Child Custody and Parenting Time Agreements During the Corona Virus in Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

Experienced Family Law Attorney Providing Advice on Child Custody Agreements Issues during this difficult time in towns including Wall, Sea Girt, Brick, Toms River and across the Jersey Shore

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned personal and collective systems upside down from the inside out. Old ideas of normalcy at work, at home, and with loved ones have been completely dispelled, globally. Navigating these times of physical, emotional, and financial upheaval test the resilience of even the most even-keeled individuals. Add having to navigate custody agreements and parenting time schedules to the mix, and one may feel completely overwhelmed.

We’re here to let you know that there is a structure already in place on which you can rely: the one you and your ex or co-parent set up when you determined custody and parenting time agreements and which is court-ordered. Though a State of Emergency and Stay-At-Home orders were issued in New Jersey, no official change was made to court orders. That means that when in doubt and if at all possible and safe, sticking to your established routines are going to be the surest way to navigate this pandemic with ease and grace.

What if my co-parent and I are unable to navigate our parenting time agreement during the pandemic?

If it is impossible or unsafe for you and your co-parent to stably carry out the court-ordered parenting time agreement due to travel restrictions, etc, you will need to work together amicably to determine an alternative. Because the New Jersey Courts have not issued an easing of court orders to meet the unique needs of this time, you are technically still on the hook for ensuring that the agreed-upon schedules are carried out.

If it is impossible for you or your co-parent to physically be present to carry out the schedule, work together to come up with alternative means of passing the time together, such as video or telephone calls. While this doesn’t beat the real thing, it is an important stabilizer for your child and shows a reasonable attempt to carry out the court-ordered procedures set forth in your custody and parenting time agreements.

In April, The New York Times reported that many parents were taking advantage of the nationwide shelter-in-place orders to prevent exes who had legal right to see their children from coming into contact with them, claiming the risk of contagion as the reason. While this concern is reasonable, and co-parents could work together on a case-by-case basis to find safe alternatives, using the Coronavirus crisis as a means of unjustly withholding legal rights of a co-parent could be reprimanded in New Jersey Court. If you believe that your rights to see your child have been withheld by your co-parent, contact your family law attorney to learn your rights at this time and what next steps can be taken to claim your rights as a parent.

Tips on addressing some of the challenges of co-parenting during the Pandemic

There are many ways that you and your co-parent can work together to navigate this trying time, even bonding as a family unit in doing so. Below are some tips for how to work together to create a steady and healthy experience for your child in these unsteady times:

• Remember that you and your co-parent are on Team Child. Whatever your differences, in one (very important!) respect, you and your co-parent are partners. You each want what is best for your child, so if you rally around that remembrance and become thought- and action-partners to provide the most stable and nourishing experience for your child that you can, you’ll watch your child flourish in the bonds created and grow yourselves, too.
• Develop shared routines that empower your child and create a sense of consistency across spaces. Use the need for additional hygienic safety to help create a sense of agency in your child. Give your child jobs such as a counter cleaner, shoe sprayer, or soap pourer when they are at both homes. They will be proud of themselves and understand their role in keeping the family safe.
• Communication and consistency matter. Make sure you each communicate openly to your child – in an age-appropriate way – about what is happening and how you’re all working together to stay safe and healthy.

Work together with your co-parent to develop the routines, systems, and emergency procedures that you will share across homes, and write them down.

Consult a Child Custody and Parenting Time Attorney in Monmouth and Ocean County Today

At Peter J. Bronzino, Esq, we support our clients in Ocean County towns such as Toms River, Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey in navigating their New Jersey custody arrangements and parenting time agreements in this uncharted territory of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Contact a member of our team today to set up an online consultation and discuss the court-ordered ramifications of your custody agreement and any concerns you have about meeting them safely. Please contact us online or through our Brick, NJ offices by calling (732) 812-3102 today for a confidential consultation; we look forward to serving you.

