Man Arrested for Shooting at Cars on Palisades Parkway in NJ

palisades parkway traffic

Traffic on the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey

Suffern, NY – Pomona resident Jonathan Ramirez was charged after he allegedly fired an air rifle at traffic on the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey.  On Aug. 27, Ramirez was in his backyard across from mile marker 26 between exits 13 and 14 of the Palisades and was alleged to have fired the air gun in the direction of traffic.  Police say that the pellet broke the rear window of a vehicle containing four occupants.  Prosecutors filed criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges against Ramirez who is due back in court with a New Jersey criminal defense attorney to respond to them.

$500 Million in Spousal Maintenance

The wealthy often get ordered to pay millions in maintenance

Tiger Woods the $500 Million Maintenance Man

The amount of Tiger Wood’s marriage settlement is speculated to be from $300 million to $750 million. How can a court approve of such an astronomical figure?  When you learn what factors courts consider when calculating maintenance; and when you consider that Tiger and his ex-wife Elin Nordgren owned a mansion on Jupiter Island valued at $39 million, a yacht worth $22 million and their house where they lived is valued at $2.6 million, you can appreciate that a settlement of $300 million is not so unreasonable.

According to New York law, alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in New York, are payments from one spouse to another in divorce having regard for the standard of living of the spouses established during the marriage. For example, Elin Nordgren was accustomed to a very high standard of living that was established during their marriage; and as a result, her lawyer argued for a correspondingly high maintenance payment.

In New York, the family court orders maintenance payments to give a spouse economic independence and to allow him or her to be self-supporting.  Maintenance payments may be established at fixed intervals for a definite or indefinite time.

The amount and duration of the maintenance is calculated by evaluating the following factors:

  • The income and marital property of the spouses;
  • The age and health of the spouses;
  • Duration of the marriage;
  • The present and future earning capacity;
  • The ability of the spouse seeking maintenance to become self-supporting;
  • Existence of children;
  • Whether the spouse seeking maintenance contributed or has the potential to contribute;
  • Whether marital property has been dissipated by either spouse;
  • Any other factor which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper.

Maintenance may be modified by a substantial change in the financial situation of either spouse such as the receiving spouse obtaining a more lucrative position. Maintenance stops when the parties agree or the payor dies or remarries.

A unique aspect of spousal support exists where one spouse supports another through university, graduate school or professional training. Where the relationship was based on both spouses enjoying the financial benefits of that degree and the marriage ended before the material benefits were enjoyed courts may treat the professional license as a material asset and award periodic payments to the supporting spouse.  The amount of the award may be modified based on the supported spouse’s real earnings; yet, it is important to note that such payments may be demanded.

The Rosenblum Law Firm is well equipped to guide you past all of the many pitfalls that exist when going through a divorce. Before proceeding with any divorce procedure, even a no-fault divorce, please contact our office for a consultation. Issues such as custody, maintenance and child support are complex and require legal expertise.

Politician Who Collects Votes…And Speeding Tickets

U.S. Rep Who Collects Speeding Tickets

Traffic Ticket Collector and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem

According to the Rapid City Journal, South Dakota State Representative Kristi Noem has received ten (10!) speeding tickets over the past ten years.  Her most recent speeding ticket charged her with going 94 mph in 75 mph zone. She has also been charged with driving without a license.

Wait…there’s more.  If you look back to November 1989 her driving record shows a grand total of twenty (20!) speeding tickets and assorted violations for which she was mailed follow-up notices; she even had warrants issued for fines that were overdue but eventually paid.

Senior campaign adviser Russ Levsen said “Noem thinks the rules don’t apply to her…she repeatedly breaks the law, fails to appear in court and has multiple warrants for her arrest issued. The last thing we need in Congress is a politician who ignores the court dates and racks up arrests warrants.”

“Kristi apologized when she was asked about it today. She said the tickets were a result of haste and carelessness. She was trying to make up time over flat country highways, but that is never an excuse. She paid all the penalties and is working on trying to set a better example going forward,” campaign manager Josh Shields said Thursday.

So what do you say? Was she treated differently because she’s a well-known politician? One can only wonder how many tickets she could have been issued but was not…

100MPH Speed Crash Caught on Tape

car crashes at 100PH speed

Speeding at 100MPH

Police video captured a devastating car crash in Sugarcreek Township, Green County, Ohio.

Law enforcement officials say the car was speeding and driving at around 100 miles per hour.  As you can see from the below video clip, the car hits the highway divider, goes airborne and then slams into the overpass.

Shockingly, the 19-year-old driver is still alive.

