Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions
Frequently Asked Family Law Questions
Frequently Asked Personal Injury Questions
The following information includes frequently asked personal injury questions. The answers stated are general in nature and are not intended to apply to every personal injury situation. Each case is different and carries its own set of circumstances which must be taken into consideration by competent legal counsel. By contacting attorneys Edward R. Weinstein and Jessica Weinstein, Esq., you can receive a personal consultation regarding your specific legal claim.
What is Personal Injury?
Personal Injury is any physical or mental injury to a person that results from another person’s negligence or harmful act. Personal Injury involves civil law cases as opposed to criminal law cases which involve a defendant and the State of New Jersey. Personal injury often refers to bodily injury and can occur in a wide variety of ways. The following are some of the most common accidents resulting in personal injury:
- Auto Accidents
- Airplane Accidents
- Dangerous or Defective Product Injuries
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Boating Accidents
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Birth Injuries
- Wrongful Death
> Back to Top
What financial compensation can I recover in a personal injury claim?
Accident victims are entitled to recover monetary damages for all losses and expenses suffered from the accident. Depending upon the particular circumstances of your case, damages may include recovery for any of the following:
- Medical bills
- Lost Wages, including overtime
- Pain & Suffering
- Physical Disability
- Disfigurement
- Emotional Trauma
- Mental Disability
- Property Damage
> Back to Top
Under what circumstances can a wrongful death occur?
Wrongful Death Law provides financial compensation to the family of a person whose death was caused by the negligent, willful, or wrongful act of another. Wrongful death cases are filed as a result of a variety of situations, including:
- Medical malpractice resulting in decedent's death
- Neglect or abuse on the part of a nursing home that results in decedent's death
- Automobile, bus, train, airplane or other common carrier fatality accident
- Occupational exposure to hazardous conditions or substances (exposure to asbestos, etc.)
- Death during a supervised activity (sports tournament, field trip, etc.)
> Back to Top
Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit?
A wrongful death case alleges that the decedent was killed as a result of the negligence of the defendant, and that the decedent's immediate family members (often called "distributees") are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the defendant's conduct. The most common distributees are surviving spouses and children, and sometimes parents.
Pecuniary (financial) injury is the main way damages in wrongful death cases are awarded. Courts interpret "pecuniary injuries" as including the loss of support, services, lost prospect of inheritance and medical and funeral expenses. Punitive damages may also be awarded in cases of serious or malicious wrong-doing to punish the wrong-doer, and/or deter others from behaving similarly.
> Back to Top
How do I know if I need an attorney?
If you have been seriously injured in East Brunswick, New Jersey, or within the surrounding areas of New Jersey , and are unsure about the outcome of your injury, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Make sure this is done before you give any official statements or sign papers of any kind. State laws require lawsuit filing within a specific period of time. Depending upon the circumstances of your case, you may be prohibited from filing a lawsuit and obtaining any compensation for your injuries. Personal injury Attorneys Edward R. Weinstein and Jessica Weinstein, Esq. can advise you on the applicable statute of limitations for your injury case.
> Back to Top
What is a Contingency Fee?
A contingency fee is a fee New Jersey personal injury Attorneys Edward R. Weinstein and Jessica Weinstein, Esq. uses in personal injury cases and is dependent upon the successful resolution of your case. A contingency fee is paid as a percentage of your monetary recovery; typically it is one third of the awarded settlement. A contingency fee refers to the words “there is no fee unless we win your case."
If you or someone you know in East Brunswick, New Jersey, or within the surrounding cities and counties of New Jersey, needs the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer, please call The Law Offices of Weinstein & Weinstein today at (877) 215-2628, or complete the contact form on this site to begin your with a skilled New Jersey serious injury attorney.
> Back to Top
Frequently Asked Family Law Questions
The following information includes frequently asked family law questions. The answers stated are general in nature and are not intended to apply to every family law situation. Each case is different and carries its own set of circumstances which must be taken into consideration by competent legal counsel. By contacting attorneys Edward and Jessica Weinstein, Esq. , you can receive a personal consultation regarding your specific legal claim.
How much does a divorce cost?
It always depends upon the complexity of the case. Once my office ascertains the essential facts, we can then estimate the potential legal fees.
> Back to Top
How long will the process take?
The time needed to complete a divorce depends on many factors. Your lawyer can offer some general guidelines on the length of delay which you are likely to experience in your particular case.
> Back to Top
What will we discuss during our initial consultation?
In most cases, the lawyer will discuss several topics, including:
- Possibility of solving marital problems through counseling.
- Assistance to you as a parent in meeting the needs of your children in determining child custody and visitation.
- Grounds for divorce.
- Financial matters involving child support, alimony, and equitable distribution of property acquired during the marriage.
- Legal rights of the parties.
- Procedures in court.
- Restraining orders and the Domestic Violence Act.
- Procedures in the lawyer's office for handling the case. You should be certain to discuss financial arrangements for legal services and court costs at the first meeting.
> Back to Top
How is a divorce started?
