What the New Child Custody Bill Means for Your Practice
Category: On Demand
Member Price: $184
Non-Member Price: $230
Product Code: ON024726A
Areas of Law: Family
CLE Credits
| NJ CLE: | NJ CLE information: This program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 2.4 hours of total CLE credit (Full Credits Available: NJ General: 2.4). |
| NY CLE (t&nt): | NY Professional Practice Transitional: 2.0 |
| PA CLE: | PA Substantive Credit: 2.0
New: No PACLE fee is required for this program. To earn PA CLE credits, a valid PA Bar ID number must be entered into the CLE form provided after attending the program. |
Faculty
Keynote
Moderator
- Cheryl E. Connors, Esq.
- Tonneman & Connors, LLC, Little Silveris a Partner in Tonneman & Connors, LLC with offices in Eatontown and East Brunswick, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in family law, with an emphasis in issues of divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, equitable distribution, palimony, adoption, paternity, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements and collaborative divorce. In 2016 she appeared before the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of the New Jersey State Bar Association in the matter of In re Adoption of a Child by J.E.V.
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nAdmitted to practice in New Jersey and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Ms. Connors is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a member of the NJSBA’s Solo and Small-Firm Section, has served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Family Practice Committee for the 2017-2019 and 2019-2021 terms, and is serving on the Committee for the 2021-2023 term. She is also a member of the Middlesex County and Monmouth Bar Associations, and the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of New Jersey. She serves as a Matrimonial Early Settlement panelist in Middlesex County and as an Intensive Settlement Panelist in Monmouth County.
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nAn Associate Managing Editor of the New Jersey Family Lawyer, Ms. Connors has authored and co-authored numerous articles which have appeared in the New Jersey Family Lawyer and has been published in Divorce Magazine’s Frequently Asked Questions feature. She was the 2013 recipient of the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association and frequently lectures on family law topics.
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nMs. Connors received her B.A., with distinction, from Cornell University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was a senior member of the Seton Hall Law Review and received the Raymond del Tufo, Jr. Award. She served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Barry T. Albin, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
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Presenters
- Hon. Gary Potters, J.S.C.
- Hudson County Superior Court
- Hon. Marcella Matos Wilson, J.S.C., Essex
- Superior Court of New Jerseywas appointed to the Superior Court in 2014, is assigned to the Family Division, Essex County, and sits in Newark, New Jersey. She serves as the Lead Judge for the FM Unit in Essex County. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was a solo practitioner for 20 years and concentrated her practice in family law.
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nCo-Chair of the Supreme Court Child Support Subcommittee, Judge Wilson serves on the Supreme Court Family Practice Committee and Presiding Judge FD-FM Committee. Prior to being appointed to the bench, she was a member of the Essex County Family Law Executive Committee, a volunteer for the Early Settlement Panel and was a court approved Mediator. She was the recipient of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Award for her outstanding contributions to crime victims and their families.
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nJudge Wilson received her B.S. from Caldwell University and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. She clerked for the Honorable John J. Dois and the Honorable Joseph A. Falcone. - Rita M. Aquilio, Esq.
- Lawrence Law, Watchung
- Robert A. Epstein, Esq.
- Manzi Epstein Lomurro & DeCataldo, LLC, West Orange
- Jeffrey Fiorello, Esq.
- Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann Knopf LLP, Saddle Brook
- Christine Fitzgerald, Esq.
- SeidenFreed, LLC, Cranford
- Dr. Danielle Forshee, PsyD., LCSW
- Dr. Danielle Forshee, LLC, Red Bank
- Cassie Murphy, Esq.
- Law Offices of Paone, Zaleski & Murphy, Red Bank
- Jenna Shapiro, Esq.
- Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader, P.C., Lawrenceville
On Jan. 20, former Gov. Phil Murphy signed S4510, which went into immediate effect. This sweeping new law redefines the public policy of New Jersey with regard to child custody disputes and will have a tremendous impact on your practice and your clients. The most notable change is that the law imposes certain restrictions on the court’s authority to order reunification therapy for the child, requires the court to give more weight to the child’s preferences in determining custody, and requires the court to weigh the findings and recommendations of the child’s mental health professional.
Join our distinguished panel of experienced judges, attorneys and a respected psychologist and social worker for a comprehensive analysis of our new custody statute and its impact on custody matters moving forward.
Topics include:
- Legislative history
- Public policy shift
- Three-year review
- Parens patriae responsibility of the court - Best interest factors modification
- Child’s preference
- Impact on judicial interviews
- Role of GALs and attorneys representing children - Therapy and reunification
- Domestic violence and Kayden’s Law
- Retroactivity
- Constitutional issues
- Arguments to raise in your litigated cases
- Approaches in ADR