Family Law

The practice area of family law embodies a wide range of legal areas that correspond to family and domestic relationships.  Our attorneys at A. Schancupp & Associates, L.L.C. are dedicated to assisting clients in matters of divorce, child support, child custody, visitation, alimony, equitable distribution, legal separation, and post-judgment motions, paternity, adoption and annulments.

Divorce

Divorce is an emotionally trying and complex legal area that affects many facets of individual family members’ lives. New Jersey grants no-fault divorce for grounds of separation and irreconcilable differences, and there are seven additional fault based grounds for divorce, which include adultery, extreme cruelty, desertion, institutionalization, imprisonment and deviant sexual conduct. Our attorneys at A. Schancupp & Associates, L.L.C. have extensive experience assisting clients to navigate the intricacies and complications of divorce based on the uniqueness of each family’s situation.

Child Custody/Child Support/Visitation

Under New Jersey law, both parents have equal rights in determining child custody, and custody is based on the best interests of the child. During child custody proceedings, responsibility for legal custody, which involves decision-making regarding a child’s healthcare, education, religious upbringing and welfare is adjudicated as well as physical custody, which involves daily custodial care and residence. Typically, there are three main types of custody: sole custody, joint legal custody and joint physical custody.

As part of the parenting plan, rights for visitation are established so children have regular and frequent contact with both parents after the divorce. Based on child support guidelines set by the State of New Jersey, the court takes into consideration the finances and earning ability of both parents, educational needs of the child, standard of living as well as other factors, and then the court rules on monthly child support payments to ensure provision of proper financial care.

Alimony

Alimony, also referred to as spousal support or spousal maintenance, is the allowance ordered by the court that one spouse must pay to his or her divorced or separated spouse. The spouse paying alimony typically has been the chief provider during the marriage. The duration of the providing spouse’s obligation to pay alimony may be either temporary or permanent in nature. In determining the duration and the amount of alimony payments, the court takes into consideration factors such as the length of the marriage, the age and health of the spouses, individual income and assets, earning capabilities, standard of living during the marriage, custody of children, expenses, and the length of time that marital support will be needed.

Equitable Distribution

Equitable distribution refers to the distribution of property acquired during marriage. New Jersey statutes recognize the marital relationship as an economic partnership, and considerations in dividing property are based on factors such as the duration of the marriage, the emotional and physical health of the partners, the standard of living created during marriage, the amount of income each partner brought to the marriage, contributions the spouse made toward the other spouse’s personal career or education and maintaining the marital home as residence for the minor child.

At A. Schancupp & Associates, L.L.C. our attorneys have exceptional skills in discerning financial issues and have assisted numerous clients in resolving equitable distribution matters.

Pre-Marital Agreements

Pre-marital agreements establish contractual obligations prior to marriage regarding assets, property and debts acquired by each prospective spouse, prior to and during the marriage, in order to avoid later misunderstandings upon voluntary or involuntary termination of the marriage. Because of the changing nature of case law affecting pre-marital agreements it is wise to select an attorney with extensive experience to ensure that a pre-marital agreement will be properly drafted.

Post Judgment Motions

Changing circumstances or non-compliance with court rulings after divorce may necessitate post judgment motions. The court may need to look at modifications in custody, child support or visitation. At A. Schancupp & Associates, L.L.C., our attorneys assist clients through legal advice, representation and litigation in post judgment motions.

Paternity

During divorce or adoption, the issue of paternity frequently arises. With advances in modern technology, DNA testing has greatly simplified the process of establishing biological parentage. Establishing paternity can also provide guidelines for families regarding proper medical care through access to family medical background and genetic information.

At A. Schancupp & Associates, L.L.C. our attorneys assist clients who are dealing with paternity matters through legal advice, representation and as needed, litigation.

Adoption

When spouses remarry, stepparent adoption often becomes a consideration. Married couples may also look to adoption to resolve problems with infertility or pregnancy. The adoption process encompasses a number of alternatives and an experienced adoption attorney assists clients in choosing which type of adoption best suits the client’s needs, whether a closed or open adoption, private adoption, adoption through an agency or foreign adoption.

Annulments

An annulment is a legal action that declares a marriage void, or invalid, and essentially states that the marriage never existed. The circumstances in which the courts are inclined to grant an annulment would include cases in which there was bigamy; a spouse was incapacitated such as through insanity, duress, drugs or fraud; there was a lack of consensual age or the marriage was between two blood relatives. There may be other circumstances where the court will consider annulment, and because annulments are more difficult to obtain than a divorce, it is best to consult an experienced family lawyer to understand your legal rights when considering annulment.

For assistance with family issues, please email info@schanlaw.com or contact our office at 973-808-5555 to arrange a consultation.