My office in New Brunswick is right near the court house. As a result, we are there often. If you need a tough attorney for your New Brunswick child support case, give me a call anytime.
New firm website
Check out our new firm website at www.tomsriverattorney.net
I am still ironing out a few bugs on the site so please excuse any errors that may exist.
Clients saves a ton of money
Just finished a case where my client filed a child support motion pro se but wanted me to argue it in court. After we resolved most of the issues in his favor, I realized that there were some other issues that he did not address in his motion. In New Jersey, you can only argue what you put in the motion. Thus, he would have had to hire me to come back to court. I worked out this other issue for him that will save him tens of thousands of dollars over time.
I also make sure that his child support numbers were correct as the court’s numbers were wrong. Sometimes clients don’t appreciate your efforts because they don’t even grasp what you’ve done, but he sure did. At the end of the day, he said, wow, you are really good. That made it all worth it for me. And no, it has nothing to do with my ego. I went the extra mile for him by working out issues he wasn’t even asking for and he realized that and was thankful for it. For me, that is what it is all about.
When consent orders attack
I’ve seen two different child support cases in my office this week where the client worked out a consent order without really knowing what they were getting into. After a while, they realized that something was left out or that something about it was wrong. If you go without an attorney or with one that doesn’t know what they are doing, then you could run into serious problems. As always, it is easier (and cheaper) to do it right the first time.
At the very least, meet with an attorney before you enter into any agreement or file any motion. If your case or issue is really that simple, than it should be really inexpensive to hire an attorney to make sure it is done right the first time.
Hiring an attorney for a divorce now could save you money later
I often feel like a broken record for constantly repeating myself, but I feel that it is necessary. I have so many people that come into my office for a divorce consultation in an effort to simply pump me for information so that they can avoid hiring me or any other attorney. I guess that is what I get for giving free consultations? More importantly however is the the fact that these people don’t listen to me when I tell them that hiring a good attorney is like making a good investment, it will save you money and pay off in the long run. Nevertheless, they don’t want to hear it.
As I often do, I am more concerned with results than money. I see way too many people that had no attorney or a less than stellar attorney for the divorce and now months or years later, sometimes many years later, issues have developed that may take thousands of dollars to resolve. Worse yet, some cases never seem to resolve. However, if they would have retained a good attorney from the start, all of that money, time and aggravation would be avoided.
I have so many people that tell me, “I wish I would have retained you from the start”. This is because a good attorney should make sure that everything is set up so that the divorce ends just about everything possible so that there are no issues lingering after the divorce. Without an attorney, no one else in the court is going to help you. With a bad attorney, no thought will be put into making sure you don’t have to come back to that attorney’s office.
The bottom line, 1, get a good attorney, 2, question your attorney to make sure that there are no avoidable issues that could go wrong after the case is over. Otherwise, issues such as child support, alimony or the sale of the house could take years to resolve.
If you need an attorney for any divorce of child support case in New Jersey, call me anytime.
Collecting unemployment is rarely a changed circumstance
It seems like common sense. You lose your job and are now collecting unemployment. Your child support obligation that was based upon your old higher salary now seems awfully expensive. So, you should get a reduction now right? Wrong!
Most people can’t even believe that this is the law but even in this economy, most judges in New Jersey will likely hold that short term unemployment is not a changed circumstance. So when is it not short term? There is no exact time frame.
In normal times, it is fairly easy for someone to get a job that pays close to what they were making after a few months of searching. However, in this economy, is it really possible to find a new job so quick or at all? If you really want to make a good run at such a motion, I suggest hiring an attorney right away even though the motion will not be filed for several months. I know it is tough to hire an attorney when you are out of work but I always tell my clients to look at it like an investment. In other words, paying a little now could save thousands down the road.
If you have lost your job, call me today to discuss how we can work today to set up a credible motion several months down the road.
Toms River Child Support Attorney
If you want to see an attorney for any child support issue, I will be in my Toms River office for most of this week. The address of my Toms River office is 26 Main Street. Because of high school and college graduations, emancipation motions are very common this time of year. I have already filed numerous motions within the past few weeks, and I am sure I will file many more.
My initial consultations are always free. If you can’t make it down to my Toms River office, you can call me to discuss any child support issue. Not only do I focus on winning your child support case, but I always work as efficiently as possible to save you money. After all, what good is a result if it costs you an arm and a leg? I am also aggressive in that I always fight for you and I back down to no one. Thus, if you need a child support to fight for you in the Toms River, Ocean County Courts, call me today.
Preventing a mess is easier than cleaning up a mess
When I tell people to get an attorney, it is because I am trying to save them money and not spend more. I know that may not sound right, but I always try to use examples to illustrate my point. Here is a case that came into my office last night.
Mother hardly gets child support from the Father. Child is 17 and very troublesome. Child runs off to a friends house where anything goes. The Mother of the friend files an action for custody. Both mothers agree to share custody back in March. Now the Mother of the friend comes after the other Mother for child support and wins! Worst yet, the child support is probably three times more than what it should be because it doesn’t account for the other Mother’s income as well as any child support that the Father should be paying.
So, she hands me this mess and says get my son back. I tell her I’d be glad to help her but it’ll cost her much more (3 times+) than what it would have cost if she hired me for the first court appearance. Now, I have to fight to undo the consent order just to get my foot in the door for a custody hearing. On top of that, I would be fighting against a status quo that has been established for several months now.
Her reason for not calling an attorney is that she called legal aid and they told her that she did not need an attorney. When she called them back after the second hearing, they advised her that she did not qualify for legal aid. Thus, I think she misunderstood what legal aid told her.
Bottom line, you should speak to an attorney in person if you are facing any legal dispute. If the attorney says you don’t need one, ask for a detailed explanation. For example, if a client comes to me with a $2000 dispute in small claims court, my fee could be $2000 or only $1000. Either way, it doesn’t make much sense to hire me. However, I would have no problem with the client coming into my office to find that out as there may be other issues besides just dollars that would make more sense for the client to hire an attorney. With a free consultation, the only thing you spent is a little time.
Is your child support calculated properly?
There are so many people that come into my office that have wrong child support calculations. Quite often, the person that is paying is paying way too much. Most of the time, this is because they did not have an attorney and as a result, no one bothered to make sure the child support was done right the first time. Worst yet, you may never be able to get any of that money back. For example, I had one new client come into my office last week that was overpaying about $50 per week for years!
While all of the above sounds great if you are the one receiving child support, the most common issue I see on the other side is that there is nothing in place to make sure that the support actually gets paid. Again, this is usually because there was no attorney to help the person in the begining.
Paying an attorney is never fun. However, child support is (usually) a relatively simple matter to handle. Thus, it is good investment to get an attorney the first time to make sure everything is done right. It’ll pay off in the future.
With offices in Toms River, Princeton, New Brunswick and Eatontown, my law offices are easy to reach from anywhere in New Jersey. My initial consultations are always free so it will cost you nothing to see if your child support is calculated properly and/or set up properly. I practice in every court in this state, so from Newark to Atlantic City, Freehold to Trenton, you only need to call one number for an attorney that will fight for you.
Act now, before its too late
In New Jersey, you generally have to act now if you want to modify your child support. It doesn’t matter if you pay child support or receive it. However, I usually see more people that pay child support waiting. Trying to come back a few years later only after your arrears have built up is not a good idea. Unless you can get the child emancipated back to a certain date that wipes out arrears, it can be impossible to wipe out child support arrears. Thus, if you file a motion now to reduce your child support, you will avoid the issue of arrears all together.
Call me to discuss this further.
