Essex County Family Law Attorneys Providing A Sense Of Calm To Emotional Conflicts
Family law tends to have a strong emotional component for those with a dispute. The intensity varies with each family, but in all cases, a practical legal professional with substantial courtroom experience is necessary to balance these emotions with straightforward guidance and representation. At Cipriano Law Offices, P.C., in West Caldwell, we work diligently as we pursue fair resolutions that serve your best interests. We are sensitive to your specific needs and goals.
Our family law attorneys approach each case as a team as they carefully examine the circumstances of your situation. We commit to unveiling any unforeseen complications, setting clear expectations, and helping prepare you for a brighter, sustainable future.
How Our Family Law Attorneys Approach The Law
Our family attorneys and full legal team prioritize clear and effective legal guidance. We strive to provide you with comprehensive legal care that puts you and your needs first. We represent you in a way that prioritizes your needs, succeeds in getting you the best possible outcome, and preserves civil relationships wherever possible.
We provide complete and comprehensive family law representation to fulfill this commitment for you and clients like you. We regularly resolve issues surrounding:
- Negotiating premarital documents: These can include postnuptial and prenuptial agreements.
- Marital status: We can assist with marital dissolution (divorce), separation and other conflicts for both traditional and same-sex couples.
- Post-divorce agreements: We can provide legal support for marital assets, property division and spousal support agreements.
- Parental issues: We can counsel and guide families undergoing adoption procedures, including those seeking to adopt an adult in New Jersey.
- Parenting after divorce: We can help with several child-related matters, including establishing child support plans and custody arrangements.
- Unique parenting circumstances: This can include situations where the parents were never married.
- Modifying divorce agreements: We can help advocate for divorce agreement changes in several situations, including for parents who move across states.
- Domestic violence issues: We are here to provide you with the assistance, safety and support you need. Whether that means filing a restraining order or requesting additional protections for your children.
Our family law firm also helps individuals navigate the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency. Family issues involving DCP&P and other state agencies are often particularly emotional. We attempt to guide families through these fraught situations and act in the children’s best interests in each case.
Why Choose Cipriano Law Offices, P.C., For Your Family Law Needs?
We recognize that your family situation is unique to you. That is why we can provide you with a strategy and approach tailored directly to your unique needs and circumstances. What you are going through can be highly emotional and complicated. Our goal is to help give you the practical advice, guidance and counsel you need to resolve your family law matters on your terms. From the moment we meet, we can help address any questions or concerns you have about divorce and other family law-related processes. We can help you separate what is fact from fiction and work directly with you to chart a path forward.
Our founding family law attorney is a resource for all our family law cases and our lawyers during complex cases. She is a qualified New Jersey family law mediator who is committed to building trusting relationships while assisting lawyers as a neutral third party to guide individuals through their divorce. Family law attorney Melissa Cipriano also serves as a family law arbitrator to render unbiased decisions to resolve complex disputes efficiently.
Similarly, family lawyer Bart Lombardo is also a certified mediator. Melissa Cipriano has a strong financial background and is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey and Florida. She serves on the prestigious Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel, where she volunteers her time to help individuals mediate their issues. If the two parties are unable to resolve their issues, they must visit a qualified family law economic mediator – a title Melissa Cipriano also holds.
Understanding Family Law In New Jersey
We recognize how overwhelming navigating family law disputes can feel. That’s why we are here to address some of the most commonly asked questions we hear from our clients before they engage in these disputes:
What’s The Difference Between A Fault And No-Fault Divorce In New Jersey?
In New Jersey, you can pursue an at-fault or no-fault divorce. A no-fault divorce is a divorce based on irreconcilable differences, meaning both spouses have issues or conflicts they cannot settle and wish to divorce due to the intensity or frequency of these conflicts. An at-fault divorce is based on one spouse or another violating the terms of the marriage. The grounds for a no-fault divorce can include:
- An extramarital affair
- Desertion/abandonment
- Drug or alcohol addiction
- Domestic violence
- Imprisonment
We can help you determine which approach to divorce best fits your circumstances. Call us at 973-852-3346 so we can discuss your situation further.
How Do Courts View Marital Property In New Jersey?
New Jersey is considered an equitable distribution state. That means a family law judge often determines property division based on what’s fair rather than equal. What a judge considers “fair” can depend on several factors, including the:
- Financial stability of each spouse
- Health and well-being of each spouse
- Length of the marriage
- Couple’s standard of living
- Tax situation of each spouse
Whether spouses have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can also determine what a judge considers fair in terms of property division.
What Types Of Custody Arrangements Are Available In New Jersey?
The state has a few different custody options available. They include:
- Legal custody concerns each parent’s ability to decide for their kids. These decisions can revolve around health care, education and other essential matters. Parents can have joint legal custody or sole legal custody of their kids.
- Physical custody: This concerns which parent the child resides with and when. Parents can have either sole or joint physical custody of their children.
These are the two general options available for parents. However, we recognize that your family situation is unique and may require a more unique solution. The state can offer other types of custody options that may address those specific issues. We can help you determine which option is right for you and your kids.
How Does New Jersey Determine The Best Interests Of The Child?
In New Jersey, family law judges often determine the best interests of the child by examining factors like their:
- Safety and well-being
- Relationship with each parent
- Parents’ ability to raise and support them
- Specific health and education needs
- Parents’ individual financial and mental well-being
- Individual preferences
- Parents’ integrity and responsibility
We can help advocate for your kids’ best interests so that you can provide them with the love and support they will continue to need after the divorce.
What Can The Different Approaches To Family Law Look Like?
Depending on the circumstances, you can take a few different approaches. They can include:
- Mediation: Mediation can allow families to resolve their disputes with the help of a neutral third party. During mediation, individuals can meet face-to-face to discuss their issues. At the same time, a third-party mediator facilitates conversations to help parties reach an amicable resolution. Mediation can also be a time – and cost-effective alternative to litigation.
- Negotiation: Negotiation, which is typically used in collaborative divorce, is when both parties meet with their lawyers to reach a mutually agreeable resolution without taking matters to court.
- Litigation: Litigation involves settling disputes in court during litigation. It involves both parties hiring lawyers and bringing their issues before a judge.
We can help you determine which approach may be suitable for you. If your chosen strategy isn’t working, we can help you transition to a different one.
Contact Cipriano Law Offices, P.C.; Family Law Lawyers Who Care
To learn more about our Essex County and northern New Jersey divorce and family law attorneys, email us or call 973-852-3346 to schedule an initial consultation. We serve clients in West Caldwell, Morristown and throughout northern New Jersey.