High-conflict Co-parenting Attorneys during COVID 19 Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

Whether you have separated from your ex amicably or on less friendly terms, co-parenting in the time of Covid-19 is not easy.

These are trying times for the whole planet. We are in a transition globally to a more sustainable and community-connected way of life that we did not pay much attention to before the Coronavirus. However, some are using this opportunity for self-reflection and reorganization of priorities and values, and others are allowing the emotional – and financial – instability of these times to get the best of them, projecting their fears and stresses onto those they love most.

In some cases, it can be downright traumatic, depending on the circumstances you face. When you have an ex who is driven to high conflict, however, and you are attempting to navigate the safety and security of your family while having to put out relational fires, you can feel overwhelmed. So what do you do in the case of a high drama co-parent? How can you make co-parenting work, so that you all get through the pandemic safely and somewhat emotionally intact? Below is a list of tips for navigating these choppy waters.

Communicate from an anchored place.

Probably the single most important focus for navigating this time of co-parenting with a high-conflict ex is open communication. Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the environment created when you do communicate: if you know that insults, withholding of information, or some other form of verbal abuse are commonplace in your attempts at communication, prepare your own vessel to be a grounded receiver. Commit to taking extra time for self-care during this time, even if it seems impossible to fit into your schedule. In order to communicate wisely, you will need all of your wits about you, so self-care rituals such as a daily yoga and meditation practice, spending time in nature, ample hydration, and seeking the support of a therapist are all top priorities.

Put it in writing.

Expect that communication is going to break down into the same old hurls of insults and verbal injuries. Don’t bite. The goal of communication with your ex at this time is developing and following a protocol that ensures that your child, and you both, are safe. When this shared goal is kept in mind – and reminded for the benefit of both parties often – everyone benefits and communication is generally steered towards solutions-based thinking.

Put in writing your plans for how to safely shuffle your child throughout their day. Consider the following items:

• What are the safety procedures for leaving each house?
• What are the safety procedures for arriving at each house?
• Who will sanitize the surfaces of the house, and how often?
• What are protocols for face touching in the car between houses?
• How can you standardize safety and sanitation practices and jobs across houses, so your child feels a sense of consistency and personal empowerment for helping in the sanitation practices?
• What are the rules for social distancing?
• How will online education be handled? Create a set schedule of hours in which the child will partake in online learning, and agree that each parent will be fully available to support that learning.
• What are the protocols if one of the family members begins to show symptoms of illness?

When the above considerations are kept in mind, the focus of negotiations between exes remains centered around the safety of their child. Put these agreements in writing, and have each parent sign them. This will allow you to simply refer to the agreement in the future when conflict arises.

Stick to your parenting time agreement as much as possible.

At this time of upheaval, a child may get thrown particularly out of balance, because so many of the steady containers that support their consistent growth – home, school, extracurricular activities – are revoked or changed. This can cause emotional instability in your child that may certainly affect your own ability to deal with conflicts that arise. While we navigate this pandemic, it is important to keep as many routines and rituals as intact as possible. Your court-approved parenting time agreement is a great place to start. What schedules is it possible to retain? This consistency is crucial to your child at this time.

Seek legal support.

In the case of conflict that simply can’t be resolved by keeping communication focused on the facts and not reacting to the hostile communication of your ex, you can seek the support of your attorneys to engage in mediation or develop an emergency parenting time agreement for review by the court. If your ex is refusing to follow the established custody agreement, you have the right to go before a judge in an online hearing and argue why you feel it is best that your child be with you alone at this time. This would be a last resort, however, as the process for scheduling healing is more delayed due to current restrictions.

Monmouth Parenting Time Lawyer Help You Navigate through these unprecedented times

At Bronzino Law Firm, our team of attorneys is committed to supporting our clients across Point Pleasant, Brick, Wall, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, and the greater Ocean and Monmouth County Areas in working with their co-parent to carry out custodial agreements and navigate revisions to court-ordered routines that may be necessary.

