscles and tissues to build strength, flexibility, and stamina on all levels.

Find community

As you move toward your new, more highly aligned life, surround yourself with people who are a positive and healthy influence on you. Seek the support of a New Jersey certified therapist if you need help processing the old relationship or separation, and then step fully into the path ahead with your chosen family.

Consult with a Wall Township Divorce Lawyer Today and Discuss Your Post Divorce Life Plans

At Bronzino Law Firm, our team of divorce attorneys supports our clients across Brick, Wall, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, and the greater Ocean and Monmouth County Areas in their transition to a new life initiated by a divorce.

Our approach is centered on facilitating a smooth and amicable divorce proceeding so our clients can focus on aligning themselves with their future, knowing that they are structurally and financially set up for success.

To speak to a member of our team about your divorce, please visit our online form or call us at (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

Challenging an Executor or Administrator of Estate Attorney in Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

After the owner of the estate has died, the executor is responsible for probating the owner’s last will and testament.

The process of finalizing payments and distributing a decedent’s assets after their death can be a long and drawn-out process. It involves many moving pieces that increase the potential of an error on the part of the estate’s executor. Is it possible to challenge the actions of an executor if you believe there to be an accidental or purposeful mistake that affects the decedent’s desired distribution of assets? Read on to learn more.

The executive’s role in the probation process

The executor, or administrator, of an estate in New Jersey, has a very specific role. After the owner of the estate has died, the executor is responsible for probating the owner’s last will and testament. Probation of a will is a court-supervised process in which the will is authenticated, the appointed executor posts a bond to serve as insurance in case they commit a grievous error, assets are inventoried, all debts owed are paid, taxes are filed and paid, and, finally, the estate’s assets are distributed.

What happens if an estate executive does not perform the duties for which they are legally responsible?

An executive is legally responsible for overseeing the probation process from start to finish. They have a fiduciary duty to all beneficiaries and involved third parties of the estate, meaning that it is their legal responsibility to ensure that the written desires of the decedent and the best interest of those involved are met. Any backroom dealing that advances their own best interests at the expense of the wishes of the decedent during the long course of the probation process is illegal. If an executor abuses their role or withholds information that affects proper distribution and settling of the estate, they are in breach of their fiduciary duty and can be legally removed from their position, and even face a lawsuit brought forth by the heirs.

According to New Jersey Revised Statutes Title 3B, an executor can be removed from their legal duties for the following reasons:

Neglect or refusal to file an inventory, render an account, or properly secure estate assets
Neglect or refusal to obey a court order or judgment within the specified time frame
Embezzlement or illegal misapplication of estate finances, or any other action that betrays the trust underlying their fiduciary duty
Inability to conduct the required business of estate probation
Neglect or refusal to collaborate with another legally appointed fiduciary in resolving estate matters

If an executor has been accused of one of the above actions, a judge will most certainly consider whether the continuation of that executor will mean a detriment to the proper settlement and interests of an estate. If the answer is yes, the judge will have grounds for removal. If a beneficiary or another involved party take personal issue with the manner in which the executor is handling the probation process, but the executor has not committed any illegal or detrimental act, the judge will not find grounds for removal. There must be clear evidence that one of the above breaches of fiduciary duty has occurred.

New Jersey is a probate friendly state

This means that, for most actions, the executor need not receive permission from the court to handle most settlement aspects of an estate. The court will only get involved if there is an alleged breach of the fiduciary duties laid out in the last will and testament and New Jersey law.

One of the most common examples of a breach of fiduciary duty is the improper accounting of the assets and finances settled. In order for beneficiaries to receive their inheritances, the court must receive proper accounting of all settlements. The required frequency of disclosures regarding the settlement, as well as the detail with which accounting must be disclosed, depending on the complexity and value of the estate assets, the estate’s tax liability, as well as the number of beneficiaries.

If the court finds that the executor or other appointed administrator has not satisfactorily completed accounting, beneficiaries can be kept in limbo. As such, beneficiaries can file a petition that requests a court order for accounting. If the executive is not able to provide proper accounting under the court order, they will be removed as executive.

Consult a Wall Township Estate Planning and Administration Lawyer Today

At Bronzino Law Firm, our estate attorneys are experienced in guiding the settlement needs of our clients across Point Pleasant, Brick, Wall, Sea Girt, Spring Lake and the greater Ocean and Monmouth County Areas.