The lawyer for the person seeking the divorce will file a formal document, called a "complaint," with the appropriate court. This complaint includes information on the marriage, residency, present living arrangements, children of the marriage, and the specific reasons claimed for seeking a divorce. A copy of the complaint will be served on the spouse, either by mail or in person by a sheriff. If your spouse is represented by an attorney, that attorney, instead of your spouse, may receive the complaint.
In New Jersey, all divorces are heard in the Family Part of the Superior Court. As a matter of fact, all legal matters relating to the family are heard in this court.
> Back to Top
Will the court make any temporary decisions?
The proper court can, if necessary, make temporary decisions about:
- Temporary custody of minor children.
- Temporary restraints to keep your spouse from interfering with your personal liberty.
- Who will live in the home which you and your spouse formally shared.
- Temporary support payments for a spouse and children.
- Limitations of disposal of property to insure payments of support or to protect a spouse's share in that property.
- Visitations rights to the parent who does not have physical custody of the children.
- Any other temporary orders at the request of a spouse or because the judge believes it will be fair and equitable.
> Back to Top
Who will get custody of the children?
The welfare of the children is the major concern of the court. Property rights and welfare of the adults involved are secondary. Neither parent is automatically entitled to custody of any children. The judge may consider many factors which will be discussed in court at a hearing. The factors may include ages and sexes of the children, compatibility which each parent, ability of the parent to care for the children, and the personal conduct of each parent. The primary consideration of the court is to make a determination as to what is in the best interest of the children.
> Back to Top
Will there be alimony or spousal support?
The judge will decide these and other issues after hearing what is said in court. The final decision will depend on the testimony which is given in court. The court may also award rehabilitative or reimbursement alimony. Rehabilitative alimony is paid only for a limited period of time and is designed to help a spouse receive training or further education. Your lawyer will help you to make your needs and wishes clear to the judge.
> Back to Top
What is a "No Fault" divorce?
"No Fault" is the term some people use to describe a divorce in which the cause for court action was separation in different homes for 18 or more consecutive months. If a husband and a wife have lived separate and apart for that length of time, either may file for divorce. The cause is the length of separation. Neither spouse is required to offer any evidence of fault. "No fault" does not mean uncontested. An uncontested divorce occurs when all economic factors have been settled.
> Back to Top
Do I have the right to kick my spouse out of the house once I file for divorce?
If both of your names are on the deed for the house, then you both have the right keep that as your residence. Due to the high cost of living in the metropolitan area and/or for the sake of the children, many spouses decide to continue living together while the divorce is proceeding. However, if cohabitation between you and your spouse is creating a dangerous situation, then you may require a restraining order which would restrain your spouse from the marital residence.
> Back to Top
What will happen to the house and all the things we've bought since the marriage?
In New Jersey each spouse is entitled to a fair share of all the property acquired during the marriage. If the parties are unable to negotiate the terms of property distribution, the judge will decide on an "equitable distribution" of property after hearing testimony. Equitable distribution is not automatically a 50-50 decision, because New Jersey is not a "community property" state. Moreover, in making the division of assets, the court may not consider marital fault or the reasons for the divorce, in dividing the property.
> Back to Top
What do I do if my spouse has filed for divorce?
You should consult a lawyer promptly for advice. You may contest the reason claimed for the divorce, and/or contest child custody, child support, alimony, and equitable distribution by filing the proper documents.
Even if you agree to a divorce, you should consult an attorney immediately for professional advice on all other issues in your case so you understand the choices you can make and the possible consequences of doing nothing.
> Back to Top
What are the grounds for divorce in New Jersey?
Under New Jersey law, divorce may be granted for any of the following causes:
- Adultery.
- Willful and continued desertion for 12 or more months. Either physical desertion or refusal to have sexual relations with the other spouse may establish this cause.
- Extreme cruelty, including any physical or mental cruelty that endangers your safety or health, or which makes continued living together improper or unreasonable.
- Separation, if separate and different places of living have been maintained for at least 18 consecutive months or more and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.
- Voluntarily-induced addiction or habituation to a narcotic drug or habitual drunkenness for 12 or more consecutive months.
- Mental illness which resulted in the spouse being kept in an institution for 24 or more consecutive months after the marriage was begun.
- Imprisonment of the spouse for 18 or more consecutive months after the marriage was begun. (This charge for divorce can be charged after the defendant's release from prison only if the husband and the wife have not resumed living together after imprisonment ended.)
- Deviant sexual conduct voluntarily performed by the defendant without the consent of the spouse.
> Back to Top
When is a divorce final?
A judge will issue a judgment, declaring that a marriage had ended under the law of New Jersey. After the divorce is final, changes in some arrangements (custody, visitation rights, amounts of support, etc.) may be reconsidered if either party can demonstrate a change of circumstances to a judge. Your attorney can give you further advice when needed.
If you or someone you know in East Brunswick, New Jersey, or within the surrounding cities and counties of New Jersey, needs the assistance of an experienced family law lawyer, please call Attorney Jessica Weinstein, Esq. and Edward Weinstein, Esq. of The Law Offices of Weinstein & Weinstein today at (732) 246-0909, or complete the contact form on this site to begin your with a skilled New Jersey family law attorney.
> Back to Top |