To schedule an online consultation with a member of our firm regarding your co-parenting needs during this time, please visit our online form or call us at  (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

Parental Alienation Impacts Child Support and College Payment Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

Today, we’re going to focus on alienation as it specifically affects a divorced parent’s legal responsibility to help their child pay for college expenses.

During this groundbreaking time of the Coronavirus pandemic, co-parents everywhere are navigating new challenges to parenting time agreements in New Jersey. In order to properly address quarantines, curfews, and other restrictions that may impact our capacities to uphold our parenting time agreements, it is important to educate ourselves about what the current laws are in New Jersey surrounding custody arrangements and co-parenting. We do so to ensure that our actions and any revisions to the court-ordered agreements we make are within the scope of legality, and if changes to parenting time agreements are necessary, we can contact our attorneys for support. We also do so to understand our legal options in the case that the financial and emotional instability caused by the pandemic adversely impacts our relationships with our exes, creating tension or downright conflict.

One custody and child support a law that does not apply to the vast majority of co-parents – but that may arise as an issue for some high-conflict parents during this testy time – is parental alienation.

What is alienation?

New Jersey law defines parental alienation as a form of emotional abuse. It is a custodial parent’s manipulation of a child by vilifying the other parent. The purpose of this defamation is to turn the child against the other parent. The effects of this kind of action can be lasting. Psychologists have labeled Parental Alienation Syndrome as a harmful physical and psychological estrangement that can have lasting socio-emotional effects. Edward Kruk, Ph.D., writer for Psychology Today, wrote,

“For a child, the biopsychosocial-spiritual effects of parental alienation are devastating. For both the alienated parent and the child, the removal and denial of contact in the absence of neglect or abuse constitute cruel and unusual treatment…. As a form of maltreatment, parental alienation is a serious child protection matter, as it undermines a basic principle of social justice for children: the right to know and be cared for by both of one’s parents.”

As a result of the severe impact parental alienation can have on a child, New Jersey courts are tightening their approach to dealing with parents who engage in parental alienation techniques. One of the primary ways is adjusting the timeline for which the non-custodial parent is required to paying child support and even shifting their requirement to help pay for their child’s college education.

What is New Jersey law regarding college support?

According to New Jersey law, each parent must financially support their unemancipated child’s college education. During the divorce and custody proceedings, the arrangements for this support, which is considered part of child support payments, are made as part of the divorce resolution. Those arrangements are sometimes simply named in a custody agreement, or they are laid out specifically in financial terms. Most agreements layout that the college selection process will involve both parents.

In the case of parental alienation, one example of which was the New Jersey Appellate Division ruling on Weinman v. Weinman, a judge can overturn a parent’s requirement to pay child support past the age of 18 and contribute to the college fund if they have been effectively alienated from the child’s life over the course of the divorce.

In Weinman v. Weinman, the mother had pressed estrangement of her children from their father over many years through tactics of parental alienation. During repeated and documented occasions, the father had attempted to participate in the lives of his children, in addition to abiding by the required child support payments. Because of the mother’s impact on the children, the children did not accept the father or his attempts to participate in the college decision-making process when the time came.

A New Jersey Family Court found that, as a result of the documented parental alienation that had taken place estranging the father from his children, he was not required to support his otherwise unemancipated children through college. The New Jersey Appellate Division upheld the ruling.

Retain a Wall Township Parental Alienation Lawyer Today

If as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, you are unable to see your child and you sense that parental alienation tactics are being used to estrange you from your child, don’t hesitate to reach out to a qualified attorney today. They can help you navigate the situation to salvage your relationship with your child before it is too late or seek legal retribution for emotional abuse.

At Bronzino Law Firm, our team of attorneys is skilled at handling parental alienation issues across the Jersey Shore in Point Pleasant, Toms River, Jackson, Wall, Sea Girt, and Brick.

To schedule a consultation with a member of our firm today regarding your custody tribulations, please visit our online form or call us at  (732) 812-3102 to learn more about your options.

