April 25, 2012 – Divorce is a difficult legal process for all couples who go through it, but same-sex couples face more legal difficulties than heterosexual couples when filing for a divorce. Some same-sex couples get married in a state that legally recognizes their union, but sometimes relocate to a state that does not allow same-sex weddings. Now living in a state that does not issue same-sex marriage licenses, the couple decides they no longer want to be married and pursue a divorce. The couple is denied the divorce by the state’s court. The court’s denial of divorce is based on the state’s position that same-sex marriage is not valid under their state law.

Court of Appeals to Hear Same-Sex Divorce Case

Maryland’s Court of Appeals will hear arguments concerning a married lesbian couple who wants to divorce. In 2008, the couple was married in California which allows same-sex marriage and later relocated to Maryland which does not. In 2010, the couple was denied their divorce based on the judge’s ruling that it would be contrary to the public policy of Maryland to recognize the alleged marriage. On appeal, divorce attorneys for the couple will argue that it was wrong for the judge to find the couple’s marriage invalid in Maryland.

The state of Maryland has barred some types of marriage, for example, an uncle and a niece may not marry. But Maryland has a history of recognizing marriages performed in other states, and Maryland’s attorney general issued an opinion saying out-of-state same-sex marriages could be recognized under Maryland law. Based on the opinion issued by the state’s own attorney general, divorce attorneys for the couple contend that the court should recognize this couple’s gay marriage.

Additional arguments are based on several Maryland court inconsistencies of granting same-sex divorces. They have granted some same-sex divorces, while denying others.  The estranged couple’s attorneys believe that some same-sex divorces were granted based on which judge presided over the case. The court’s unpredictability is causing many same-sex couples wishing to get divorced to remain in limbo until the Court of Appeals issues a ruling.

Contact New Jersey Civil Unions Attorney Richard C. Klein to Discuss Your Rights as a Same-Sex Couple in New Jersey

In February, 2012, the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed the Same-Sex Marriage bill approved by the state legislature; however, New Jersey does a civil union law that provides for the rights and responsibilities of same-sex couples. New Jersey civil union attorney, Richard C. Klein of Becker Meisel, LLC, specializes in all areas of family law including those specifically related to civil unions for same-sex couples. Legal issues regarding same-sex relationships and domestic partnerships are multifaceted and call for an educated family law attorney to help them comprehend the concerns specific to New Jersey civil unions. New Jersey civil union attorney Richard C. Klein understands the issues of civil union dissolution and is dedicated to protecting your rights. Call today for a consultation 1-888-763-4490 or contact him online.

March 28, 2012 – Divorce can complicate and emotionally draining for families.  For a family with a special needs child, divorce can be devastating. While the “typical” divorce is difficult enough with battles over alimony, child support and visitation schedules, reaching a divorce settlement that best protects a special needs child involves complex considerations that require specialized legal advice and representation. Any New Jersey divorce attorney may be competent to handle “everyday” issues that come into play in most divorces, but only a family law attorney experienced in the intricate legal matters pertaining to raising and caring for a special needs child will be equipped to address the various issues that will need to be resolved. New Jersey Special Needs Attorney Richard C. Klein of Becker Meisel, LLC has earned a reputation as an expert in protecting the rights of children with special needs, especially when divorce is imminent.

How Special Needs Trusts Protect Your Child

Children with special needs are entitled to government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) & Medicaid, as well as other benefits. It is important to know that child support or any other monies collected on behalf of your special needs child, such as an inheritance, can jeopardize the government benefits your child receives. Establishing a Special Needs Trust for your child protects those government benefits.

Special Needs Trusts ensure that your special needs child will continue to receive governmental benefits. A Special Needs Trust (also known as a Supplemental Needs Trust) allows a disabled person to have an unlimited amount of assets held in trust for his or her benefit. Assets in a Special Needs Trust are not considered “countable assets” which would decrease governmental benefits. These trust funds are not available to creditors and are protected from being used to pay for lawsuit judgments. The monies placed in Special Needs Trusts are not for any other use other than for the benefit of your special needs child. Strict adherence to enforceable language is necessary to validate a Special Needs Trust, and a knowledgeable New Jersey Special Needs Trust attorney must draft the document to protect future benefits.  While Special Needs Trusts can provide protection of these rights and assets, they can be complicated and must follow strict guidelines. 

When parents of a special needs child are divorcing, unique issues are presented. It becomes necessary for both parents to provide separately for the future of their child. They may each need to incorporate a Special Needs Trust into their respective estate plans. If only one parent establishes a Special Needs Trust, a child’s eligibility for assistance may be compromised when the other parent dies. A New Jersey divorce attorney who has specific experience and knowledge pertaining to special needs children understands the importance addressing and resolving these issues during the divorce proceedings to avoid difficult situations in the future.