The highway was closed for hours until the site was cleaned up and the driver was airlifted to the hospital.

Watch closely starting from 0:16 as the speeding car approaches from the left of the police cruiser:

No Fault Divorce: Advantages & Disadvantages

Getting a divorce previously required one spouse to prove that the other had violated the marriage, done something wrong or caused the breakdown in the marriage. For example, one spouse needed to claim abuse, adultery or other cruel behavior. In 1953, Oklahoma became the first state to dismiss the requirement to prove fault when filing for divorce. In subsequent decades, almost every state passed a no-fault divorce law.

New York has now joined the other 49 states in allowing couples to terminate their marriage by simply claiming irreconcilable differences. This means that husband and wife can divorce because they simply cannot “get along.”

Many New York divorce lawyers herald New York finally legalizing no-fault divorce.  These advocates emphasize that it is a more humane and peaceful procedure. However, others point to no-fault divorce as one of reasons for the extraordinary high divorce rate. These critics enumerate several flaws that result in no-fault divorce being much more complicated than previously thought.

Advantages of No-Fault Divorce

  1. With no-fault divorce there is less harm to children because the court procedure does not include damaging accusations.
  2. Need, ability to pay and financial contribution are the primary focus of the divorce settlement rather than fault.
  3. An abused spouse can vacate a bad marriage more easily.
  4. Domestic violence decreases.
  5. Shortens the time to obtain a divorce and reduces family court caseloads.

Disadvantages of No-Fault Divorce

  1. Causes a decrease in a wife’s and her children’s’ living standards as she has no claims or leverage to enforce spousal support.
  2. Where family courts favor mothers, no-fault divorce makes it difficult for fathers to prove that the mother who advocates ending the marriage is an unfit parent. As a result, fathers lose their rights to their children.
  3. Decisions of support, division of assets and custody become decided on the family court judge’s feelings in a no-fault system.
  4. The efforts to save the marriage are diminished.
  5. The sanctity of the institution of marriage is completely lost.

From this short list of the advantages and disadvantages of no-fault divorce, it is clear that both the husband and wife in a failing marriage have important concerns that must be addressed. Even in New York’s new no-fault divorce system, a highly experienced and dedicated lawyer is needed. Call us now for the opportunity to speak directly to an attorney and explain your situation and how you feel we can assist you.

N.J. Police Superintendent Speeding on the Garden State Parkway

new jersey traffic ticket

New Jersey Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes

Last week, New Jersey State Police New Jersey State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes got stopped for speeding on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey.

A state trooper pulled him over for speeding in Paramus, N.J..  Fuentes was driving an unmarked State Police-issued Chevy Tahoe.

No surprises here…once he realized who he’d pulled over, the trooper didn’t give Fuentes a ticket.

Fuentes must have realized how bad this looked so he contacted the State Police Office of Professional Standards to report the stop and was later issued a speeding ticket.  He’s supposed to be on the receiving end of “disciplinary action” in the form of a written reprimand – basically a slap on the wrist.  I often wonder – if this is one incident we all found out about, how many times does this happen that we NEVER find out about?

Here’s the story.

Traffic Tickets in Albany

There are many main arterial roads in Albany that are hotbeds for speeding tickets, such as Madison, Washington, Western, or Central Avenues. Many other roads have relatively low speed limits in the 30 to 35 mph range. Albany also has a large number of stop lights and stop signs for a city of its size and therefore it is easier for drivers to be pulled over for speeding or other violations.

Traffic convictions in New York will result in points on your driving record. After accumulating a certain number of points, serious consequences such as a license suspension can occur. The number of points given will depend upon the seriousness of the violation. Some examples include:

• Speeding – 3 to 11 points depending upon how much over the speed limit you are going
• Reckless driving – 5 points
• Inadequate brakes or following too closely – 4 points.

There are many examples of failure to obey a traffic signal that results in 3 points, including:

• Improper passing or unsafe lane changing
• Driving in the wrong direction
• Failure to stop completely at a stop sign
• Failure to yield the right of way
• Failure to properly use a car seat or other child restraint
• Violation of a railroad crossing
• Leaving the scene of an accident.

An especially serious traffic violation is a DWI or DUI. The number of points will depend upon whether it is a first, second, or third offense and other individual factors. A DWI is a criminal charge and a conviction will result in fines, license suspension, and possibly jail time.

Drivers in Albany who have received a traffic ticket should consult an attorney. Contesting the ticket will be easier and more successful with the help of a legal professional.

Office Locations:

110 Great Oaks Blvd.
Albany, NY 12203

50 Park Place
Newark, NJ 07102

Contact Number:
888-815-3649

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