COVID-19 has New Jersey government shutting down non-essential businesses and government entities. The Family Courts are not immune to these Coronavirus measures. As of now, only emergent matters are being considered by the Family Courts. Divorce, alimony, child support, parenting time, and other matters are being handled slowly, and some are being postponed until the COVID-19 crisis passes. This means that if your matter is pending or you have a divorce or motion that you have not filed yet, your matter might not be considered for months.
There are alternative dispute resolution options available, even in the midst of COVID-19. Mediation is a chance for an experienced family law attorney to attempt to resolve your matter, or at the very least, narrow the issues left for the Court. Family Judges prefer parties to attempt to resolve matters through mediation. This saves you a trip to Court, and gives you a chance to control the outcome in your matter.
With mediation, you are given a chance to come to an agreement with parenting time, holiday schedules, vacation time, alimony, child support, and equitable distribution. This means you have the ultimate say as to what your parenting time schedule or support obligation will be. Agreements are always better than Court Orders, because it also gives you the opportunity to modify the agreement without having to go to Court if your circumstances change. If you refuse to work towards an agreement, and leave your matter for a Family Judge to decide, it becomes a Court Order, and only the Court can modify it again.
In these difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic, mediation can be a valuable service for you and your family.
At Hark & Hark, we help parents mediate divorce, custody, child support, alimony, equitable distribution issues and more.
In recognition of these trying financial times, we are cutting our mediation fees IN HALF and working with clients to come up with manageable payment plans. Initial consultation is always free and we are available remotely.
Stay safe.
Michael J. Collis, Esquire