Publications | Page 4 of 8 | Paras Apy & Reiss

Have A Pizza!

My friend Tony at Colts Neck Pizza, got me thinking last month. He joked, “I have a complaint. I read your articles, but you never say…have a pizza.” As I ate my pizza that evening, I thought about what he said. It made a lot of sense. Divorce is stressful even in the more amicable splits. When the acrimony is extreme, stress levels can skyrocket. People deal differently with stress. Some lose weight. Others gain weight. Difficulty sleeping or concentrating are frequent side effects. Irritability, raw nerves, or depression [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-06-01T15:07:00+00:00June 1st, 2017|Divorce|Comments Off

The Children

Although divorcing spouses go through a laundry list of emotions, it is the children who are most vulnerable in a divorce. Regardless of their age, children are permanently affected by their parents’ divorce. Inexplicably many adults cannot place their children’s needs above their own. And, as a consequence, the children often suffer. Sometimes a parent ignores his children, spending more time and energy on a new relationship. Children can feel neglected or unimportant, leading to a deterioration in the relationship with the absent parent. Parents sometimes introduce a new [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-06-01T15:07:36+00:00May 17th, 2017|Children|Comments Off

Income Taxes

As April 15 fast approaches most of us turn our thoughts to income taxes. If you’re going through a divorce, it’s important to keep a few basic rules in mind. Alimony is deductible by the spouse who pays it and includable as income by the spouse who receives it. That means that the spouse who pays alimony, whether temporary or upon finalization of the divorce, can take a dollar for dollar deduction on his income tax return for all alimony paid during the tax year. Conversely, the recipient must [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-06-01T15:07:46+00:00April 17th, 2017|Taxes|Comments Off

Child Abuse

Child abuse is a dark and ominous phrase – with good reason. It is an insidious phenomenon that comes in many forms and has no cultural, economic, gender, or geographical boundaries. Child abuse victimizes those who are least equipped to protect themselves. In fact, often the abusers are supposed to be the child’s “protector.”Child abuse cases are among the most difficult to deal with. Physical abuse often leaves the most obvious evidence. Bruises, burns, and even broken bones speak loudly and frequently leave a trail to the abuser. But more [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-02-27T21:31:43+00:00February 27th, 2017|Child Abuse|Comments Off

Children With Special Needs

Parents with children who have disabilities often face enormous challenges. Those challenges can increase significantly when the parents are divorced or separated. Disagreements over care, treatments, and schooling are often very contentious. Conversely, some parents become so detached that planning for the future is fraught with uncertainty. Either way, already high stress levels are elevated, adding to feelings of sensory overload. Special needs children are entitled to certain benefits from the local school district, but what if the parents live in different districts and services are better or greater [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-02-27T20:02:32+00:00January 27th, 2017|Special Needs Children|Comments Off

Taking Your Lawyer’s Advice

We all hire professional when we have problems. When we’re sick or injured we go to the doctor. We follow her instructions and take the medicine she prescribed because we want to get better. When our pipes are clogged, we hire a plumber who comes with tools most of us don’t have or know how to use. We listen to his advice. When our car isn’t running right and we hear a loud squeal coming from under the hood, we take it to a mechanic to be fixed. And [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-03-06T17:54:35+00:00November 27th, 2016|Divorce, Lawyer's Advice, Professionalism|Comments Off

Arrested! Incarcerated!

You can almost hear the steel bars clang closed behind you when you read the words “arrested” and “incarcerated”. Although an arrest does not occur frequently in a divorce court, it is not a rare occurrence either. Incarceration is one tool the court has to force a litigant to do something he/she was previously ordered to do and has the ability to do, but has not done. It is the ultimate form of “arm twisting”. Most commonly this arises when one spouse was ordered to pay support and has [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-05-04T16:52:19+00:00October 27th, 2016|Child Support|Comments Off

Hidden Assets

ASSETS ACQUIRED during the marriage are subject to equitable distribution. Some people try to avoid sharing assets by hiding them. Hidden assets come in many shapes and sizes. Finding them often requires the assistance of forensic accountants and private investigators. Although cash is becoming an increasingly outmoded method of payment, some small businesses still receive a significant percentage of their revenue in cash. Cash receipts may be unreported (or underreported) and hidden in accounts in the name of another person, in safes or mattresses, or even offshore. Tony Soprano [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-02-27T20:46:11+00:00September 27th, 2016|Equitable Distribution, Hidden Assets|Comments Off

A Divorce Glossary

Divorce is a process which, predictably, has its own language. Most people entering the process for the first time are unfamiliar with the language of divorce. Here is a glossary of some of the most common terms. ARBITRATION – a hearing in which a neutral person (typically an attorney or a retired judge) selected by the parties’ attorneys, hears the case and renders a binding decision. Arbitration is voluntary, but once there is agreement to arbitrate, the result is binding. CASE INFORMATION STATEMENT (CIS) – a financial disclosure form [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-02-27T20:29:38+00:00August 27th, 2016|Divorce|Comments Off

Removal

Removal is the label given to cases involving a parent’s request to move out of state with the child(ren). These are often gut-wrenching cases because if the parent seeking to remove the child from New Jersey is successful, the other parent’s relationship with the child will inevitably and unavoidably change dramatically. A move to another state (or perhaps a foreign country) will severely impact that parent child relationship.There is an enormous difference between seeing the child on weekends and during the week, attending soccer games and dance recitals, helping with [...]

By Peter Paras|2017-03-07T14:17:18+00:00July 27th, 2016|Child Support, Removal|Comments Off