Alimony and child support in New Jersey

limony and child support in New Jersey The following is a portion of the NJ Court Rules which apply to all Divorce, alimony and child support cases RULE 5:7. DIVORCE, NULLITY, SEPARATE MAINTENANCE (Child Support and Alimony) 5:7-1. Venue Except as otherwise provided by law, venue in actions for divorce, nullity and separate maintenance shall be laid in the county in which plaintiff was domiciled when the cause of action arose, or if plaintiff was not then domiciled in this State, then in the county in which defendant was domiciled when the cause of action arose; or if neither party was domiciled in this State when the cause of action arose, then in the county in which the plaintiff is domiciled when the action is commenced, or if plaintiff is not domiciled in this State, then in the county where defendant is domiciled when service of process is made. For purposes of this rule, in actions brought under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-2(c), the cause of action shall be deemed to have arisen three months after the last act of cruelty complained of in the Complaint. 5:7-2. Application Pendente Lite (a) Support Pendente Lite. Applications for support, counsel fees and costs pendente lite, whether made with the complaint or by notice of motion thereafter, shall be accompanied by a completed case information statement in the form set forth in Appendix V to these rules pursuant to R. 5:5-2. If this form has previously been submitted, amendments thereto must be filed with the court no later than eight days prior to the motion hearing date. A completed case information statement shall accompany the response to the application pendente lite. If previously submitted, amendments thereto must be filed with the court no later than eight days prior to the hearing date. (b) Restraints; Contempt. If pendente lite relief is sought, by way of preliminary restraint or to hold a party in contempt, the application shall be on petition and order to show cause. 5:7-3. Corroboration All elements of a claim for divorce or nullity may be proved without corroboration. 5:7-4. Alimony and Child Support Payments (a) Allocation of Support. In awarding alimony, maintenance or child support, the court shall separate the amounts awarded for alimony or maintenance and the amounts awarded for child support, unless for good cause shown the court determines that the amounts should be unallocated. In awarding child support, payments for health care, child care and other expenses necessary to maintain the child or children shall be designated as part of the child support award unless good cause is shown why such amounts should be separated. (b) Payments Through the Probation Division. The judgment or order shall provide that payments be made to the New Jersey Family Support Payment Center. When an obligor's county of residence changes, the transfer of the responsibility for the collection and enforcement of such judgment or order shall be governed by the policies established by the Administrative Director of the Courts. Alimony, maintenance or child support payments not presently made through the Probation Division shall be so made upon application of either party to the Probation Division unless the other party, upon application to the court, shows good cause to the contrary. In non-dissolution support proceedings, the court shall record its decision using the Uniform Order for Summary Support shown in Appendix XVI of these Rules. Upon the signing of any order that includes support or health insurance provisions to be administered by the Probation Division, the court shall, immediately after the hearing, send to the appropriate Probation Division one copy of the order which shall include statements prepared by the parties or their attorneys providing the names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and mailing addresses of the parents and the children; the occupation and driver's license number of the parent who is ordered to pay support; the policy number and name of the health insurance provider of the parent who is ordered to insure the children; and, if income withholding is ordered, the name and address of the obligor's employer. When a party or attorney must prepare a formal written judgment or order pursuant to a judicial decision that includes support or health insurance provisions to be administered by the Probation Division, the court shall, on the date of the hearing, record the support and health insurance provisions on a Temporary Support Order using the form prescribed in Appendix XVII of these Rules and shall immediately have such order delivered to the Probation Division so that a support account can be established on the Automated Child Support Enforcement System (ACSES). The Probation Division shall establish a support account on ACSES within eight business days of the date the court order was signed. Demographic information provided on the Temporary Support Order shall be limited to that which is required to establish an ACSES account and send case initiation documents to the parties and the obligor's employer. In addition to the information provided to the court with the final order or judgment as required by this paragraph, the parties and their attorneys shall provide additional family and benefit information at the request of the Probation Division. The Temporary Support Order shall remain in effect until a copy of the final judgment or order is received by the Probation Division. After a judgment or order is entered and the Probation Division has established an ACSES support account, the obligor shall notify the appropriate Probation Division of any change of employer, health insurance provider or address and the obligee shall notify the Probation Division of a change of address or a change in the status of the children as may be required in the order or judgment within 10 days of the change, and any judgment or order that includes alimony or support shall so provide. Failure to provide information as to change of employer, health insurance provider or address shall be considered a violation of the order. Judgments or orders amending the amounts to be paid through the Probation Division shall be treated in the same manner. (c) Income Withholding. All complaints, notices, pleadings, orders and judgments which include child support filed or entered on or after October 1, 1990 shall comply with the income withholding provisions of Rule 5:7-5. (d) Notices Applicable to All Orders and Judgments That Include Child Support Provisions. The judgment or order shall include notices stating: (1) that, if support is not paid through immediate income withholding, the child support provisions of an order or judgment are subject to income withholding when a child support arrearage has accrued in an amount equal to or in excess of the amount of support payable for 14 days. The withholding is effective against the obligor's current and future income from all sources authorized by law; (2) that any payment or installment of an order for child support or those portions of an order which are allocated for child support shall be fully enforceable and entitled to full faith and credit and shall be a judgment by operation of law on or after the date it is due; (3) that no payment or installment of an order for child support or those portions of an order that are allocated for child support shall be retroactively modified by the court except for the period during which the party seeking relief has pending an application for modification as provided in N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.23a; (4) that the occupational, recreational, and professional licenses, including a license to practice law, held or applied for by the obligor may be denied, suspended or revoked if: 1) a child support arrearage accumulates that is equal to or exceeds the amount of child support payable for six months, or 2) the obligor fails to provide health care coverage for the child as ordered by the court within six months, or 3) a warrant for the obligor's arrest has been issued by the court for obligor's failure to pay child support as ordered, or for obligor's failure to appear at a hearing to establish paternity or child support, or for obligor's failure to appear at a child support hearing to enforce a child support order and said warrant remains outstanding; (5) that the driver's license held or applied for by the obligor may be denied, suspended, or revoked if 1) a child support arrearage accumulates that is equal to or exceeds the amount of child support payable for six months, or 2) the obligor fails to provide health care coverage for the child as ordered by the court within six months; and (6) that the driver's license held or applied for by the obligor shall be denied, suspended, or revoked if the court issues a warrant for the obligor's arrest for failure to pay child support as ordered, or for failure to appear at a hearing to establish paternity or child support, or for failure to appear at a child support ... more details at http://KennethVercammen.com/Alimony.html