Read more about Special Needs Trusts here.

Why You Need a New Jersey Special Needs Attorney

New Jersey Family Law attorney, Richard C. Klein, has represented countless families with special needs children. While protecting your child’s benefits and assets needed for a lifetime of care is a daunting task, Mr. Klein’s experience and knowledge will ensure that you and your spouse have done everything possible to protect and provide for your special needs child. Working with a family law attorney who maintains a focus on special needs children and their families’ concerns is imperative. If you are facing a divorce and have a child with special needs, or if you have general questions about protecting your special needs child, call the  New Jersey Special Needs attorney, Richard C. Klein of Becker Meisel, LLC  at 888-763-4490 to discuss how the creation of a Special Needs Trust can address your concerns or contact Mr. Klein online.  With offices throughout New Jersey, he is available to meet with you at your convenience.

Eligibility to Receive Ex-Spouse’s SSI Benefits

People who divorced years ago may be unaware of their eligibility to collect on the earnings history of a former spouse. As with married couples, your eligibility does not depend on whether or not you worked and paid into the system, but simply if your former spouse did. You can choose to accept your own Social Security benefits allotment based on your own earnings history, or 50% of your former spouse’s benefit, if it is greater. If your former spouse is deceased, you can claim 100% of your former spouse’s Social Security benefits. The fact that your former spouse remarried does not affect your rights to the benefits.

Restrictions on Former Spouse’s SSI Benefits

Some rules do apply in order to collect your former spouse’s Social Security benefits. Your marriage must have lasted 10 years or longer. You must be unmarried when applying for the benefits, or if you are currently married, you must have remarried after the age of 60. Even if you are under the full retirement age of 65 but your former spouse is 62 or older, you can collect a reduced benefit at age 62 based on your ex-spouse’s earning; however, there is a requirement that the divorce occurred at least two years before your applied for the benefits. At the age of 60, you can start receiving a reduced divorced widow benefit.

Contact an Experienced, Knowledge New Jersey Divorce Attorney

 While this is only a brief discussion of one of many considerations that you must address when planning for your post-divorce future, it clearly illustrates just how complicated those considerations can be.  Richard C. Klein is a well-respected New Jersey Divorce attorney handling all types of family law matters, including equitable distribution of asset and liabilities, alimony, child support and many other issues that come into play when planning your post-divorce financial well-being. Contact the law offices of Richard C. Klein, Esq. to discuss your rights to support and SSI benefits after your divorce. With offices throughout New Jersey, including Cherry Hill, Shrewsbury & Livingston, there is a convenient location for you to schedule an appointment with Mr. Klein or one of his experienced, knowledgeable New Jersey Divorce attorneys in the Becker Meisel Family Law Group.

During the PEER REVIEW, attorneys are asked to assess their colleagues’ general ethical standards and legal ability in a specific area of practice. Family Law attorney Richard C. Klein obtained the highest ratings available and received the certification of AV Preeminent which is a highly respected accomplishment and affirms his commitment to legal excellence.

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Parenting agreements can stipulate religion, denomination and doctrine.  The agreements can prohibit either parent from speaking against the other’s faith or from sharing their religious experience that may make the child think they are one religion or another. Some New Jersey parenting agreements go as far as to clarify which parent will pay for a bar mitzvah and who controls the guest list.

While the elements of a parenting agreement may seem awkward, working out the details with an experienced New Jersey family law attorney such as Cherry Hill Divorce lawyer Richard C. Klein, Chair of the Family Law Department of the renowned firm of Becker Meisel, LLC, can thwart future conflicts. Religion is just one subject that can be addressed in ever-increasingly complex parenting agreements. Plans for education, parental dating, discipline and whether or not medication can be given for a pre-diagnosed learning disability are all potential arguable issues. It’s important to put the details on paper in a binding parenting agreement. Contact the law offices of New Jersey Divorce attorney Richard C. Klein today to speak with one of our compassionate, knowledgeable Cherry Hill child custody attorneys.

In September, 2011, a U.S. District Judge ruled that the child was entitled to a full Individual Education Plan (IEP) from the District even though the parents had taken him out of a district school and enrolled him in private school. A full IEP requires extensive testing and other assessments to determine education goals for a special needs student and how a school district will provide services to reach those goals.  Moorestown argued that because the boy was enrolled in a private school, and not in the Moorestown School District schools, he was only qualified for a lesser level of evaluation and service plan.  The parents’ position was that the full IEP would help them assess whether they should pull their child from private school if Moorestown could provide a satisfactory arrangement.  They did not want to risk his place in the private school if they could not reach an agreement with the Moorestown School District over what services it would provide.