Shared Custody and Co-parenting Issues During COVID-19 Pandemic Brick and Sea Girt NJ

Monmouth and Ocean County Family Attorney helping clients best to navigate this trying time of raising children with an ex or other co-parent, and keep your family safe

The time of the COVID-19 pandemic is an unstable time in our collective history. The instability and stress that are the root and the effect of these times are felt across the globe. Everything from personal and family health, finances, and employment have been shaken to the core. If you are co-parenting during this time, your stresses in helping your family stay safe are greatly amplified, as you can never be completely sure that your co-parent has taken the necessary precautions to protect themselves and your children from the Coronavirus. In order to ensure that all of you are as safe as possible, and to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus, it is imperative that you have a system of coordination and open communication with your co-parent.

Unify with your co-parent in holding your child’s health as the most important thing.

During this time, collaboration is key to ensuring your child’s health, and your own. If you have a testy relationship with your co-parent, now is not the time to argue. In fact, it is the time to supersede all ill feelings and work together to develop a system of preventative health and flow to your routine that keeps you safe from this highly contagious virus. Remember that COVID-19 spreads often in the absence of symptoms, so a jointly-developed system of procedures is essential. What are house entry and exit procedures? What do you do with shoes and clothes when you arrive home with the child, no matter to which home? What are house cleaning procedures for keeping the surfaces free from contamination? Consider all necessary precautions when developing your co-parenting systems for keeping your child safe, including those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

Communication is key.

During unstable times such as these, communication is key to keep everyone in the family safe. This means both communications with your co-parent and communication with your child. Because a child is already experiencing the instability of a move between houses, it is important to be open about what is happening with the COVID-19 pandemic to explain why you are taking extra precautions; this will help them feel grounded and anchored.

Work as a team – co-parents and children – to develop a proactive system of pickups and dropoffs, sanitization processes for leaving and arriving home, and an emergency action plan in the case that anyone develops symptoms of COVID-19. When communication between co-parents leads to systems of safety that are carried out in both homes, a child may even feel bolstered in their sense of ‘togetherness’ and family. Utilize these two-home systems of safety and hygiene to empower your child to take their health into their own hands. Giving them jobs around the house (that they are responsible for in both houses) creates coherence among homes and gives them a sense of agency.

Maintain established parenting time agreements and court-ordered custody agreements as much as possible.

For many, this is a time of total upheaval. Those who are navigating changes in their own personal and professional routines and lifestyle as well as juggling a custody arrangement with a co-parent are especially affected. For this reason, maintaining as many court-ordered custodial systems as safely possible at this time can prevent unnecessary additional stress.

Parenting time agreements were established to create a sense of stability for your child and for you. They create a rhythm and routine that helps a child feel emotionally safe. If you and your co-parent agree that it is safe to move the child back and forth between homes, and you have set up systems in your own life and your agreed-upon time with your child in order to prevent the spread of the virus, it can be immensely stabilizing for the child to feel the normal routine playing out, even amidst an abnormal global backdrop.

So what if it’s not safe or possible for the parenting time schedule or regular custodial visits to take place?

Be flexible.

See your co-parent as the partner they are in raising your child. If you are unable to visit your child due to the pandemic, or you have your child full-time due to the quarantine, thought partner with your co-parent to develop ways to make ‘visits’ possible. Set up a nightly storytime on a video call, or have daily play breaks outside where you each exercise together, again on a video call.

Contact a Child Custody Lawyer in Brick and Sea Girt NJ Today

At Bronzino Law Firm, our attorneys are committed to supporting our clients across Spring Lake, Toms River, Point Pleasant, Brick, and Ocean County in navigating their custodial agreements and parenting time agreements as necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To meet online with a member of our firm today regarding your co-parenting situation, please contact us today or through our Brick, NJ office at (732) 812-3102.

