If you are, or a family member or a friend or even a stranger is a veteran, and help is needed, one or more of these resources may be useful:
[SOURCE: The Star-Ledger]

For immediate help in a crisis situation:

•New Jersey Veterans Helpline
(866) VETS-NJ-4 (866-838-7654) The free, confidential helpline is staffed 24 hours a day/seven days a week by trained veterans and professional counselors who can provide help for any problems that may arise when soldiers return home.

•Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline
(800) 273-TALK (8255) and then press 1. A free helpline for veterans in crisis or emotional distress that is staffed 24 hours a day/seven days a week by counselors. The website provides 24/7 access to chat via computer with a trained counselor. The helpline is managed in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

•Military OneSource
(800) 342-9647. The recommended site by the Department of Defense for soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day/seven days a week.

For free psychological counseling services not connected to the military, for soldiers, veterans and family:

•Give an Hour
A state and national network of providers make themselves available for free in-person mental health consultations or phone conversations for U.S. military personnel and families affected by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

•The Soldiers Project
(877) 576-5343. Licensed mental health professionals who offer free, confidential psychological treatment to military service members who have served or who expect to serve in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, as well as family members affected by mental health issues of loved ones.

For resources and guidance for returning veterans:

•National Veterans Foundation
(888) 777-4443. A nationwide hotline for veterans and their families for problems ranging from mental health crisis management to people looking for their nearest Veterans Affairs clinic. Staffed by personel from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. PST.

For veteran-to-veteran peer support:

•Vets 4 Vets
(520) 319-5500. A national organization of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that works on building informal communities through peer-to-peer conversations.

•The Wounded Warrior Project
(877) 832-6997. An organization that helps severely injured service members help one another, provides programs and services to meet their needs, and raises public awareness and support.

NOTE: My Law Office is located at 726 West Saint Georges [W. St. Georges] Avenue (Route 27), Linden, Union County, NJ. Telephone: 908-486-2200

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DNA testing provides answers — BUT, are you ready to deal with those answers?

Read: Who Knew I Was Not the Father? by Ruth Padawer, published in The New York Times.

See some of my related Blog Posts.

NOTE: Adwokat / Prawnik Pawel Kostro mowi po polsku.

Technorati Tags: dna, paternity, paternity testing,

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to Polish-speaking and other clients in Fanwood 07023; Garwood 07027; Kenilworth 07033; Mountainside 07092; New Providence 07974; Roselle Park 07204; Roselle 07203; Elizabeth 07201; Linden 07036; Plainfield 07060; Rahway 07065; Summit 07901; Westfield 07090; Berkeley Heights 07922; Clark 07066; Cranford 07016; Hillside 07205; Scotch Plains 07076; Springfield 07081; Union 07083; Woodbridge 07095; Somerset 08873; Somerville 08876 and Watchung 07069, New Jersey.

Technorati Tags: divorce,

When you are considering marriage, there are so many things to think about and discuss: assets, liabilities, earnings, in-kind contributions, child-rearing, chauffeur and other family services, home-maker; who is responsible for what; who owns what; who contributes what?

For one person’s experience, read: When Bankers Get Too Personal, by Nicole Collins, published in The New York Times.

Premarital mediation and a Pre-Nuptial Agreement may be helpful to some — if you agree, and you want to discuss this further, please call me for an appointment.

NOTE: This Blog/Blawg, NJ Family Issues, is managed by Paul G. Kostro, Esq., an attorney/lawyer/mediator in Linden, Union County, New Jersey.

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Mediation in child welfare cases is a way for parties to make decisions and resolve issues themselves. A neutral, trained person, called a mediator, meets with the parents, caseworker, attorneys, and other interested persons outside of the courtroom setting to discuss issues concerning a child in the care of the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). The mediator can help the parties to reach their own agreement.

For more information, see Directive # 11-09 and the CHILD WELFARE MEDIATION PROGRAM PROCEDURES MANUAL

NOTE: My Law Office is located at 726 West Saint Georges [W. St. Georges] Avenue (Route 27), Linden, Union County, NJ. Telephone: 908-486-2200

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Google is enabling people everywhere to find and read full text legal opinions from U.S. federal and state district, appellate and supreme courts using Google Scholar. You can find these opinions by searching for cases, or by topics, or other queries that you may be interested in.


