Court Denies Request To Modify Child Support For Applicant's Procedural Deficiencies

In the recent Appellate Division case, Townsend v. Townsend, the Plaintiff, Claude Townsend, appealed from the Family Court's denial of his Motion seeking: 1) reconsideration of a 2012 Court Order setting his child support arrears and denying his request for a modification of his child support obligation to his former spouse, Defendant Karla Townsend; an 2) a modification of his current child support obligation, but the Appellate Court denied his request because he failed to follow proper court procedure. The Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the Family Court because the Plaintiff failed to provide the court with the parts of the trial court record that were "essential to the proper consideration of the issues," according to Court Rule 2:6-1(a)(1)(I); Soc'y Hill Condo Ass'n, Inc. v. Soc'y Hill Assocs., 347 N.J. Super. 163, 177-78 (App. Div. 2002). In the Court Order at issue in this case, the Plaintiff's child support arrears were established and the Family Court judge explained that the Plaintiff had sought and was denied reconsideration of this Order because he did not establish legal grounds for relief. Further, the judge noted that he was denying the Plaintiff's request for a modification of his child support obligation because the information that was submitted to the court was the same information that had been available to him when he had filed Motions in the past seeking the same or similar relief from the court, of which were denied. On appeal, the only documents that were submitted to the court by the Plaintiff were: 1) the parties' Final Divorce Judgment; 2) a Certification that the Plaintiff had previously submitted to the court on a prior unidentified cross-motion; 3) a letter from the his union from 2009; 4) the previous Court Order; 5) a letter from a private school from 2013; and 6) a history of his child support payments. In addition, the Plaintiff submitted an appendix with an unpublished legal opinion from 2008. Therefore, the Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the Family Court because the Plaintiff did not submit the proper paperwork or legal analysis for the court to consider his requests. Complex legal matters involving child support, divorce, equitable distribution, and other aspects involved with family law require that litigants submit the proper documents, in acceptable form, and in a timely manner to the court in order for a court to consider the relief he or she is seeking. Therefore, it is imperative that anyone looking to petition a court for relief consult with an experienced legal professional before doing so, to ensure that they are adhering to all of the court rules and procedures that will be required for any court to proceed on an action for relief. For more information about child support, alimony, post-judgment modification, divorce, or other family law matters in New Jersey visit DarlingFirm.com. This blog is for informational purposes and in no way is intended to replace the advice of an attorney.

How Long is Too Long To Seek Alimony After a Divorce in NJ?

A woman who obtained a Final Judgment of Divorce by default in 1974 filed a motion seeking alimony and child support in 2011 after locating defendant in a Google search. The plaintiff claimed defendant left the country in 1993 and she was unable to locate him. The defendant countered that he was only absent from the country for a few months, never changed his name and always listed his number in the phone book. The Superior Court ordered alimony from the time of the divorce through plaintiff's second marriage and child support from time of divorce until the children's 18th birthdays setting the arearage amount at $144,950. Defendant filed a motion for reconsideration which was granted and the order was vacated due to plaintiff's failure to assert her known right to seek financial support within a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, the plaintiff presented no evidence that she sought the defendant or financial support from him during the 37 years in between the divorce and her motion. Finally, the children are grown adults who had not seen plaintiff since 1974. In any legal matter, the doctrine of latches acts to prevent parties who have not made efforts to enforce their rights from unfairly prejudicing others by seeking relief much later when evidence is gone, great prejudice would result or other equitable reasons. If you believe you have a right to relief within the court, seek an experienced attorney immediately to insure you are not waiving your rights by failure to act. For more information on your legal rights in matrimonial, civil union, domestic partnership, child support, alimony, palimony or other family law matters in New Jersey visit HeatherDarlingLawyer.com.

Motions for Reconsideration in NJ Family Court

Due to the highly sensitive nature of family court matters, one or both of the parties is often unhappy with the decision of the judge in their matter. A party unhappy with the judge's decision has the right to seek reconsideration of that decision by following the appropriate guidelines and procedures. Two critical issues in deciding whether to seek reconsideration are burden of proof required to justify reconsideration and the timeliness of the Motion for Reconsideration. The controlling New Jersey Court Rule 4:49-2 states that the Motion must be served within 20 days of the service of judgment on all parties and must state the specific basis on which the Motion is made, including a statement of the matters or controlling decision which the party making the Motion believes the court has overlooked or as to which it has made an error in judgment. Courts often see Motions for Reconsideration because a party is unhappy with the judge's decision but there are occasions upon which there are pertinent facts or decisions overlooked in the initial hearing or there may simply be an error the judge's decision. In light of the fact that the instances in which a Motion for reconsideration is granted are rare, such Motions must be carefully drafted. Such Motions should only be sought after serious consideration is given to the matter and the likelihood of success seems strong. This blog is for informational purposes only and in no way intended to replace the advice of an attorney regarding your specific matter. If you are seeking reconsideration of a Family Court decision, you should consult an experienced family law attorney immediately in order to determine the likelihood of meeting the criteria and in order to file timely. For more information on reconsideration, modification, alimony, divorce, dissolution of civil union or domestic partnership, custody, child support or other family law matters in New Jersey visit HeatherDarlingLawyer.com.