Separation and Parenting Time Support When Raising a Teenager

Instructing parents going through separation or divorce while raising a teenager in Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey

Separation from a spouse can upend even the most together person. In addition to all of the legal considerations and steps that must be taken to finalize the divorce and fairly distribute marital assets, one must tend to their own emotional, physical, and mental health – all of which can be upended by such a stark transition.

This is simply the personal process; add children to the mix, and the process of divorce is an experience that can shift family dynamics, and not just for the better. When you are divorcing and there is a child involved, it is imperative that you keep their stability and wellbeing at the center of all consideration. When the child is a pre-teen or teen, there are additional hurdles to maintaining stability, especially emotional. Anyone who has or has ever been a teenager knows that drama is a byproduct. The following considerations will help you navigate separation from a spouse while strengthening your bond with your teenager.

Seek the support of a parenting counselor

Committing to seek the support of a New Jersey parenting counselor with your ex can make the road to stability for you both – and your teenager – a much smoother process. A parenting counselor is trained in developing systems and norms with separated parents that ground co-parenting in common goals, visions, and routines. The parenting counselor is not there to discuss why you separated, though they will be able to help facilitate discussions regarding differences of opinion about how to raise the child. A parenting counselor is there to offer practical support while keeping a child-centric, age-appropriate focus for the co-parenting planning.

Set up shared systems and routines

Having shared systems in place is key to a stable environment for a teen splitting time between parents. Shifts in hormones, as well as the drama and stress that today’s teens face, in addition to the divorce, make for trying atmosphere within and around them. Have as many grounded routines as possible in place in both homes, so your teen feels a sense of consistency and safety despite an inwardly turbulent experience. As part of your custody arrangement, you will develop a parenting time agreement with your former spouse. Be as detailed as possible about arrangements for co-parenting, and be willing to update it as you try it on and get a feel for what works – and what doesn’t work – for your teen and you both.

When common systems are in place, it makes it easier for you as a parent to check in with your teen about how their time with their other parent was, as you have a frame of reference and a sense of understanding of what your child’s day-to-day flow is like.

Communication is a key component

During the time following a divorce – and the entirety of a child’s teen years – communication can be the last thing you want to engage in. This time, however, is the most important time to be in open and compassionate communication with your ex and child. Remember that you and your ex are now partners in raising your child; as such, focus communication around how to make the process of co-parenting more smooth. Consider the relationship one of the colleagues, and brainstorm ways to make co-parenting more streamlined and your teen’s emotional, mental, and physical health more robust.

If communication with your ex is difficult because of a trying divorce, remember the principles of Nonviolent Communication:

1. Use “I” statements, sharing how you feel (I feel calmed…)
2. Be specific about behaviors or actions that you perceive to be helpful or unhelpful to your capacity to support your teen the most effective possible (…when I see you take initiative on scheduling transportation.)
3. Open up and let your ex know how you would like to feel (I would like to feel this calm regarding weekend visits…
4. Make specific and measurable requests (…could you please suggest one specific time on Saturday mornings for a drop off each week?)

Ultimately, your former spouse and you are on the same team. Regardless of what has caused the separation, remember that you can come together to ensure the wellbeing of your teen at this important time in their growth and development into a kind, capable young adult.

Seek advice from an experienced Brick NJ Divorce, Custody, Support, and Family Law Attorney today

At Peter J. Bronzino, our attorneys support clients across Toms River, Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey in their custody arrangements and the development of parenting time agreements.

To schedule a consultation with a member of our team regarding your co-parenting arrangement, please contact us online or through our Brick offices at (732) 812-3102.

Parenting Time Attorneys During the Corona Virus in Monmouth County NJ

Assisting co-parents during this difficult time riddled with uncertainty in towns including Wall, Seagirt, Brick, Toms River and across the Jersey Shore

The coronavirus has wrought havoc on the whole world. People are losing their lives by the thousands, and worldwide, leaders are ordering that people shelter in place so as not to spread the highly contagious virus at a continuously exponential rate.