Rutgers – Camden Law Library also has my resources available on its New Jersey Courts Search Page.


Very recent N.J. Supreme and Appellate Court (and some Trial Court) opinions are available on the the NJCourtOnLine.com web page.

NOTE: This Blog/Blawg, NJ Family Issues, is managed by Paul G. Kostro, Esq., an attorney/lawyer/mediator in Linden, Union County, New Jersey.

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The interpretation and enforcement of provisions of an agreement governing support of children is always guided and restricted by fundamental principles recognizing the parents’ shared obligation to support their children and their children’s right to receive it. See Dolce, supra, 383 N.J. Super. at 19-20; Ordukaya v. Brown, 357 N.J. Super. 231, 241 (App. Div. 2003).

The obligation and right to child support include “a necessary education for children” after high school whether it be in a “vocational school” or a “college.” Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529, 544 (1982). The existence and extent of a parent’s obligation for the cost of such post-secondary education depend upon considerations of the expectations and relevant abilities of the child and his or her parents under factors identified in Newburgh and reaffirmed in Gac v. Gac, 186 N.J. 535, 543, 546-47 (2006). ^[1] “Th[ose] factors . . . contemplate that a parent or child seeking contribution towards the expenses of higher education will make the request before the educational expenses are incurred.” Id. at 546. Accordingly, the failure to seek an order compelling contribution before the fact “weigh[s] heavily against the grant of a future application.” Id. at 547.

Under Gac, delay is one factor that weighs against entry of an order compelling a contribution to post-secondary education. Ibid. Gac does not establish a bright line rule permitting automatic denial whenever a request is filed after educational expense has been incurred.

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to Polish-speaking and other clients in Linden 07036; South Amboy 08878; South River 08877; Avenel 07001; Colonia 07067; Iselin 08830; Woodbridge 07095; Somerset 08873; Somerville 08876 and Watchung 07069, New Jersey.

Technorati Tags: child-support, higher-education, need-new-link,

1. The factors are:
   (1) whether the parent, if still living with the child, would have contributed toward the costs of the requested higher education;
   (2) the effect of the background, values and goals of the parent on the reasonableness of the expectation of the child for higher education;
   (3) the amount of the contribution sought by the child for the cost of higher education;
   (4) the ability of the parent to pay that cost;
   (5) the relationship of the requested contribution to the kind of school or course of study sought by the child;
   (6) the financial resources of both parents;
   (7) the commitment to and aptitude of the child for the requested education;
   (8) the financial resources of the child, including assets owned individually or held in custodianship or trust;
   (9) the ability of the child to earn income during the school year or on vacation;
   (10) the availability of financial aid in the form of college grants and loans;
   (11) the child’s relationship to the paying parent, including mutual affection and shared goals as well as responsiveness to parental advice and guidance; and
   (12) the relationship of the education requested to any prior training and to the overall longrange goals of the child.
   [Gac v. Gac, 186 N.J. 535, 543 (2006) (quoting Newburgh v. Arrigo, 88 N.J. 529, 545 (1982).]

Where matters in dispute on a post-judgment motion in an action for divorce are addressed in an agreement between the parties, the agreement is “‘entitled to considerable weight with respect to [its] validity and enforceability’ in equity, provided [it is] fair and just.” Dolce v. Dolce, 383 N.J. Super. 11, 20 (App. Div. 2006) (quoting Petersen v. Petersen, 85 N.J. 638, 642 (1981)); see also Lepis v. Lepis, 83 N.J. 139, 153 (1980).

Where the meaning of the agreement is in dispute, “[t]he court’s role is to consider what is written [in the agreement] in the context of the circumstances at the time of drafting and to apply a rational meaning in keeping with the ‘expressed general purpose.’” Pacifico v. Pacifico, 190 N.J. 258, 266 (2007) (quoting Atl. N. Airlines, Inc. v. Schwimmer, 12 N.J. 293, 302 (1953)).

An important indicator of what parties to an agreement intend is their course of performance tendered pursuant to that agreement. Joseph Hilton & Assocs., Inc. v. Evans, 201 N.J. Super. 156, 171 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 101 N.J. 326 (1985); Regan v. Regan, 246 N.J. Super. 475 (Ch. Div. 1990).

