Happy Memorial Day

Take at least a little time today to salute our veterans.

Dumb Criminals- Ronald McDonald Edition

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_13257240

Thieves stole a fiberglass Ronald McDonald statue with a replacement value of about $3,500. I'm sure it took all kinds of derring-do and cunning to steal the statue, but- WHY?

Dumb Criminals- Larry David Edition

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) – A motorist was arrested Thursday for driving in a high-occupancy vehicle lane with a mannequin dressed to look like a passenger, police said.

Investigators said Greg Allen Pringle, 53, was the only human in the car. HOV lanes are open only to buses, motorcycles, vehicles carrying two or more people or hybrid vehicles.

Officer Mark Watters said Pringle was southbound on U.S. 36 between Boulder and Denver. Watters said the mannequin was dressed in a gray sweat shirt and a baseball cap.

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Didn't Larry David have Kramer try something similar to this in Seinfeld? Didn't he himself try something similar in Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Dumb Criminals- Billion Dollar Edition

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The counterfeit money looked good, but there was one flaw. There’s no such thing as a one billion dollar bill.

U.S. Customs agents in California said on Tuesday they had found 250 bogus billion dollar bills while investigating a man charged with currency smuggling.

Tekle Zigetta, 45, pleaded guilty to three federal counts of trying to bring cash, phony bills and a fake $100,000 (57,000 pound) gold certificate into the United States in January.

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Reminds me of something I've heard many times in this business: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

Adult Adoption

See, generally N.J.S.A. 2A:22-1 et seq.

In order to do an adult adoption, the adopter must be at least ten years older than the adoptee, and there must be some showing that a parent-child relationship exists, rather than there being some sort of financial or other ulterior motive for the adoption.

One of the happiest cases I have ever handled involved an adult adoption. Most times, people come to lawyers because they are faced with problems, and if they are made happy through the process it is often an accident, or at the expense of someone else. Here, we allowed two people to formalize a "parent-child" relationship they had had for a long time, and it made them both happy to know that not only did they recognize it, but the law now did as well.

What is a Divorce "from Bed and board?"

Okay, one more divorce post.

There really is no formal proceeding to have a legal separation in New Jersey. There is an outdated legal proceeding called a “divorce from bed and board” that is similar to a legal separation. Basically, a divorce from bed and board is a legal proceeding that is not really a divorce, but it is more than a legal separation. A divorce from bed and board was very popular in the 50's and 60's. Many people believed that getting a divorce was a mortal sin. These kinds of beliefs were especially prevalent for people of the Catholic faith.

To address these concerns the courts developed a legal proceeding called a “divorce from bed and board.” In this type of proceeding, the parties are economically divorced but are still legally married. The parties receive a judgment that equitably distributes the assets, support awards are issued, and debts are apportioned. In these types of cases alimony is usually not awarded.

These proceedings are helpful in limited legal circumstances, such as if one spouse has a health condition and cannot get affordable health insurance. However, the parties are still legally married to one another, and that can cause all sorts of problems, especially if the parties are not civil to one another, and/or if they intend to remarry at some point in the future.

PSA Topics, Part 2

Here are some other topics you might see addressed in a PSA:

• Health Insurance
• Disposition of the Marital Home
• Pension Plans
• Tax Issues
• Future Dispute Settlement

Health insurance becomes an issue if only one party has access to it, or if children are involved. Pension plans and tax issues are often dealt with in conjunction with the equitable distribution of property (see last post). Disposition of the marital home is sometimes a little trickier, because it is often the parties' largest asset, and often one or both parties for many reasons do not want the home sold (for stability, or because it will continue to appreciate, or for children).

Among the most important provisions of a PSA is that of future dispute settlement. Divorcing couples will have disputes; that is often why they divorced in the first place. A well-written PSA can minimize the number of times that those disputes end up in Court, where neither side is liable to get the kind of results they want, and lawyers will become expensive in a hurry. A PSA that notes a neutral third-party and ways that the two ex-spouses can address their complaints is one that will save the parties thousands in legal fees, and hours of headaches, down the line.

PSA Topics, Part 1

These are some of the issues you might see addressed in a property settlement agreement (PSA) in New Jersey:

• Visitation
• Child Support Payments Under New Jersey Law
• Spousal Maintenance Under New Jersey Law
• Property Division
• Division of Debts

Visitation and child support are issues only relevant if you have children, obviously. Spousal maintenance may be an issue, especially if one spouse is the primary breadwinner (and the other one was at home taking care of children, or if the other spouse could not or did not work). Division of debts can also be important, if the couple has incurred large debts through credit cards, car loans, mortgages, or other debts.