In the face of the virus, separated couples everywhere are wondering what this will mean for their co-parenting agreements. Because of the shelter in place orders, usual legally-binding Parenting Time agreements are off the table, and children must stay where they are.

In Philadelphia, one parent sought legal counsel when, after returning from abroad in March, her ex insisted that she spend two weeks in self-quarantine to ensure that she hadn’t contracted the virus. The advice she received was not heartening: there was no way she could argue her ex’s refusal to provide access to the children in court.

This parent isn’t alone. Around the world, parenting time is being replaced by phone calls and video chats. Alternatively, some separated couples are even considering co-living arrangements so that they can both be with the kids. Whatever the makeshift arrangements are that are being made between exes globally, legal considerations are not on the table. In a crisis such as this one, in which more cases of the virus are being discovered every day, doing what is in the child’s best interest – which is always the first priority of a custody arrangement – has little to do with prior legal arrangements.

Are parents breaching parenting time agreements by following shelter in place orders?

Unfortunately, some parents are taking advantage of the shelter in place orders to withhold legal visiting rights from their ex. In support of parents attempting to navigate conflicting legal orders and an invisible contagion, attorneys are reminding their clients the importance of not making assumptions about the health of a co parent’s home or be lax about measures taken to ensure that their children are not exposed to anyone who has not abided by the shelter in place orders.

Attorneys also recommend that clear documentation be kept about the revised custody schedule and any communication with the co-parent that results in revision to the court-ordered custody arrangement.

Co-parents can assume that in order for a court to receive a complaint for breach of custody agreements, there must be an emergency or clear evidence of willful non-compliance.

What is New Jersey law surrounding co-parenting?

So what are laws regarding co-parenting? What would a co-parenting agreement look like in New Jersey in the absence of a pandemic throwing all bets off the table?

A child custody arrangement is set up to ensure the well-being of the child. In New Jersey, as part of the divorce proceedings, a “parenting time” agreement is developed. This is part of the court-ordered custody arrangement, whether or not a parent is the custodial parent (live-in) or the non-custodial parent. A skilled divorce attorney can support a separating couple in developing a parenting time agreement that suits each of their schedules and needs and also represents a priority for the well-being of the child.

Parenting time agreements work in consort with the following custody arrangements:

• Sole Physical Custody: Sole physical custody means that the other parent is strictly limited by law in the amount of parenting time they are allowed to spend with their child. The visits may be supervised or unsupervised, depending on the ruling of the court in the custody hearing. New Jersey Family Part court does orient itself with ensuring that both parents spend time with the child, even if the time is supervised.
• Shared Physical Custody: Shared physical custody means that each parent spends an equal amount of time with their child, according to a schedule that has been determined by the parents and their attorneys and approved by the court. Common schedules include alternating weeks with either parent, months at a time of visit with each parent, etc. A couple must take into account the emotional, physical, social, and academic needs of their child in order to make the best decision on their behalf.
• Residential and Alternate Residential Parent: In this agreement, one person is the custodial parent, meaning that the child lives with them. The alternate residential parent visits based on a regular schedule, which often includes some alternating weekends and summer vacations.

Even in this time of uncertainty, depending upon the circumstances, parents can be penalized for being in breach of their parenting time agreement. Having the support of an experienced divorce attorney is essential at this time.

Contact a Co-parenting Time Attorney in Ocean County Today

At Peter J. Bronzino, Esq, our New Jersey divorce attorneys are committed to supporting our clients throughout Ocean County towns such as Toms River, Wall, Point Pleasant, Asbury Park, Spring Lake, Brick, and all of Eastern New Jersey in matters regarding custody agreements and parenting time schedules.

To speak with our firm today regarding your parenting time agreement and modifications to its schedule due to these extenuating circumstances, contact us online or through our Brick, NJ offices by calling (732) 812-3102 today for a confidential consultation.

