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Michael A. Conte
Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed LLCBadges
Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&A
Summary
A worked as a Senior Probation Officer in Child Support Enforcement while attending Law School at night. After law school, I clerked for two wonderful judges in the New Jersey Superior Court: Hon. Mary Jacobson, who is currently the Mercer County Assignment Judge, and Hon. Catherine Fitzpatrick, who is currently the Mercer County Presiding Judge of the Family Part. After my clerkships, I began working at Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed LLC, which is a small law firm that focuses exclusively on family law. I help people with complex legal, financial, and personal issues during what is often the most traumatic times of their lives.
Practice Areas
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence
- Family Law
Additional Practice Areas
- Spousal Support
- Equitable Distribution
- Child Support
- Child Custody
Fees
- Credit Cards Accepted
Visa, Mastercard and AMEX only
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- Associate
- Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed LLC
- - Current
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Catherine Fitzpatrick, P.J.F.P.
- New Jersey State Judiciary
- -
- Law Clerk to the Hon. Mary Jacobson, P.J.F.P.
- New Jersey State Judiciary
- -
- Senior Probation Officer
- New Jersey State Judiciary, Probation, Child Support Enforcement
- -
Education
- Temple University
- J.D. | Law
- -
- Honors: Temple Law Review Staff Member (2007-08) Moot Court Honor Society (2008-09) Best Brief, Samuel L. Polski Moot Court Competition (2008) Finalist, I. Herman Stern Moot Court Competition (2009)
- Teachers College, Columbia University
- M.A. | Philosophy of Education
- -
- Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway
- B.A. | English, Philosophy
- -
- Honors: magna cum laude
Awards
- Rising Star
- Super Lawyers Magazine
- Rising Star
- Super Lawyers Magazine
- Rising Star
- Super Lawyers Magazine
- Rising Star
- Super Lawyers Magazine
Professional Associations
- Pennsylvania Bar Association # 306602
- Member
- - Current
- New Jersey Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
- Mercer County Bar Association
- Member
- - Current
Websites & Blogs
- Website
- Website
Legal Answers
36 Questions Answered
- Q. In my divorce under higher education its stated parties shall pay to their ability with the newburgh vs arrigiano law...
- A: In Court you will need to disclose more than just the balances of your bank accounts. You will need to probably fill out an updated Family Court Case Information Statement, which provides your last year's income, your current YTD income, you income based on your last three pay stubs, your monthly household expenses, all of your assets (bank accounts included, but also real estate, securities, businesses, retirement assets, etc), and liabilities. You will need to attach your last years income tax return and most recent pay stubs. Your former wife will have to disclose all of this information too. You can make the argument that you have a small savings for a rainy day, but that will only be one consideration among many. Also, there is a propensity for New Jersey Courts to order a parent to help contribute an amount toward a child's college expenses, even when parents may not feel that they have enough savings really to cover it.
- Q. I never paid child support for my daughter and she's 15 years old now my child's mother is taking me to court
- A: If you are the legal parent of the child, then you have a child support obligation. The right to be financially supported is the child's right, not that of the custodial parent. You cannot "sign away" your rights to a child to avoid child support, unless you mean signing over your parental rights in the context of a legal adoption of the child by a third-party.
- Q. My son settled on a house in 2004. The deed was recorded 2005. 2013 he married and has 3 kids. If divorced would wife ge
- A: If it is his premarital property, the only claim she might attempt is for a portion of the appreciated value of the property during the marriage. That is, if the house was worth $200,000 on the date of the marriage with a $100,000 mortgage (so total equity in the house was $100,000 on that date), but then another $100,000 of marital money was spent to improve the property during the marriage and the mortgage principal was paid-down another $20,000 (the mortgage balance is now $80,000) and the house is appraised as of the date of the divorce complaint to be worth $300,000, then she has a good set of arguments that she is entitled to some fair percentage the increased value. In the above hypothetical, the value increased by $120,000 --- from $100,000 (the equity at the time of the marriage), to $220,000 at the time of the divorce complaint ($300,000 less $80,000 mortgage = $220,000). She would be entitled to some portion of that $120,000. Of course the outcome in your son's case would be driven by the specific facts and circumstances of his case. If he hasn't already, he should consult with an attorney who primarily practices family/matrimonial law.
