New Jersey Family Law Blog

More and more people nationwide, including in New Jersey, choose not to marry. A significant percentage of children are born out of wedlock, and while many couples parent those children in the same way that married parents would do, there are cases in which there are absent fathers. If a child is born and the birth certificate indicates no father, the mother might have questions about her legal child custody rights.

Does the fact that there is no father indicated give the mother sole custody of the child? Does she have to apply for legal custody rights as the single parent? What will happen if the father chooses to claim custody rights in the future? While the child custody laws vary from state to state, all the courts base their decisions about these matters on the best interests of the child.

Sometimes, single mothers prefer to keep their pregnancies secret. Regardless of the reason for such a decision, it can prevent a mother and her child from gaining certain legal benefits. If not for child support, why would a single mother in New Jersey want to establish paternity formally?

Establishing paternity puts the burden of a monthly child support payment on the father until the child reaches the age of majority. It also opens the avenues for the father to be a part of the child's life. Furthermore, a child has legal rights to Social Security, veteran's benefits or any other death benefits in the event of the biological father's death. There might even be an inheritance for the child.

Divorce is typically an unpleasant, and usually a traumatic experience for all concerned, even more so if there are children involved. Courts nationwide, including New Jersey, base child custody decisions on the best interests of the children, and negotiating agreements with that in mind is often an emotional and time-consuming process. Former power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt finally came to a child custody agreement after two years of litigation.

Reportedly, the agreement was reached in time to scrap the private custody trial that was scheduled to commence on Dec. 4. Jolie cited irreconcilable differences when she filed for the divorce back in Sept. 2016. That set in motion a process that became public and extremely contentious at times. Jolie and Pitt were together for 12 years, and they share seven children with ages ranging from 10 to 17 -- the youngest being a set of twins.

One of the biggest problems around the holidays for divorced parents is custody agreements. Even if grandma is flying in for the first time in years or if dad is making his famous holiday chili, if your custody agreement says your little one will be with their other parent on the day of your family get together, then that’s how it will be. Or is it?

Modifying your child custody agreement is possible in New Jersey. Depending on what changes you and the other parent choose to make, it could mean bringing your child to share in the holiday festivities. We will get into the ways custody can be modified, but let’s start by saying that you should not expect an informal agreement between you and your ex to do the job.