Asbury Park Child Custody Lawyer
Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC represents mothers, fathers, and grandparents-in-waiting across Monmouth County, including Asbury Park, in custody and parenting-time disputes, from negotiated parenting plans to contested hearings in the Family Part. If you are looking for an Asbury Park child custody lawyer, the first thing to know is that the ground under New Jersey custody law has shifted. In January 2026, Governor Murphy signed Kayden’s Law, which rewrote the custody statute at N.J.S.A. 9:2-4 and changed how judges are directed to think about every parenting case.
The older statute leaned on a policy of “frequent and continuing contact with both parents.” That presumption is gone. The amended law instead makes the safety of the child the threshold question a judge must answer before anything else, and it expands the best-interest factors to fifteen. For a parent in Asbury Park trying to build a schedule around shift work in the hospitality trade, a commute to Newark or New York, or a split between a shore apartment and a relative’s home, the practical effect is that the quality of your evidence and your child-focused plan matters more than ever.
Custody cases are rarely only about custody. They touch child support, the family home, a business that pays one parent’s income, and sometimes a restraining order. We handle the whole picture, because decisions made in one part of the case echo through the rest.
How Kayden’s Law Changes a Custody Case
The revised statute says custody and parenting-time decisions must promote the safety of children as a threshold issue. That language is not decoration. A judge is expected to look at safety first, and in contested cases the court must make detailed findings on the record explaining its reasoning, rather than resting on a general conclusion.
Several other changes matter for real families. Where there is a history of domestic violence or child abuse, a parent who committed it cannot be given increased custody as a way of repairing the relationship with the child. Courts may no longer order reunification therapy unless there is generally accepted, scientifically valid evidence that it is safe and effective. And a judge cannot simply assume that a child’s reluctance to see a parent is parental alienation; the court has to investigate why the child feels that way.
Mental health professionals who perform custody evaluations must now be state-licensed, and where domestic violence or abuse is alleged they need specific training and experience in those areas. If a custody evaluation is likely in your case, who conducts it and what credentials they hold are questions worth raising early.
Why Choose Sanvenero & Cittadino for Custody Matters in Asbury Park
Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC is a New Jersey law firm centered on divorce and family law, serving clients in Asbury Park and throughout Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex Counties. Richard Sanvenero, our Managing Partner, is a New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Matrimonial Attorney, a designation the Supreme Court grants only to lawyers who meet experience requirements and pass an examination. He previously served as a law clerk in the Family Part of the Superior Court of New Jersey, so he has seen custody disputes from the bench side of the courtroom, and he is trained in mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce. That range matters, because many custody disputes are better resolved through a well-built agreement than a trial, and some can only be resolved by one.
Joshua Cittadino, our Founding Partner, brings experience in real estate, construction litigation, personal injury, employment matters, and business transactions, which comes into play when a parent’s income comes from a business or when a custody dispute is tied to the sale of a home. Mike Canarick, Of Counsel and a tax and estate planning attorney, helps clients whose parenting arrangements intersect with trusts, guardianship planning, and tax questions. Our attorneys are admitted in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia, and several have been recognized by Super Lawyers.
Clients tell us what they need most is clear communication, and that is how we work: the team returns calls and explains each step in plain terms. When a custody case also involves a restraining order, a support dispute, or a family business, you deal with one coordinated team across family, business, real estate, estate planning, and litigation rather than several disconnected firms.
Custody Disputes We Handle for Monmouth County Parents
- Initial Custody and Parenting Plans: Unmarried parents and divorcing spouses alike need a written plan covering legal custody (who makes decisions on health, education, and religion) and a residential schedule. Under the amended statute, the fifteen best-interest factors shape what a judge will approve.
- Contested Custody Trials: When parents cannot agree, the Family Part decides after hearing evidence. Judges must now make detailed on-the-record findings, so organized proof of each parent’s involvement, stability, and attention to the child’s needs carries real weight.
- Custody With Domestic Violence Allegations: A restraining order case and a custody case can run side by side. Safety is now the threshold inquiry, and a history of violence or abuse cannot be rewarded with expanded parenting time. We represent both people seeking protection and people defending against allegations.
- Relocation and Distance Disputes: A parent who wants to move away from the shore, whether for work, family support, or cost of living, may need the other parent’s consent or a court order. These cases turn on the child’s relationship with each parent and the reasons for the move.
- Parental Alienation Claims: Courts can no longer presume a child’s resistance to a parent is alienation. The reasons behind the child’s feelings must be examined, which changes how these claims are built and defended.
- Reunification Therapy Orders: Court-ordered reunification therapy is now restricted unless there is accepted scientific evidence of its safety and effectiveness. We challenge or seek such orders only where the standard is met.
- Child’s Preference and Interviews: The amended law gives children’s preferences more weight. Judges may speak with a child, and how that conversation is handled, and whether a child is being coached, can become central.
- Modification of Existing Orders: Parenting schedules and custody arrangements from a prior judgment can be revisited when circumstances change substantially, including a new work schedule, a parent’s move, or a safety concern.
What to Do Right Now If Custody Is in Dispute
Start by keeping the child’s routine stable and your own conduct beyond criticism. Judges look at who handles school pickups, medical appointments, and daily care, so begin a simple record of those facts: calendars, school and pediatric contacts, messages about scheduling. Keep communication with the other parent civil and in writing where you can. Texts and emails that read well to a judge are worth far more than angry ones that read badly.