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to clients in Fanwood 07023; Garwood 07027; Kenilworth 07033; Mountainside 07092; New Providence 07974; Roselle Park 07204; Roselle 07203; Elizabeth 07201; Linden 07036, New Jersey.

Technorati Tags: need-new-link, property-settlement-agreement, psa,

The Legislature has declared that an alimony obligation “shall terminate” upon the remarriage of the supported spouse. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-25. This statute memorializes “the strong public policy against enforcing support orders on behalf of remarried former [spouses].” Ehrenworth v. Ehrenworth, 187 N.J. Super. 342, 347 (App. Div. 1982). Despite the public policy, the courts have recognized that parties may contract for the continuation of alimony beyond the date of a supported spouse’s remarriage. Id. at 349. Accordingly, the court must initially turn to the PSA to consider whether the parties unambiguously agreed that defendant would remain obligated to pay alimony following the recipient’s remarriage.

In this case, the parties included in their PSA a provision that declares alimony would continue “for the natural lives of the parties, unless terminated by any one or more of the following” and then lists two events: repudiation or modification of the PSA by the written “mutual consent of the parties”; and defendant’s death.

The PSA’s silence on the subject of remarriage renders plausible the contention that defendant waived the rights set forth in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-25.

If the parties never reached an agreement that alimony would continue after the recipient’s remarriage, then the payor is entitled to the benefit of N.J.S.A. 2A:34-25 and its expression of the strong public policy that alimony end upon the remarriage of the supported spouse. See Flaxman v. Flaxman, 57 N.J. 458, 461 (1971) (holding that “[t]here is no question but that a valid second marriage extinguishes a wife’s right to alimony from her first husband”); Ehrenworth, supra, 187 N.J. Super. at 347-48. “[T]he law is a silent factor in every contract[, and p]arties in New Jersey are likewise presumed to have contracted with reference to the existing law.” Camden Bd. of Educ. v. Alexander, 181 N.J. 187, 195 (2004) (quoting Silverstein v. Keane, 19 N.J. 1, 13 (1955)).

Absent an actual agreement to the contrary, the parties must be deemed to have contracted in a manner consistent with the mandatory directive of N.J.S.A. 2A:34-25. Should a judge find, following an evidentiary hearing, that the parties did not agree about the impact of remarriage on the obligation to pay alimony, then the payor is entitled to an order declaring that the alimony obligation terminated on the date of the supported spouse’s remarriage.

In ascertaining the parties’ intent, the judge may also consider surrounding circumstances. Also, the subsequent conduct of contracting parties often reveals their actual intentions. Michaels v. Brookchester, Inc., 26 N.J. 379, 388 (1958).

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to Polish-speaking and other clients in Linden 07036; Plainfield 07060; Rahway 07065; Summit 07901; Westfield 07090; Berkeley Heights 07922; Clark 07066; Cranford 07016; Hillside 07205; Scotch Plains 07076; Springfield 07081; Union 07083; Winfield; Carteret 07008; Dunellen 08812; East Brunswick 08816; Edison 08817; Jamesburg 08831; Metuchen 08840; and Watchung 07069, New Jersey.

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Although the child support guidelines exclude the income of another household member, ^[1] such as a new spouse, in calculating child support, a current spouse’s income may have relevance to the extent its availability impacts the financial resources of the parent. For example, a current spouse may contribute toward roof expenses, thus alleviating the extent to which the parent has to contribute toward those expenses. That is a fact of interest in fixing a child support obligation. See Hudson v. Hudson, 315 N.J. Super. 577, 583 (App. Div. 1998).

NOTE: My legal services include family law, divorce, child support, litigation, arbitration, mediation, child custody and visitation, alimony, equitable distribution, separation agreements, palimony, PSA, property settlement agreement, premarital and prenuptial agreements, midmarriage and marital agreements.

Technorati Tags: child-support, need-new-link,

1. Appendix IX-B to Rule 5:6A indicates the types of income excluded from gross income in calculating child support. Subsection (f) of that category excludes the “income from other household members (e.g., step-parents, grandparents, current spouse) who are not legally responsible for the support of the child for whom support is being established except to determine the other-dependent credit . . . .” Pressler, Current N.J. Court Rules, Appendix IX-B, at 2428-29 (2010).