C is for Child Support/Custody

Well, as y'all may have gathered, although I am not a fan of child support, neither is it my big hob-goblin. This is mostly because New Jersey has made Alimony the monster, and in New Jersey Child-support is relatively reasonable, except, of course, for enforcement, where men have no rights at all.

Custody is a different story, with women winning the bulk of the cases, and men walking away bereft of both assets AND children.

But anyway, here is a library of resources for divorce, child support, and custody, that will hopefully assist people persuing these unfortunate fields of endeavor in NJ.

Note, most of these will not be oriented towards men, but what can you do? The system and resources are bent towards abusing men and coddling women. That's life right now. Know of another great NJ resource? Post a reply, we can all use the help.

A self-help guide to divorce in NJ
New Jersey Law Network - Overview of NJ Law
New Jersey Child Support Information
New Jersey Child Support Guidelines
Divorce and Custody Blog
NJ Law Child Support FAQs
DivorceLawInfo.com on Child Support

More General Legal Resources
NJ Judiciary Forms Online from the NJ Courts Online site
Books and resources from NOLO.com
NJ Law Network Resources
Low Cost Legal Resources by State
Yahoo Group - Dads In Family Court (membership required)

Legal Services of NJ (LSNJ):

• Documents and resources
  
• Hotline Legal help for low income persons (1-888-576-5529)
  -(make them do an 'intake' on you.)
  They may not help very much, but push for what you need - they initially told me I was an 'adverse' party. (?!) As my ex makes lots of money, I don't think they could really have been representing her, unless she lied about her income... They did find a way (relatively quickly) to set up an appointment with me, (when I pushed) so there is access there for men if you assert yourself a bit.
  
  There are a lot of important and vital facts in these web-pages, facts that you should review, such as the following from NJ Law Child Support FAQs:
  
  16. How can a person emancipate a child and stop paying child support?
  
  Child support does not end automatically once the child turns 18. A person who pays child support must file an application with the court clerk and it is known as a motion to request that the child be declared emancipated. The child support obligation will only end once a family court judge enters an order that declares the child emancipated. The order of emancipation is then given to Probation, and the garnishment of the payor's pay check will then be stopped.This entire emancipation process takes about 3 to 4 months. Therefore, the emancipation application should be made in advance of the child's graduation from high school or of their 18th birthday. In some counties, the judge will rule on the emancipation application only on the papers, and a court appearance will not be necessary. However, in some counties a hearing is set down, regardless whether the opposing party files an objection.In summary, it is extremely important to always timely file for emancipation. A person should not take it for granted that child support automatically ends once the child turns 18. I have had many cases when child support arrearages accrues into the tens of thousands of dollars, even after the child is well over 18 years of age. The parent can avoid this problem if they just file a timely emancipation motion. The child support arrearages continue to accrue up until the child reaches the age of 26. If a person just ignores filing for emancipation, then eventually they will get a bill from Probation advising him that he owes tens of thousands of dollars in back child support. Furthermore, Probation will advise him that his driver's license is also indefinitely suspended.
  
  Note again, in this, there is no concept that the woman might be responsible for paying back inappropriate support she recieved, and no apparent understanding that what the State is doing is fundamentally wrong. Read it again. Support will continue until the child is 26 if you don't cut it off promptly at 18. 26!. Ma Jersey strikes again.
  
  Thanks, Ma.
  
  -M