To connect with an experienced member of our firm today regarding your loved one’s last will and testament, please visit our online form or call us at (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

International Women´s Day 2020: “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights”

Family Law Attorney in Ocean County, New Jersey joins this worldwide celebration

International Women’s Day takes place on March 8, 2020. This year’s theme is “I Am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.” The theme and focus of the 2020 International Women’s Day events align with the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is being honored with a new United Nations campaign called Generation Equality, highlighting multigenerational women’s rights.

The 2020 International Women’s Day theme, I Am Generation Equality, is, according to its official website, developed from the notion of “collective individualism.” This means that, as parts of a whole, we are each microcosm of the macrocosm. Our individual actions have a ripple effect out in society. When we align our thoughts, words, actions, and investment votes with gender equality, we become a coherent microcosm of a truly responsible whole. The campaign has adopted the social media hashtag #eachforequal to remind us all that our individual impact is huge when we think, speak, and act in a way that is in alignment with the change we wish to see in the world.

The I Am Generation Equality 2020 theme hones in on an aspect of gender rights that has seen substantial growth over the course of the last century, and specifically in the past 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action outlined specific areas of development in its 1995 conference. According to the United Nations Development Program, the world has seen vast improvements in the treatment and outcomes of women:

maternal mortality has fallen by 38 percent since 2000 (2017 data)
more girls are attending school than ever in the history
more countries have equal numbers of girls and boys enrolling

However, while great strides have been made in gender equality consciousness and systemic development, there still exist gaps in gender rights. The United Nations Development Program reported that violence against women and girls remains high, and in a study on social norms found that 86 percent of women and 90 percent of men still have a gender bias against women. Votes internationally are cast evenly by women and men, but roles of power are disproportionately held by men.

The 2020 theme for International Women’s Day, I Am Generation Equality, focuses on bringing people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities together to mobilize against such predominating dynamics globally as gender-based violence and economic injustice on the basis of gender. By uniting globally across all generations, we can change systems to ensure reproductive and health rights, technology for gender equality, and shatter the glass ceiling so that women can thrive in politics like their male counterparts. It is a vision that is accomplished one small action at a time.

International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time in 1909 in New York City, then called “National Women’s Day.” By the following year in 1910, there were Women’s Day celebrations organized around the world, from Austria and Denmark to Germany. Celebration of International Women’s Day blossomed with the suffragist movement and other social reforms and has become a central facet of the international women’s movement.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is considered the most progressive blueprint for advancing women’s rights. Originally developed at the 4th World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995, it was developed as an agenda with a vision of the future for the empowerment of women. Over the course of several weeks of discussion, debate, interchange of best practices learned throughout history among 189 world government representatives, an action plan was developed highlighting 12 central aspects of focus for the development of equal women’s rights in the world:

Poverty
Education
Health
Violence against women
Armed conflict
Economy
Exercise of power and adoption of decisions
Institutional mechanisms to advance women
Human rights
Distribution methods
Environment
Girl children

International Women’s Day is a veritable support in the movement to turn gender inequality on its head. The 2020 campaign is specifically focused on championing women leading technological innovation, celebrating women athletes, cutting through systemic and subtler exclusivities in the workplace, increasing health education for women, and supporting women’s capacity to earn on their own terms. By raising awareness of these and other current states of business and health as it relates to women, we can move toward a more just world together.

Contact Us At Our Brick Or Sea Girt Office Locations

At Peter J. Bronzino Law Office, we care and will do our best to defend women´s rights. To discuss any family law matter you may be facing with our attorneys today in a comprehensive and confidential case assessment, please contact us online, or through our Brick, NJ office at (732) 812-3102.

College Tuition and Divorce Lawyers Sea Girt and Brick NJ

New Jersey law stipulates that both parents are legally obliged to share the cost of college tuition for their child.

There are many things to consider when going through the process of divorce. In addition to navigating the splitting of assets and tending to the emotional and financial upheaval that the end of a partnership can immediately cause, one must consider long-term agreements between the separating spouses, including alimony and child custody payments. When children are involved in a divorce, the skilled support of a divorce attorney is essential, because they ensure that the financial well being of their clients and the highest benefit of the children are protected in a divorce. This includes coming to an agreement on a fair division of college expenses for their children, no matter how young the children are at the time of divorce. So how is college tuition cost split in a divorce?

