New Jersey Divorce Law Blog

The Somerset County Bar Association sponsored one of its regularly scheduled meetings with Family Law attorneys and judges on February 6, 2012 to address current issues. In addition to Presiding Judge Margaret Goodzeit, Judge Angela Borkowski was present along with various administrative staff members. Judge Goodzeit announced that recent statistics demonstrate that the long backlog of cases in Somerset County is improving, which means that people seeking a divorce will likely have their cases reached sooner in the future. One of the major complaints of both attorneys and litigants is the length of time it currently takes to have a divorce case set for trial. Many litigants in Somerset County are currently waiting over two years for a trial date.

In an effort to improve this situation, Judge Goodzeit announced an upcoming "blitz" session in April. During this time, older cases will be called into court for special conferences and settlement panels. There will be 7 judges available to conduct settlement conferences and hopefully help parties settle their cases without the need for trial, thus reducing the current backlog even further. Many of the attorneys present serve on the Early Settlement Panel in Somerset County, and volunteered to commit time during the "blitz" period to help resolve other cases.

As I have previously written, the Family Law judges in Somerset County are extremely overburdened with far too many cases for just three judges to handle. The fact that Judge Goodzeit could obtain the services of 7 different judges, instead of the normal 3 judges who sit in the Family Division to aid in this settlement program is a very good sign that the backlog and case delays in Somerset County may now be improving.

A Family Law Symposium sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education drew approximately 700 family law attorneys from around the State on January 28, 2012. The event, held at the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick, was designed to provide family law attorneys with an update on new family law cases, strategic arguments to make in court at motions and trial, and insight into various specialty areas of the family law practice. In addition to different attorney speakers, there were judges who participated and provided commentary, including Judge Margaret Goodzeit, the Presiding Family Judge of Somerset County and Judge Hany Mawla, of Hunterdon County.

The event provided an opportunity for those of us who regularly practice family law to not only gain valuable educational information, but to also spend time with colleagues whom we regularly see in court and discuss legal issues and events outside of the confines of a court room. Additionally, various vendors to family law practitioners, including forensic accountants, investment banks, private investigators, and legal software providers participated to provide information to the attorneys concerning their products.

Some experts are worried that abusive spouses may be using child custody battles to gain more power over their former partners. If this is the case, it could be just another way that individuals affected by domestic violence are being victimized.

According to advocates against domestic violence, many courts examine the situation of child custody with a mindset that says joint custody will be the best decision for the child. This is often not the case, especially when abuse has been reported in the home.

New Jersey Alimony Reform continues to be the most widely searched and read topic on my blog.  It is clearly an issue that continues to generate great public interest.  I simply want to use this opportunity to thank the individuals from various organizations and media outlets who have recently contacted my office for additional input and comments.  As the result of my very busy court schedule and time committments to existing clients, I have had to decline the great majority of those requests, including radio interviews on NJ 101.5, and television interviews on syndicated news shows relating to this topic. To those of you who have contacted my office for interviews, or with requests that I become involved with your organizations, I ask for your understanding.  It is not that I am not interested in helping with any reform effort.  My professional time committments to my clients simply come first.  To the greatest extent possible, I will continue to post what I believe are timely and newsworthy comments on this blog and hopefully continue to help the cause for reform by highlighting ongoing injustices with our current alimony laws.

Leonard Weitzman, Esq.