If safety is a concern, act on it. A temporary restraining order includes a hearing date within ten days, and the outcome can immediately affect who the child lives with. A final restraining order, if granted, does not expire. The burden at that hearing is a preponderance of the evidence, and any firearms must be surrendered. Do not wait on a safety issue hoping it resolves itself; the new custody statute treats it as the first question a judge asks.
Contested custody matters for Asbury Park families are heard by the Family Part of the Superior Court in Monmouth County, at the county courthouse in Freehold. Domestic violence complaints and restraining order hearings are also handled through the Family Part. If your case involves a criminal charge or municipal court matter tied to the dispute, Asbury Park has its own municipal court, and we also defend those cases.
Common mistakes are avoidable. Do not disparage the other parent to the child, do not withhold parenting time out of frustration, do not move the child without a court order or written consent, and do not post about the case on social media. If a custody evaluation is on the horizon, ask who the evaluator is and confirm they are state-licensed and, where abuse is alleged, specifically trained. Then call a lawyer early. Parenting orders entered quickly in the first weeks of a case tend to become the baseline everyone argues from later.
Custody, Support, and the Money Behind Parenting
Parenting time and support are separate decisions, but they travel together. Child support in New Jersey ends by operation of law when a child dies, marries, enters military service, or turns 19, unless a court order or approved agreement says otherwise. Disputes over who pays for medical bills, childcare, extracurriculars, and college are common after a judgment, and we handle both the initial negotiation and later enforcement or modification when a job changes or income shifts.
For parents with business income, commissions, or royalties, the real fight is often over what a parent actually earns. Our family law attorneys work with forensic accountants and business valuation professionals when the numbers need to be tested, and we draw on the firm’s business and estate planning attorneys when a custody case intersects with a family company or trust.
Custody Questions Asbury Park Parents Ask
What did Kayden’s Law change about custody in New Jersey?
It rewrote N.J.S.A. 9:2-4. The policy favoring frequent and continuing contact with both parents was eliminated, child safety became the threshold issue for any custody or parenting-time decision, and the best-interest factors expanded to fifteen. Judges in contested cases must also make detailed findings on the record.
How does a New Jersey judge decide custody?
The court looks first at the safety of the child, then weighs the best-interest factors, including each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs, stability, the child’s own preferences, and any history of abuse or violence. There is no automatic preference for either parent based on gender.
What is the difference between legal and physical custody?
Legal custody covers major decisions about a child’s health, education, and upbringing. Physical custody concerns where the child lives and the parenting-time schedule. Parents can share one and not the other, and a written plan should address both.
Do I need a lawyer if we agree on everything?
An agreement still needs to be written so a judge will approve it and so it can be enforced. Gaps about holidays, transportation, relocation, and decision-making cause most later conflicts, and a lawyer can close them before they become a motion.
Can my child choose which parent to live with?
A child’s preference carries more weight under the amended law, but it is one factor, not a vote. Judges consider the child’s age and maturity, and whether the preference seems genuine or influenced by a parent.
How does a domestic violence history affect custody?
It can reshape the case. Safety is the threshold issue, and a parent with a history of domestic violence or child abuse cannot be given increased custody as a way of improving the parent-child relationship. A restraining order hearing and the custody case often proceed on parallel tracks.
What happens if the other parent says I alienated our child?
Courts may no longer simply assume that a child’s reluctance to see a parent is alienation. The reasons for the child’s feelings must be investigated, which can protect a parent who is wrongly accused and require a hard look at the accuser’s own conduct.
Can a court order my child into reunification therapy?
Only if there is generally accepted, scientifically valid evidence that the specific therapy is safe and effective. The amendment significantly limits these orders, and we examine whether any proposed program can meet that standard.
Who is allowed to evaluate my family in a custody case?
Mental health professionals providing evaluations must be state-licensed. Where domestic violence or abuse is at issue, they must also have specific training and experience in those areas. If a proposed evaluator lacks those credentials, the report can be challenged.
Can a custody order be changed after the judgment?
Yes, when circumstances change substantially, such as a parent’s relocation, a major shift in work schedule, or a safety concern. The court generally wants documented proof of the change, and we help clients build that record.
Does a custody case affect my child support or my firearm rights?
Custody and support are decided separately but interact, since the parenting schedule can influence support calculations. If a restraining order is entered, all firearms must be surrendered and any Firearms Purchaser Identification Card is revoked, which can bear on employment and on the custody dispute itself.
Serving Asbury Park Custody Clients Across Monmouth County and Beyond
We represent parents in Asbury Park and neighboring shore communities, and throughout Monmouth County, including Long Branch, Red Bank, Rumson, Middletown, Holmdel, Colts Neck, Tinton Falls, Freehold, and Shrewsbury. Our family law work also reaches Ocean County, including Toms River, and Middlesex County, along with clients elsewhere in New Jersey. Whether your case sits in the Monmouth County Family Part or requires a filing in a neighboring county, our attorneys handle custody, parenting time, support, and related domestic violence matters for families wherever the case lands.
Speak With an Asbury Park Child Custody Attorney
The custody rules your case will be judged under are new, and early decisions about evidence, evaluators, and temporary arrangements tend to shape the final result. Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC can review your situation, explain how the amended statute applies, and build a plan around your child’s needs. If you are searching for an Asbury Park child custody attorney, call us to schedule a consultation.