New Jersey law stipulates that both parents are legally obliged to share the cost of college tuition for their child. This includes the responsibility to share both the base tuition and any additional room, board, and material costs. A spouse’s financial capacity will determine what their required contribution will be; if they are able to work at all, they will be required to contribute.

Many New Jersey parents wonder why there is a legal requirement that parents must support a child in college when the legal age of emancipation in New Jersey is 19 years old. In February 2017, New Jersey clarified its laws on emancipation of a minor to state that a child is considered legally emancipated at the age of 19 unless

they require continued support from a parent due to a documented mental or physical disability
they are still attending high school or a technical school, or they are enrolled full-time in a university undergraduate or graduate program
there is an existing court-ordered child support agreement that specifies a different age

Given the above, New Jersey courts will hold you as a parent accountable for financially supporting your dependent child through college according to a fair child support arrangement with your spouse. When the child turns 23, parents are no longer legally obliged to support their financial needs.

How is financial responsibility determined?

Legal financial responsibility for tuition and college support costs are generally determined during the divorce proceedings and are based on each spouse’s current income and projected income at the time the child will be in college. Because college tuition obligations are separate from child support obligations, they require an additional process with the support of each spouse’s divorce attorney. This process is often much more nuanced than the assets splitting and other divorce proceedings, and the legally binding agreement is often drawn up out of court with divorce attorneys or a mediator. When the college tuition support agreement is finalized within the court system, the judge takes into consideration the following factors:

the amount needed for a child’s college tuition and room/board
each parent’s financial capacity to cover said costs
the financial resources of each parent in general
any financial resources of the child, in the form of trust, etc.
the availability of financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, or loans

If parents have the financial capacity to contribute to the child’s higher education, New Jersey courts will almost definitely require them to do so. Other more nuanced factors such as the family’s educational history that may point to their view of higher education as a cornerstone of a healthy, successful adulthood may sway a judge to order that they contribute.

Before considering contributions, a judge will look to whether the parents have set up a custodial account that is specifically designed to house higher education costs and paid into over the course of the child’s youth. In the case that there is one, the judge will assume that those funds will be drawn from first before determining contribution requirements.

Because New Jersey is a progressive state as it relates to the higher education of its younger citizens, it is generally difficult for parents to evade solid contributions. In the case that a divorced spouse has become estranged from their child due to forceful removal – for example, the other spouse refusing visitation despite efforts, they may have a stronger case in court to lessen the financial contribution they are required to make, shifting the responsibility of tuition coverage to the custodial parent.

Consult a Family Law Attorney with Offices in Brick and Sea Girt NJ

Peter J. Bronzino, our divorce attorney is experienced in guiding the divorce and custody proceedings of our clients Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey in all related matters.

Our direct approach handles communication with all involved parties and represents the best interests of our clients and their children for an amicable separation, so our clients can orient themselves toward their future.

To connect with an experienced member of our firm today regarding your divorce, please contact us online or through our Brick offices at (732) 812-3102.

Divorce Attorneys Help Successfully Navigate your Post-Divorce Process Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

See the following tips to help you usher in this new chapter in your life with strength, ease, and grace.

If you are going through or recently went through a divorce, you know that the process takes its toll on the mental, emotional, and physical body. Even after the proceedings are over, the transition period from separated to divorced can drive a wrench into the sense of stability and wellbeing and resilience one has. During and after the process of divorce, it is essential that you prioritize your personal health, so that your vessel can support you through the transition from one embodied and experienced life to a brand new one. Trust that this period is much like being a caterpillar in a chrysalis: it is dark and uncomfortable and you don’t know what is on the other side, but your true unfolding and highest happiness are preparing itself for you in perfect time. See the following tips to help you usher in this new chapter in your life with strength, ease, and grace.

Slow and steady: let your body lead the way.

The body is an excellent gauge of our emotional and mental state. It is also the last aspect of ourselves to show sustainable change, as it holds the baggage of past action. Even when we have changed our mental habits and cleared out stuck emotional energy through practices like yoga and therapy, our bodies take a while longer to embody (!) the life-realignment. Take it easy on yourself during your transition process, holding space for what arises. Know that you will not hear the answers to deeper questions like what went wrong and what is next until it’s time, and seeking only slows the process by separating us from the wisdom our bodies are ready to share if we’re ready to listen. Let your body be the main guide in determining rest levels, exercise routines, and even daily agenda.