The District’s position – that a child who is not enrolled in a district school is not entitled by law to seek a full IEP- is in direct conflict with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Act requires school districts provide an IEP to all disabled students living in the district, regardless of whether they are enrolled in the district’s schools. In 2009, a state administration judge ruled that because the District refused to provide the child with an IEP for three school years, they denied the child a “free and appropriate public education”. As a result of the ruling against the District, the child now has a full-scale IEP with the District and the District pays for him to attend a private school for students with social and learning disabilities.

Cherry Hill-based Family Law attorney Richard C. Klein is highly skilled in the area of Special Needs Children.  As Chair of the Family Law Department of the renowned firm of Becker Meisel, LLC, he maintains offices throughout New Jersey and has earned a reputation as a preeminent New Jersey Special Needs Attorney.  Contact him today at 888-763-4490 if you have concerns about your special needs child, including your child’s right to a quality education, as well as special needs trusts to provide for your child’s continued care and quality of life.

If you are an unmarried parent, you may exercise your parental rights, and be held to parental obligations, only after you are recognized as the child’s parent.  Sometimes, it is necessary for a New Jersey Family Court to declare your paternity.   Paternity is crucial to future custody and visitation arrangements, as well as regulated financial support. Establishing paternity allows an unmarried, non-custodial parent to seek visitation or “parenting time” or joint custody, or even sole custody under extreme circumstances.  For a custodial parent, the establishment of paternity enables that parent to obtain an award of child support and to seek the assistance of the state or federal government to ensure collection of support.

Just as with divorced parents, New Jersey unmarried parents are responsible for supporting their children, in most cases until the age of 18. For both married and unmarried parents, child support requirements are governed by the “Basic Monthly Child Support Guidelines” set out in the New Jersey Statutes. New Jersey child support lawyer Richard C. Klein, Esq., is well-versed in the application of the Child Support Guidelines and can help you get the child support your child deserves.

Frequent contact with both parents is generally assumed by the court to be the ideal visitation agreement. As with divorcing parents, in the case of determining custody and visitation rights of unmarried parents, courts use the “best interests of the child” standard and the presumption that both parents have the right to nurture and raise their child unless it would be harmful to the child. South Jersey divorce lawyer, Richard C. Klein, Esq., a knowledgeable family law attorney for unmarried parental rights, will help you establish an enforceable “parenting time” or visitation schedule.  A “parenting agreement” developed with the help of our Cherry Hill visitation attorneys can prevent simple parenting issues between unmarried parents from becoming bigger problems.

In severe cases, unmarried parents may be entitled to file for termination of the other parent’s rights. Contact Richard C. Klein, Esq., if you believe there is an extreme situation affecting your child and his or her relationship with the other parent, such as abandonment, neglect, abuse, severe mental illness, or a long prison sentence. Our experienced Cherry Hill family law attorneys can determine if you have a legitimate claim to file for the termination of parental rights.

Unmarried parents have the same issues as divorced parents – custody, support, and “parenting time” or visitation.  If you are a New Jersey unmarried parent, call our office today to discuss your rights and responsibilities with a knowledgeable, compassionate family law attorney.  Cherry Hill parental rights attorney Richard C. Klein, Esq., strives to give unmarried parents and their children protection and peace of mind.

Based on Troxel v. Granville, grandparent visitation should be a clear cut issue; however, because state laws vary depending on whether the state is parent-friendly or grandparent-friendly, this area of law has become increasingly complex. Under the New Jersey’s Grandparents’ Visitation Statute, N.J.S.A. 9:27.1., a grandparent bears the burden of proving “by preponderance of the evidence” that visitation is in the best interest of the child.

When grandparents seek visitation that conflicts with the wishes of the custodial parent, the court considers eight factors in determining what constitutes the “best interests” of the child:

1. The relationship between the child and the grandparent;
2. The relationship between the grandparent and each of the child’s parents or the person with whom the child is residing;
3. Time elapsed since the last contact with the grandparent;
4. How visitation will affect the relationship between the child and the child’s parents or the person with whom the child is residing;
5. Any time-sharing arrangement which exists between divorced or separated parents with regard to the child;
6. Grandparent’s “good faith” in filing the application;
7. History of abuse or neglect by the grandparent; and
8. Any other relevant factor.

Even after passing the “preponderance of the evidence” test set out in the Statute, grandparents may still be denied visitation due to the New Jersey Grandparent visitation case of Moriarty v. Bradt, where the court altered the burden of proof by making it more stringent.  In Moriarty v. Bradt, the Court ruled that grandparents or other third parties seeking visitation also need to prove by “preponderance of the evidence” that without visitation, actual harm, including emotional and psychological, will result to the child’s health and welfare.