COVID-19 “Shelter-in-Place” Divorce Attorney Monmouth and Ocean County NJ

Brick and Seagirt Divorce Attorneys helping clients prepare for a post-pandemic and post-divorce life they deserve.

For people considering or in the process of divorce litigation, civil union dissolution, or filing for separation, the COVID-19 pandemic and “shelter-in-place” order may be the tipping point in their already stressful marriage. Whereas work, school, or other activities meant the possibility to avoid one’s spouse or partner, working and e-learning from home means once less-frequent activities, like cooking dinner together or sharing the same space for 24 hours has significantly impacted the day-to-day living situation of many New Jersey couples.

Though some couples may consider isolation or self-quarantine as a period in which to create greater family dynamics, reevaluate their marital values or work on their relationship intimacy, many others have become more committed to ending their marital union, as what may have previously been trivial matters escalate to incidents of increased tension and in the worse cases, domestic violence.

The uncertainty of the current COVID19/Corona virus situation and physical distancing means that the attorneys at The Bronzino Law, LLC are prepared to provide legal services in a safe, secure, confidential, and convenient way without compromising on quality. Our lawyers will fight to protect your rights and are ready to arrange convenient, free virtual consultation meetings via Skype, WhatsApp video, FaceTime, Zoom, or Google Hangout to discuss how we can best support you and meet your legal needs.

The Bronzino Law Firm manages all divorce-related matters, including child support, child custody, division of assets, alimony and spousal support, and post-divorce modifications for clients across Ocean County and Monmouth County.

Contact us online or call us at (732) 812-3102 to arrange a free virtual legal consultation from the comfort of your home or office, and with the convenience of your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. The Bronzino Law Firm, LLC, is prepared to protect your rights and answer your legal questions or family law–related issues.

8 Things to do for your Divorce During the Corona Pandemic

Here are some positive and actionable ideas, which are also a productive use of your time as you prepare for your NJ divorce.

1. Collect the financial documents and paperwork necessary for the full financial disclosures, which are vital to the divorce process and are necessary before reaching any financial agreements related to child support, child custody, alimony and spousal support, and the equitable division of assets.
2. Conduct a lifestyle analysis to realistically determine what your future post-divorce housing and budget may be like.
3. Practice self-care, exercise, protect your mental health and document your expectations for your post-divorce life and that of your children or pets if you have any. Write down your ideal living or co-parenting situation and the kind of future you envision for yourself.
4. If you have children, focus on protecting your child’s emotional and psychological well-being by providing a positive family atmosphere, keeping them calm and busy, and planning fun activities (i.e., watching online tutorials for cooking, exercise/dancing, music, arts & crafts, etc.).
5. Take the opportunity to declutter your home and organize your things. Identify items or assets which are truly important to you and those that you are prepared to donate or throw away.
6. Avoid hostile conversations with your spouse, and if there are children present, aggressive confrontations that could escalate growing familial unease and tension.
7. Take a positive daily inventory, acknowledging what you learned or are grateful for. It will help put your day in perspective and balance out some of the negative or depressing thoughts you may have.
8. Educate yourself. Whether it is online free language classes or apps, youtube tutorials, or skills-based technology programs, invest time in improving your future professional and personal development opportunities.

Isolation and the related feelings surrounding it may not be easy, but knowing that it won’t be forever can help you remain positive, keep an open mind, and maintain patient heart. By effectively managing your time under the current situation, you are preparing to live the post-pandemic and post-divorce life you deserve.

Dealing with Divorce and COVID-19? Contact an Ocean and Monmouth County Divorce Attorney Today

The Family Law attorney Peter J. Bronzino has extensive experience helping clients with all divorce-related matters across Ocean and Monmouth County towns, including Toms River, Brick, Point Pleasant, Manasquan, and across the Jersey Shore.

At our law firm, 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.

Contact us online or call us at (732) 812-3102 to arrange a safe, secure, confidential, convenient, and free virtual legal consultation.

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.

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.

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.