Lean into the feelings.

Just like the physical body is the house of much wisdom, the emotional body will show you where old wounds have you stuck. It is important to know that emotions are normal, and when we notice their arrival into our bodies and minds from the space of the witness – without following the story – we can learn where that stuck energy resides and breathe into it with a patient, loving awareness. It’s like the parent in us is hugging a child who got scared.

Eat healthily

The body needs nutrient-rich fuel, especially while cortisol (stress) levels are high. Bring balance to your hormonal and immune system during this time of heightened stress by hydrating and eating a diverse array of fruits and vegetables to clean and replenish your system. The American Heart Association (AHA) reminds that if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated, meaning that there is a higher concentration of toxins in your body.

Get lots of exercise in nature

Exercise is a great mood-booster, as during exercise your brain produces feel-good endorphins like serotonin. Physical activity can be mild or strenuous and include a diversity of solo or group activities like yoga, jogging, strength training, dance, or martial arts. The joint physical and emotional benefits of exercise cannot be understated.

Get into nature

Additionally, exercising in contact with the natural world can increase our sense of connection to self and all that is. Remember that nature is a reflection of the creative harmony that we seek in our own selves and lives. Spending time receiving the sights and sounds all around you will attune you to the healthy member of this ecosystem that you are.

Create

Get your creative juices flowing and explore ways to spend your time that fulfill you from the inside out. Commit to a solo date at home once a week to craft, draw, build, cook, or engage in whatever creative art form calls you. Spending time focused on the present moment in an enjoyable way releases feel-good hormones and reminds us of our uniqueness and specialties.

Meditate

Meditation is a powerful tool that trains your brain to be present, receptive, focused, and intentional. It stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your body down after a stress response. Guided by the present moment that the breath reminds us we are always within, it helps us hold space for difficult emotions and thought-beliefs that arise.

Seek support

Having the professional support of a therapist and the personal support of a like-minded community is essential at this time. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and know that it takes a village to raise a child, including the one that is healing inside.

Envision your dreams

Looking forward instead of backward is key to a healthy relationship with yourself during this time of transition. While you will certainly reflect on past experience to inform your future, train yourself to focus on and feel into how you want to feel in the future. This will help you move toward your dreams.

Experienced Divorce Attorney by Your Side

At The Law Office of Peter J. Bronzino, our team of divorce attorneys supports our clients across Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey in ensuring a swift and just resolution of proceedings.

Our approach focuses on utilizing our extensive experience to navigate the logistics of settlement while our clients are encouraged and supported in the process of healing and moving forward.

To schedule a confidential case assessment regarding your divorce, please contact us online or through our Brick offices at (732) 812-3102.

Discuss Divorce Home Marital Issues with a Brick and Sea Girt Family Lawyer

Read on to explore some potential benefits and pitfalls of leaving the marital home before divorce proceedings are complete.

The decision to separate from a spouse and the process of divorce is emotionally, physically, and financially trying time. There are many aspects of the division of a marital home that are simultaneously being considered, including how to split shared assets and how to split custody with any children of the couple. If the conflict between the couple is high, a person may consider moving out of the marital home to create a physical and energetic space. Is this a good idea, or could it have negative consequences for the outcome of your divorce? Read on to explore some potential benefits and pitfalls of leaving the marital home before divorce proceedings are complete.

The benefit: space

When going through a separation that is not amicable, it may be in the best interest of all involved to create space. Because this could have implications for the outcome of the divorce, it is important to consider whether such self-care practices as exercise, meditation, or therapy could help support an inner state of calm before moving out of the marital home.

Pitfalls of moving out of the marital home

Unless it is absolutely necessary or a 100 percent amicable separation, most will coach someone going through a divorce to continue living at the marital home. Here’s why.

Shared assets

In New Jersey, when a spouse leaves the marital home before a divorce is finalized, the other spouse may file a motion in court to temporarily take sole possession of the marital home. If this motion were accepted by the New Jersey Superior Court, the person who leaves the home would not be legally able to inhabit the home during the entirety of the divorce proceedings (and potentially after).

Financial implications

Of course, moving from one home to another while still legally, financially required to split the expenses of the marital home means more money spent. While marital expenses are still on the table, it is important to consider additional expenses that leaving the home would add.

