Ocean County Child Custody Lawyer

The goal in any custody case is a parenting arrangement that keeps your children safe, keeps you meaningfully involved in their lives, and holds up when real life tests it. Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC is a family law firm that handles custody and parenting-time cases for parents throughout Ocean County, from Toms River and the Barnegat Bay communities to the Route 9 corridor, and it backs those cases with the depth of a full-service firm. Finding an Ocean County child custody lawyer who understands how New Jersey judges now approach these cases matters more than it did even a short time ago.

That is because New Jersey rewrote the core of its custody statute. Under Kayden’s Law, signed in January 2026, a judge deciding custody and parenting time must treat the safety of the children as a threshold issue before reaching anything else. The old presumption favoring frequent and continuing contact with both parents is gone from N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, and the list of best-interest factors has grown to 15. Parents who built their expectations around the old framework, or who are relying on advice from friends who went through custody a few years ago, may be working from a map that no longer matches the terrain.

What Kayden’s Law Changed for Parents in Ocean County Custody Cases

The shift from a contact-first presumption to a safety-first inquiry changes how cases are built. Judges in the Family Division are now expected to examine safety concerns at the outset, and in contested cases they must place detailed findings on the record explaining their reasoning. For a parent, that means the evidence you assemble early, and how you present it, carries more weight than a general appeal to being a good parent.

Several features of the amended statute deserve a close read. Where there is a history of domestic violence or child abuse, the offending parent cannot be given increased custody as a way of repairing the parent-child relationship. Courts may no longer order reunification therapy unless there is generally accepted, scientifically valid evidence that it is safe and effective. And a judge may not simply assume that a child’s reluctance to see a parent is parental alienation; the reasons behind the reluctance have to be investigated. Children’s preferences also carry more weight than they did before.

The amendment also tightens the rules on expert involvement. Mental health professionals who perform custody evaluations must be state-licensed, and where domestic violence or abuse is in the picture they must have specific training and experience in those areas. If an evaluator has been proposed in your case, their credentials are a legitimate subject for scrutiny.

Why Choose Sanvenero & Cittadino for Custody and Parenting-Time Cases

Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC is a divorce and family law firm serving Ocean County, Monmouth County, Middlesex County, and clients across New Jersey. Managing Partner Richard Sanvenero is a New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Matrimonial Attorney, a designation granted to lawyers who meet experience requirements and pass a written examination. He previously served as a law clerk in the Family Part of the Superior Court of New Jersey, which means he has seen custody disputes from the bench side as well as the advocate’s table, and he is trained in mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce. Several attorneys at the firm have been recognized by Super Lawyers, and the firm’s attorneys are admitted in New Jersey, New York, Florida, and the District of Columbia.

Custody rarely arrives alone. A parent may also be dealing with a family business whose income will drive child support, a domestic violence allegation that changes the custody analysis, or an estate plan that needs rewriting after separation. Joshua Cittadino, Founding Partner, brings experience in real estate, construction litigation, personal injury, employment matters, and business transactions, and Mike Canarick, Of Counsel, is a tax and estate planning attorney. Because the firm’s family, business, real estate, estate planning, and litigation attorneys work as one coordinated team, parents do not have to piece together separate firms to address everything a custody case touches. Clients consistently hear from a team that communicates clearly, returns calls, and explains each step in plain terms.

The Custody Issues That Arise Most Often

• Legal and Physical Custody: Legal custody covers major decisions about education, health care, and religion, while physical custody addresses where the children live. Courts can order joint legal custody even when the children primarily reside with one parent, and the two questions are often decided differently.
• Parenting-Time Schedules: Disputes commonly center on weekday versus weekend time, holiday rotation, summer division, and travel. Shift work, seasonal hospitality schedules, and long commutes up the Garden State Parkway can make a workable schedule harder to design than it first appears.
• Safety Concerns and Domestic Violence: Under the amended statute, safety is the first question. Allegations of abuse, a history of domestic violence, or a restraining order can reshape the entire parenting plan, and the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act runs in parallel with the custody case.
• Relocation Disputes: A parent who wants to move out of the area, or out of state, with the children usually needs the other parent’s consent or a court order. These cases turn on the child’s best interests and the effect of the move on the other parent’s relationship.
• Children’s Preferences: The revised statute gives children’s preferences more weight, but a child’s stated wish is evaluated in light of age, maturity, and the reasons behind it, not simply followed.
• Reunification Therapy and Alienation Claims: When a child resists contact with one parent, courts must now look into why before drawing conclusions, and cannot order reunification therapy without scientifically valid support for its safety and effectiveness.
• Modification of Existing Orders: A custody or parenting-time order can be revisited after a substantial change in circumstances, such as a new work schedule, a relocation, or a safety issue that has emerged since the original order.
• Enforcement: When a parent withholds parenting time or ignores a court order, enforcement motions ask the court to compel compliance, and the record you keep of missed exchanges matters.

What to Do When a Custody Dispute Is Underway in Ocean County

Start by writing things down while they are fresh. Keep a dated record of parenting exchanges, missed visits, schedule changes, and communications with the other parent. Courts rely on specifics, and a calendar of what actually happened is far more persuasive than a general account of what usually happens. Keep communications civil and in writing where possible, because texts and emails routinely end up as exhibits.