The main issue in any PSA, though, is division of property. As I explained earlier, New Jersey follows an "equitable distribution" rule, which splits property fairly (although not necessarily equally). The Court can make the decision of how to split the property, but oftentimes the parties are much more satisfied (and spend much less on lawyers) if they can make the agreement themselves, and specify it here.

Settlement Agreements

Most divorces are addressed not by a trial, but by a settlement agreement of some sort between the parties. The next few posts will point out commonly addressed issues in a settlement agreement, and then we will move on from divorce to happier topics (I promise!).

Deviant Sexual Conduct

Deviant Sexual Conduct
Deviant Sexual Conduct occurs if the defendant engages in deviant sexual conduct without the consent of the plaintiff spouse. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(h).

Consult your lawyer if you have a question as to whether something is "deviant."

Imprisonment

Imprisonment
Imprisonment as a ground for divorce occurs when a spouse has been imprisoned for eighteen or more months after the marriage. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(g).

Institutionalization

Institutionalization
When one spouse has been institutionalized for mental illness for a period of twelve or more consecutive months subsequent to the marriage and preceding the filing of the complaint, institutionalization is a ground for divorce under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(f).

Addiction

Addiction
Under N.S.J.A 2A:34-2(e), addiction involves a dependence on a narcotic or other controlled, dangerous substance, or a habitual drunkenness for a period of twelve or more consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.

Desertion

Desertion
The willful and continuous desertion by one party for a period of twelve or more months, and satisfactory proof that the parties have ceased to cohabit as man and wife constitutes desertion under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(b).

What would constitute proof? If for example one spouse moved out and got a new address, changed their driver's license, and did not contact the other spouse, these would be great proofs usable in proving desertion.

Adultery

Adultery

The courts have held that "adultery exists when one spouse rejects the other by entering into a personal intimate relationship with any other person, irrespective of the specific sexual acts performed; the rejection of the spouse coupled with out-of-marriage intimacy constitutes adultery." New Jersey Court Rule 5:4-2 requires that the plaintiff in an adultery divorce case, state the name of the person with whom the offending conduct was committed. This person is known as the corespondent. If the name is not known, the person who files must give as much information as possible tending to describe the adulterer.

Fault Grounds- Extreme Cruelty

Extreme cruelty includes any physical or mental cruelty which makes it improper or unreasonable to expect that individual to cohabitate with their spouse. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(c).

Please note that extreme cruelty in NJ doesn't really need to be "extreme" in any sense that you and I understand it. Chances are, the things that caused you to end up in a divorce proceeding in the first place are probably the things that could constitute "extreme cruelty."

No-Fault Grounds for Divorce

There are two ways in NJ you can file for a divorce without alleging "fault" on behalf of either spouse. They are:

(1) Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage for a period of six months and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved and that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation;

(2) Living separate and apart for 18 months and no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

Even if these apply, many attorneys will still allege grounds that require "fault" because it is better to allege them and not need them than the other way around. However, if the spouses can agree on everything before the filing of the documents, then there may be no need for any more complicated pleadings.

Coming up- Grounds for Divorce

The next few posts will be a series on the different grounds for divorce, and a brief description of each. These are the grounds for divorce in New Jersey:

1. Irreonciliable differences;
2. Separation;
3. Extreme cruelty;
4. Adultery;
5. Desertion;
6. Addiction;
7. Institutionalization;
8. Imprisonment;
9. Deviant Sexual Conduct.

Jurisdiction for Divorce in NJ

I have quoted the statute below that determines whether two people can get a divorce in New Jersey based on their residency.

1. When, at the time the cause of action arose, either party was a bona fide resident of this State, and has continued so to be down to the time of the commencement of the action; except that no action for absolute divorce shall be commenced for any cause other than adultery, unless one of the parties has been for the 1 year next preceding the commencement of the action a bona fide resident of this State; or

2. When, since the cause of action arose, either party has become, and for at least 1 year next preceding the commencement of the action has continued to be, a bona fide resident of this State. (New Jersey Statutes - Title 2 A - Chapters: 34-8, 34.10)

Basically translated, this means that if one of the two spouses is a resident of New Jersey, and either has been for a year before the filing for divorce, or for a year before the "cause of action" arose (whatever is complained of to cause the divorce), then the divorce can be filed in New Jersey.