Children affected

Naturally, when a divorce includes children, their wellbeing is the most important consideration in decision-making. The New Jersey Superior Court will always uphold as its first priority the best interest of involved children. As such, they may look at a spouse leaving the marital home during the divorce proceedings as a sign that the person is comfortable with being a non-custodial parent.

Ex’s intentions and capacities

One would hope that, even in the absence of a completely amicable divorce, no ex would purposefully cause harm to shared assets in order to spite the other. However, there have been cases in which, for example, the spouse who stays in the marital home when the other moves out fails to maintain the home, lowering the property value when it comes time to sell.

Options to support the separation process

Whether or not you decide to move out of the marital home before the divorce is finalized, there are specific ways to navigate the shared time and space in service of supporting an amicable divorce.

Parenting Time Schedule

Even if you are living in the marital home during separation, if children are involved it is important to begin to shift into a routine that primes all parties for shared parenting. New Jersey courts include parenting time schedules in the custody proceedings, yet if you have already worked together as a family to develop a sustainable agreement, it will strengthen the bond necessary for successful co-parenting. It will also increase the chances of a favorable custody arrangement, even if you leave the marital home before the divorce is finalized.

Mediation

Many divorce attorneys recommend mediation as a way to identify obstacles to an amicable separation and, hopefully, resolve them, for a swift proceeding that saves time, money, and emotional wellbeing.

Self-Care

One only has so much resilience. At such a stressful time as divorce, it is important to make self-care a priority in service of all concerned. Lowering cortisol, or stress, levels in the body and building emotional resilience will make for a clearer mind and heart during the divorce, and set you up for your future. Hydrate, rest, exercise, meditate and surround yourself with the community at this time.

Retain a Wall Township Divorce Lawyer Today to Help Navigate your Options

At Bronzino Law Firm, our divorce attorneys are experienced in guiding the divorce and custody proceedings of our clients across Point Pleasant, Brick, Wall, Sea Girt, Spring Lake and the greater Ocean and Monmouth County Areas in all related matters.

To connect with an experienced member of our firm today regarding your divorce, please visit our online form or call us at (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

Custody and Parenting Time Attorneys Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

As part of the divorce proceedings, a couple with children will prepare for a custody hearing to legally determine whether the couple will share custody, or whether one parent will have sole custody.

What is the difference between physical and legal custody?

Parents with legal custody can make legal decisions on behalf of their children, such as medical decisions and schooling matters. If parents have joint legal custody, both can legally weigh in on those matters that impact the child. If there is a major difference of opinion, the agreement is set up so that the courts can resolve the matter. A parent with physical custody means that the child lives with them. Parents who have joint physical custody share the time living with their child either through nesting, in which the child lives in the marital home, and the parents switch off; or the child moves to the homes of either parent during the set time.

What is a parenting time plan in a New Jersey custody agreement?

A child custody arrangement is set up in the best interests of the child. In New Jersey, regardless of the amount of time a parent spends with their child as outlined in a shared custody agreement, whether or not they are the custodial (live-in) parent or the non-custodial parent, the court system refers to this time as “parenting time.” Co-parents can structure this time in any way that works for them. Examples of parenting time shared custody arrangements include

Shared Physical Custody: In this agreement, each parent spends an equal amount of time with their child. Traditionally, this looks like alternating weeks; however, some children fare better with shorter time periods away from either parent, and some fare better with the stability provided by physically remaining in one parent’s home for longer, such as a month at a time.
Residential Parent and Alternate Residential Parent agreements: In this case, one parent is the primary custodial caregiver of the parent. The other, or ‘alternate,’ has a more traditional schedule of visitation, spending every other weekend, perhaps, with the child, as well as partial summer vacations.
Sole Physical Custody: As one could imagine, when one parent has sole physical custody, the other parent is strictly limited in the amount of parenting time they are allowed to spend with the child. Depending on the conditions of the sole custody ruling, these visits may even be supervised. New Jersey Family Part court tends to lean toward both parents having some form of contact with the child, even if it must be supervised.

Are time frames each parent has custodial rights written into the custody agreement?

In the case of both joint physical and joint legal custody agreements, there are clauses written in that determine the amount of time each parent has with the child. This could be laid out as a schedule in addition to a percentage time frame. Because a custody agreement is a legally binding, each parent by law must abide by the time constraints ordered by the court.

Can a parent be penalized for breaking a New Jersey Parenting Plan?