Gather the documents a judge will want to see: your work schedule, the children’s school and medical information, records of who handles daily care, and anything that bears on safety. If domestic violence is part of the picture, a temporary restraining order is followed by a hearing within ten days, and the result can influence custody immediately. A final restraining order, if granted, does not expire, so the stakes of that hearing extend well beyond the first few weeks.

Custody cases for Ocean County families are heard in the Family Division of the Superior Court, Ocean Vicinage, which sits in Toms River. Domestic violence matters have their own unit within the Ocean County Justice Complex in Toms River. Most contested cases pass through mediation or other early intervention before any trial is scheduled, so it pays to arrive prepared with a concrete parenting plan rather than a list of grievances. Avoid the common mistakes: disparaging the other parent in front of the children, moving out or changing the children’s routine without advice, posting about the case online, and agreeing to an informal arrangement that is never put into an order.

Building a Parenting Plan a Judge Can Approve

Whether a case settles or is tried, the strongest position is a clear, child-focused parenting plan. A good plan addresses the regular weekly schedule, holidays and school breaks, transportation and exchange logistics, decision-making authority, communication between parents and with the children, and how disagreements will be resolved. Judges looking at the expanded best-interest factors want to see that your proposal reflects the children’s actual needs, not just your preferences.

Custody and support are tied together. Parenting time affects child support calculations, and support obligations generally end by operation of law when a child dies, marries, enters military service, or reaches 19, unless a court order or approved agreement says otherwise. Planning the custody arrangement with the financial consequences in view avoids surprises later. For parents in high net worth situations, where business income or equity compensation is part of the picture, the firm works with forensic accountants and business valuation professionals so that the financial side is documented accurately.

Custody Questions Ocean County Parents Ask

How does a New Jersey court decide custody?

The court decides based on the best interests of the child. Under the amended statute, the safety of the children is the threshold question, and the judge then weighs 15 best-interest factors. In contested cases the judge must explain the findings on the record.

Does New Jersey still presume that children should have frequent contact with both parents?

No. The presumption favoring frequent and continuing contact with both parents was removed from the statute when Kayden’s Law was signed. Contact with both parents is still often in a child’s interest, but it is no longer assumed; it is evaluated after safety is addressed.

What is the difference between legal custody and physical custody?

Legal custody is the authority to make major decisions about the child’s upbringing, such as education and medical care. Physical custody concerns where the child lives day to day. They can be allocated differently, and joint legal custody is common even when one parent has the majority of parenting time.

Will the court listen to what my child wants?

Children’s preferences now carry more weight, but they are not controlling. A judge considers the child’s age and maturity and the reasons behind the preference, and is cautious about preferences that appear to result from pressure by either parent.

Can a judge order my child into reunification therapy?

Only in limited circumstances. Under the amended statute, courts may not order reunification therapy unless there is generally accepted, scientifically valid evidence that it is safe and effective. This is a significant change for cases in which a child is resisting contact with a parent.

What if the other parent says my child’s reluctance is parental alienation?

A court may no longer simply assume that reluctance equals alienation. It must investigate the reasons the child is resisting contact, which can include safety concerns, before drawing conclusions about either parent’s conduct.

How does a domestic violence history affect custody?

It can affect it substantially. Safety is the threshold issue, and where there is a history of domestic violence or child abuse, the offending parent cannot be awarded increased custody to repair the relationship with the child. A restraining order hearing can also have immediate consequences for parenting time.

How long does a custody case take in Ocean County?

It depends on how contested the case is. Agreed parenting plans can be finalized relatively quickly, while contested cases involving evaluations, expert testimony, or safety allegations take considerably longer. The timeline is driven by the court’s schedule and by how complete your preparation is.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the other parent and I mostly agree?

Often yes. A written agreement has to be drafted so that it is enforceable and addresses details such as holidays, transportation, and decision-making. Informal understandings that never become a court order can be difficult or impossible to enforce when the relationship sours.

Can a custody order be changed later?

Yes, but generally only after a substantial change in circumstances, such as a relocation, a significant change in work schedule, or a new safety concern. The party seeking modification needs documentation showing what changed and why the existing order no longer works.

Do I need to file a separate case to enforce parenting time?

Typically enforcement is brought as a motion in the existing Family Part case. Keep a record of each missed or interfered-with exchange, because the court will want specific dates and details rather than general complaints.

Serving Custody Clients Across Ocean County and Beyond

For parents in Ocean County, the firm represents clients in Toms River and the surrounding communities that feed the Family Division in Toms River. We also work with families throughout Ocean County who commute or relocate for work, and with parents whose cases touch more than one county. In neighboring Monmouth County, our attorneys represent clients in Red Bank, Rumson, Middletown, Holmdel, Colts Neck, Tinton Falls, Freehold, Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Shrewsbury. We also serve parents throughout Middlesex County and across the State of New Jersey. Because custody disputes often follow a family from one town to the next after a separation, the firm is accustomed to cases that span county lines.

Talk With an Ocean County Child Custody Attorney

The right time to speak with an Ocean County child custody attorney is before positions harden, while you can still shape the record and the parenting plan a judge will review. Sanvenero & Cittadino, LLC can assess where your case stands under the revised custody statute, explain the options in plain terms, and build a plan that puts your children’s safety and stability first. Call to schedule a consultation and get a clear picture of your next steps.