Child Support and Paternity Disputes

The move to establish or deny paternity most often occurs when a baby is born to unmarried parents who have never lived together. Determining paternity is essential to establishing parent rights to visitation/parenting time and to obtaining child support.

Once paternity is established, New Jersey law states that the child has a right to child support from both parents. Both mother and father are equally responsible according to the law to provide that support. In most cases, establishing paternity will also help a biological father establish the right to seek visitation/parenting time with his child. In some cases, involving a mother who has mental health or other issues that make her an unfit parent, the biological father can seek to obtain full custody of the child in question.

A paternity action will involve the alleged father undergoing DNA testing to determine whether his DNA matches the child’s DNA. This type of test is almost 100 percent accurate and can be taken even before the child in question is born.

Protect a Child’s Right to Support

If you are the mother of the child in question, you must file a paternity action to establish paternity of the alleged father to obtain a binding child support order from the family law court.

If you believe that you did not parent the child in question, then you must obtain a paternity test to prove that you are not the biological parent. If this is the case, then you will owe no child support to the child’s mother.

Who Can File a Paternity Action

Several people may file a paternity action. These include the mother of the child, the person who has custody of the child if for some reason that is not the mother or the father, the man who believes he is the biological father of the child in question, or any other person who has what is considered a justifiable interest in the child.

What If the Couple Was Married When the Child Was Born?

Under New Jersey law, a man can be presumed to be the child’s father when the child’s biological mother and the presumed father are or were married to one another, within certain time restrictions.

Even if the man is not the biological father of the child but for many years lived with the child’s mother and acted as if he were the parent of the child, he may be considered as a psychological parent in a family law court. This will entitle him to the same rights and responsibilities as a biological father.

Questions About Paternity and Child Support?

Contact an experienced paternity lawyer

at the law office of Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, NJ, by calling 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233. You may also contact us online.

When you retain an attorney at our southern New Jersey law firm, you are accessing a combined 65 years’ experience to protect your rights and help you find a workable solution to your legal challenge. We are here to protect your rights at every stage of a paternity and support matter, or any other family law concern.

Dividing Marital Property in New Jersey

When you are going through a divorce, dividing marital assets and debt can be an extremely emotional, challenging process. On the one hand, you want to make sure that your rights are protected. On the other hand, your emotions may be clouding your ability to make good decisions.

An experienced attorney can help you focus on what’s most important in your specific situation, help you see the big picture, create a sound strategy for a good outcome, and provide reassurance at every stage of a divorce.

In New Jersey, marital assets are divided equitably, not equally. This means that your assets and your debt will be fairly divided between you and your spouse. Typically, all property and debt that was acquired during the marriage will become martial property, with some exceptions, including an inheritance or gifts that were designated to just one spouse.

Equitable Division Includes Assets and Debt

Equitable division in New Jersey will include valuing and then fairly dividing assets such as homes, businesses established during the marriage, and other property, as well as any liabilities, including marital debt. IRAs and pensions gained during the marriage will also be considered as marital assets to be divided.

Additional factors that may affect a property and debt division settlement can include:

Marriage duration
Education of both spouses
Age of both spouses at time of divorce
Ability of both spouses to earn a living
Ability of both spouses to maintain the standard of living that was the standard during the marriage
Child-rearing costs of the custodial parent
Costs of a special needs child
Spousal sacrifice of career to support the other spouse
Spousal sacrifice to stay at home with the children
Contribution of one spouse to the other spouse’s business that was established pre-marriage

Contact an Experienced Marital Property Division Lawyer in New Jersey

To discuss your concerns and goals and gain a good understanding of your options involving marriage property and debt division in southern New Jersey, talk with an experienced family law attorney at Taylor and Boguski, in Mount Laurel, NJ. Please call 800-404-5299 or 856-234-2233 or contact us online.