East Brunswick Child Custody and Support

A suburb of New York City that is located in New Jersey, East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County. As of 2010, its population was estimated at about 47,000 people. Of 17,000 households, 37% had minor children living in them. If you and your spouse have children and are going through the child custody process during a divorce, it may be advisable to consult an experienced East Brunswick child custody attorney at Goldstein Law Group. We have guided many people through the complexities of these matters.

Courts make decisions about custody based on what is in a child's best interest. While a parent's or child's preference may factor into this decision, the child's best interest is of paramount importance to the court. In some cases, a child may prefer to live with one parent, but it may not be feasible given the child's needs, the parent's mental health, or the parent's attitude towards ensuring that the child sees the other parent. When children get older, their preferences regarding custody are given more weight.

Child custody in New Jersey refers to two concepts. One concept is legal custody. If one parent has legal custody, that parent makes all the major decisions in a child's life, such as those affecting his or her medical care, religion, and education. The issue of legal custody can become critical, for example, if a child needs to have an experimental surgery, and the parents disagree for religious reasons about whether to have it performed. Or, less dramatically, legal custody can become important to the question of whether a child attends public school or private school. A child custody lawyer in East Brunswick can help make sure that your voice is heard.

Physical custody refers to how much time a child spends with each parent. Generally, one parent's home is the primary residence for the child. If the parents have joint custody, the other parent's home is considered an alternate residence. The more equally the parents share custody, the less child support will need to be paid by one parent. This is because it is assumed that each parent will pay for the child's food, shelter, and other needs when the child is with him or her.

Child support is awarded based on the net income of the spouses, using an "Income Shares Model." Usually, you can figure out what the court will order in terms of child support, but there sometimes are exceptional situations. For example, if one parent is destitute, the court may need to deviate from the guidelines.

Most parents understand the importance of the decisions made by the court during a divorce, and how substantially they will affect a child's life long into the future. In many cases, it may be possible for the parents to reach an agreement about child custody and support, but in others, it may be necessary to take the matter to trial. We can help you figure out which is appropriate in your case if you are dissolving a marriage. The family law lawyers at Goldstein Law Group run a sophisticated practice with a main office in Metuchen, New Jersey. Contact us at 732-967-6777 or via our online form to set up a Free 10 Minute Case Evaluation* with an East Brunswick child custody lawyer.