- Q. Do I have to keep paying for child support while my child is in college she live on campus. I am paying 50% of college
- A: This is not the type of question that can be answered adequately in this type of focus. The general answer is that the child is not emancipated if (s)he is a full-time college student, so you have a continuing obligation to pay child support to the parent of primary residence. It is unclear from your question whether you have a legal obligation, however, to pay 50% of her college expenses. The obligation pay college expenses is like child support, but not the same. There needs to be an order, agreement, or judgment providing that you pay a portion of those expenses, before you have that legal obligation. There is interplay between the obligation to pay child support and college expenses. Therefore, it is not clear whether your payment of 50% of the college expenses basically satisfies your child support obligation, or if you have a justifiable child support obligation above paying those costs. You would be best served to bring the specific facts of your case to a qualified family law attorney. Provided with an understanding of your income and assets, the other parent's income and assets, and the child's income and assets (if any), an attorney can advise you of what they believe is a fair obligation based on those facts, and advise you how to have that obligation reduced to an order.
- Q. My daughter's father owes me almost 57,000 in back child support, on October 4,2017 he was finally approved to collect
- A: If you have not already, contact the child support call center (877-655-4371) and notify them that he will be awarded SSD, and probably a large lump-sum retroactive payment. I am not sure if they will be able to intercede to collect some portion of your arrears before he receives that payment, but they would be the one's handling it if it is possible. Also, they need to know that he was awarded SSD, to set up the garnishment of his future payments.
- Q. Can my ex take me to court to gain primary parent? Do I need permission to move?
- A: I strongly suggest you contact a qualified family law attorney for a consultation. This type of move will affect both parents' lives and the child. You will need to all be on the same page before the move takes place, or else you are begging for contested litigation - which could create a ripple-effect of problems for all of you. A qualified attorney who primarily practices family law can help you try to keep the situation from boiling over, while helping you to develop, propose, and negotiate a workable parenting plan.
- Q. Ex husband picked up my 16yo from school during my court ordered parenting time...what are my options?
- A: This type of issue is sensitive. Being that your post is two weeks old, I presume that one way or another it has resolved by now. As a general rule, it is best to try to address these type of teenager issues delicately, by trying to talk it through with your child, while trying to gently remind the other parent that they have an obligation to try to work with you to see that the custody/parenting-time order is followed. If you are unable to do that on your own, sometimes a letter from a family law attorney that you have retained can help him to understand the gravity of the situation. Another thing to think about is that if the issue is raised in an application with the Court, the Court will recognize that a 16-year-old child is getting relatively close to adulthood. Therefore, before you head into litigation about a child of this age, it is important to consult with a qualified family law attorney to assess the potential costs versus the benefits of all alternatives.
- Q. Can I add a clause in my divorce requiring that my ex can’t get any of my future social security benefits NJ?
- A: Your spouse will only be entitled to a benefit based on your social security income if your marriage lasted for over 10 years. If she makes a claim on your benefits, it will have no impact on the amount of Social Security retirement you receive. She also would not have a claim to social security disability that you might receive in the future (although disability income you receive may be considered at the point you begin receiving it in connection with a continuing claim for support -- if a justified support claim exists post-divorce). Because there is nothing that your spouse can do to affect your social security benefits, I do not believe it is necessary to require any provision to address this issue in a divorce judgment or settlement agreement.
- Q. Can I file for child support in NJ if divorce is filed against me in PA?
- A: The short answer is yes, I believe you are able to file for support in New Jersey. Bring the divorce and custody orders with you when you go to the courthouse, as those orders will need to be registered in New Jersey to get the case opened.
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