Camden County, New Jersey is home to over 500,000 residents. Serving Camden County in all matters of law, is the Camden County Superior Court, located in Camden, NJ. The court handles all matters of family law within its Family Division. One of the issues commonly associated with custody battles and divorce is support. Financial support is an obligation from one parent or former spouse to another, typically to be paid until, if and when, the child can be supported by the parent alone, or in the case of alimony, until the former spouse can support themselves. In Camden County, when a support case is filed, the process is different depending on whether it is a child support case or an alimony case.
Child Support
In Camden County, child support is determined based on New Jersey's "Income Shares Model." In short, what this means is that there is a set of guidelines for determining child support in New Jersey. At times, unmarried parents may seek child support, and on other occasions, child support will be addressed during divorce proceedings. When child support and divorce is at issue, the New Jersey child support guidelines will base a child support determination on what is proportionate to whatever that family's income and standard of living were prior to the divorce.
Whether child support is being sought as part of divorce proceedings or not, the first step is for the parents to complete either the Sole Parenting Worksheet or the Shared Parenting Worksheet. These are used to itemize and make determinations on what each parent's expenses are and the degree to which each parent can provide support for the child. The next step in the process is to calculate each parent's net income combined. For sole parenting, the primary parent's income will be weighted more heavily for determining support, as they will have to cater to the child's needs more often. Once an order is determined, modification usually does not occur until either the support must be terminated because a child has come of age, or if there is a significant change in circumstances.
Alimony
At times, when a couple undergoes divorce proceedings, alimony may be ordered. If a spouse cannot fully support themselves, they may request alimony. In Camden County, one of the several types of alimony may be assigned. These include temporary alimony to help a spouse through the divorce process, limited duration alimony to be imposed until a spouse is self-supporting, permanent alimony if education or career opportunities were lost, rehabilitative alimony for spouses who must attend rehabilitative care, and reimbursement alimony to compensate another spouse for expenses in the marriage related to education. The court will consider a wide array of factors when trying to determine alimony, some of which include the duration of the marriage, the spouse's living expenses, the standard of living during the marriage, the ages of the spouses, the health of the spouses, and more.
Managing support orders and making requests for alimony can be complex and stressful processes. With the help of an experienced Family Law attorney, these processes can be simplified. Attorneys can provide insight into court proceedings, and give expectations for potential outcomes of hearings.
If you or a loved one is undergoing support proceedings in Camden County, contact attorney Joseph D. Lento today.
