NJSBA Family Law Section

Original Message------

Neither party nor any of the children live in New Jersey. Dad is in Florida and mom (client) is in South Carolina. Case just came back from the Appellate Division. Trial court was reversed on failure to award client counsel fees and improper imputation of income (anyone really interested in background - https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17860799217562533108 ).

On remand, the trial court needs to assess counsel fees and recalculate child support and alimony, removing the imputation. The Appellate Division also instructed that the parties' current financial situations be taken into account and current CIS's be submitted, implying a current adjustment is expected. I would like to assert that NJ judge should only correct (increase) order for child support and alimony, and all else needs to occur in new state.

Question: When jurisdiction over child support changes under UIFSA, does this also control jurisdiction over alimony?



<x-sigsep>

David Perry Davis, Esq.
----------------------------------------------------
   www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
----------------------------------------------------
112 West Franklin Avenue
Pennington, NJ 08534
Voice: 609-737-2222
Fax:    609-737-3222

</x-sigsep>

Under last year's revisions to UIFSA, New Jersey may modify a child support obligation even when neither party nor the child lives in New Jersey if "the parties consent in open court that the tribunal of this State may continue to exercise jurisdiction to modify its order".  NJSA 2A:4-30.133(a)(2).  Modification issues are really not within the purview of the Probation Division.

------------------------------
Mitch Steinhart, Esq.
Bergen County Board of Social Services
Rochelle Park, NJ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-29-2017 13:46
From: David Perry Davis
Subject: UIFSA and ancillary alimony issue

I posted a while ago about a UIFSA issue - the loss of jurisdiction over alimony and child support when neither party nor any child continues to live in New Jersey.

The correct answer is a strange one -- alimony stays in New Jersey. An application to modify child support must be filed in the new state. As a new state may not have in personam jurisdiction over a party, whichever party is seeking a child support modification must file in the other party's state. So, for example, if a noncustodial parent wants to increase, decrease, or terminate both alimony and child support, one motion (alimony) would have to be filed in New Jersey and another motion in the state where the custodial parent lives. This is contrary to what my client was told verbally by probation, but the law seems solid on it. UIFSA needs to be modified.

Anyway, in my case there was a hearing pending as to college costs when both parties moved. There was an appeal filed by the other side, so everything was placed "on hold" until the appeal was decided. Does anyone know of an exception that might keep jurisdiction here because an action was pending when the parties moved? I mean, if both parties moved during the middle of a trial, I assume a court wouldn't stop the trial and declare it no longer had jurisdiction. Where's the line? Here, discovery was partially completed and some documents exchanged (with a discovery motion pending when the case was moved to inactive list).

Thanks,


<x-sigsep>

David Perry Davis, Esq.
----------------------------------------------------
   www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
----------------------------------------------------
112 West Franklin Avenue
Pennington, NJ 08534
Voice: 609-737-2222
Fax:    609-737-3222

</x-sigsep>