Since the Moriarty v. Bradt ruling, the New Jersey Appellate Court has denied numerous applications by grandparents for visitation rights.  Cherry Hill family law attorney Richard C. Klein, head of the family law department of renowned law firm of  Becker Meisel,  has recently been successful, however, in overcoming the stringent burden sent out in Moriarty v. Bradt. Mr. Klein recently won an important victory defending grandparents’ rights when he and his associate represented grandparents who were the children’s temporary foster parents for almost two years before the children were adopted by other relatives. The adoptive parents allowed grandparent visitation for two years before they refused further visitation. Mr. Klein successfully argued that the considerations under the Grandparents’ Visitation statute should be applied and that the grandparents request for visitation be granted.

The Cherry Hill family law firm of Richard C. Klein, Esq., is in the forefront of grandparents’ rights litigation and has the experience to guide you through the challenges inherent to grandparent visitation issues. Call our South Jersey Family Law attorneys today to discuss your grandparent or third-party visitation matter.

Child support is the continuous responsibility of every parent regardless of their position in politics or the honors they have received. In New Jersey, an analysis of the Child Support Guidelines determines the amount of child support needed to cover the cost of food, clothing, shelter, college expenses, health insurance and daycare. Other considerations in calculating the child support awards are: special needs of the child, educational or emotional; the child’s current standard of living; the age of the child; and the custody arrangements.  The court evaluates the ability of the parents to the meet the needs of the child, not a parent’s “standing” in the community.

Child support payment enforcement applies to all parents and the failure to comply with a child support order has severe consequences. In New Jersey, the county Probation Department and the Office of Child Support Services supervise the Child Support Program to ensure payment of child support through wage garnishment, or through attachment of unemployment or worker’s compensation benefits.  Past-due child support payments can be taken from assets such as money in the bank, stocks and bonds, winnings over $600 in the lottery and civil court awards or settlements. Cherry Hill divorce attorney Richard C. Klein Esq. regularly handles New Jersey child support enforcement matters.

South Jersey matrimonial lawyer Richard C. Klein, Esq. Chair of the Family Law Department of Becker Meisel LLC., has the experience and knowledge to help you understand your rights and to ensure that you receive the child support you are entitled to so you can meet the needs of your child. If you are struggling through a divorce and need help to determine child custody and child support, or you are not receiving the child support as court ordered, Cherry Hill family law attorney Richard C. Klein, Esq., is the one to contact. He and his team of experienced New Jersey child support attorneys will work hard so your child will receive the financial support your child deserves.

Even if you anticipate a cordial holiday season visitation experience with your former spouse, follow these simple steps to ensure good cheer for everyone: Review your parenting time agreement and visitation schedule to determine the exact dates and times that the children are scheduled to be with you and when they are scheduled to be with the other parent. Send confirmation of the holiday schedule to your ex-spouse so that you are both on the same page. Make sure everyone in your household is aware of with whom, when, and where they will be spending the holidays.

If conflicts arise and  you or your former spouse needs clarification about the holiday visitation schedule set forth in the parenting time agreement or you anticipate interference with the agreed-upon parenting time arrangement, you may need the assistance of an experienced divorce attorney.  Consult South Jersey divorce attorney Richard C. Klein. He can work out a mutually acceptable amendment to your parenting time agreement, incorporating your concerns, such as visiting relatives, school break activities and religious observances. By contacting our Cherry Hill family law offices before your holiday visitation conflict turns hostile, you can avoid the need for our child custody lawyers to file ex parte or emergency legal documents at this time of year. Your visitation agreement was created to help you organize schedules, not hinder them.

Out of town visitations can be the source of special concerns.  If either the custodial or the non-custodial parent has booked a family holiday vacation out of state, the parenting time agreement may require the other parent’s written consent. In extreme cases, out of town holiday trips may cause anxiety over unsupervised visits or non-custodial parent abductions. If you think you need the Court’s intervention to prevent a dangerous situation, call South Jersey child custody lawyer Richard C. Klein to discuss whether you need to seek modification of your visitation agreement.

Normally, a modification of visitation requires a showing of a change in circumstances and that the modification is in the best interest of the child. If your former spouse’s request for an out-of-town holiday trip conflicts with your regular visitation schedule, but doesn’t really present a dangerous situation, it’s probably in the “best interest” of your child to be flexible.  Still, our Cherry Hill family law attorneys can assist you in setting out parameters for the trip that will alleviate any stress you may feel and make the experience as enjoyable as possible for your children.

A minimal effort on your part by reviewing and clarifying your parenting plan in advance of the holiday season could save you and your family from emotional and financial disaster and ensure that this holiday season will be a special time for you and your children.  If you anticipate that your former spouse will not comply with your visitation schedule, or you can’t work out a mutually agreed-upon modification for the special circumstances that come with the holidays, call Cherry Hill visitation lawyer Richard C. Klein today to discuss your options.