If either parent strays from the court-ordered schedule, they are legally in breach of the law and can be penalized. This could play out in civil court or criminal court depending on the conditions of the breach. If the deviance from the court order is severe, such as removal of the child from the home and travel to an undisclosed location or a location outside of New Jersey, the parent could be arrested for kidnapping and face criminal charges.

If one parent is in breach of the parenting time schedule built into the custody agreement, the other parent has the legal right to request enforcement of the current custodial order from the New Jersey court. In addition to determining whether civil or criminal legal action needs to be taken out against the law-breaking parent, the court may also rule that the petitioning parent receives some sort of compensation for the time lost with their child, which may temporarily shift the legally mandated parenting time schedule.

Having the support of an experienced New Jersey divorce attorney during the process of negotiating the parenting time schedule with one’s ex and their legal team, as well as in the case of a breach of the agreement, is important to ensure that your rights and the wellbeing of your child are met.

Seasoned Custody Attorney protecting the rights of you and your children

At Peter J. Bronzino, our New Jersey divorce attorneys are skilled in supporting families across Toms River, Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey as they undergo the process of negotiating custody agreements and parenting time schedules.

Our direct approach ensures that the best interests of the child and the rights of our parent clients are met in compatible ways.

To speak with our firm today regarding your shared custodial agreement, please contact us online or through our Brick offices at (732) 812-3102.

Brick NJ Divorce Attorneys identify and fight for what is important to you

Educating Clients in financial issues throughout Ocean County towns such as Toms River, Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey

Although not always expected, divorce or civil union dissolutions are more acceptable today than in the past, but when deciding child custody, child support, distribution of marital property, or alimony things can become more complicated. Some things are easily negotiable, and other things just aren’t. That’s why it’s a good idea to speak with an experienced family law attorney before you enter into negotiations with your spouse or partner. That way you’re aware and better prepared as to what your negotiating points and areas of compromise are.

Divorce can significantly impact your physical, psychological, and emotional well-being and fighting for certain assets may end up end costing more than they’re worth in legal fees.

Creating a foundation for a property settlement agreement generally means you have some flexibility, and you and your legal counsel can negotiate various creative solutions designed to specifically address your unique needs and those of your children if you have any. At the end of the day, some things just aren’t all that negotiable, and it’s worth considering which efforts are worth your time, money, and energy.

If you are considering a divorce, or are currently going through a divorce, look no further than the Bronzino Law Firm. We handle all family law and divorce-related matters, including post-divorce modifications for clients across Ocean County and Monmouth County.

For many Ocean County and Monmouth County residents, Attorney Peter J. Bronzino has been that dependable and tenacious advisor. Peter Bronzino personally handles all divorce case, prides himself on keeping his clients informed and involved in all matters, and is ready and willing to speak with you however is most convenient including e-meetings and Facetime.

Call our Brick or Sea Girt office at (732) 812-3102 to discuss your unique needs, concerns, and situation when it comes to any kind of divorce matter in a free and confidential consultation today.

9 Things Worth Fighting For When You Divorce

Is it worth it? The True Cost of a Contested Divorce

A contested divorce – where the spouses disagree on the settlement terms or the divorce itself – can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Your legal counsel can provide useful insight about the value of the items in question, and if it’s necessary to go to court over them. Their insight is designed to guide you through your divorce as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Contact an Ocean and Monmouth County Divorce Attorney Today

As you can see, there are a great many issues to decide, and if necessary, fight for when settling a divorce. Even in an uncontentious or uncontested divorce, the sheer amount of paperwork, court document filings, and procedures to follow can be overwhelming, especially if you are working a full-time job.

Family Law attorney Peter J. Bronzino has extensive experience helping clients with all divorce-related matters across Ocean County, NJ including Brick, Jackson, Toms River, Wall, Ashbury Park, and Point Pleasant.

Our experienced full-service New Jersey law firm does not offer a one-size-fits-all-divorce strategy. Instead, we get to know the people we represent, determine what is most important to them in the divorce, then work with them to develop a strategy designed to meet their individual goals and needs.

With experience handling high-net-worth divorces involving the division of family-owned businesses and properties as well as diverse investment portfolios, Peter Bronzino has the experience and legal knowledge necessary to help you with any divorce issue.

To schedule a free consultation regarding your divorce or post-divorce modification issue, please contact us online or through our Brick, NJ offices today at (732) 812-3102.