A person may be a victim of defamation when another person has said something false about her. Defamation is a generic term for libel (a defamatory statement that is written) and slander (a defamatory statement which is spoken). The statement cannot be a joke or an expression of opinion; it…
Governor Chris Christie signed a new legislation, Bill A-2598/S-2588, establishing a diversionary program for “minor” offenders in New Jersey municipal court matters. This law will take effect in January 2014 allowing conditional dismissal of disorderly persons (criminal offenses with sentences of less than six months) and petty disorderly persons (criminal…
In years past, when parties had a dispute, they resolved it by filing a lawsuit. In the last decade, however, parties – and New Jersey’s courts – have increasingly resorted to alternative dispute resolution (often called “ADR”) instead of lawsuits. There are two main types of ADR, arbitration and mediation.…
The American Bar Association Task Force on Real Property Probate and Trust Law issued a report discussing the following shortcomings of drafting your own estate planning documents using the services of a “Do It Yourself” package. Some of those short comings are as follows. Things are often more complicated than…
Almost 29 million people over 16 years old had a disability. Of these, approximately 6,000,000, or 21 per cent, were in the labor force, compared with almost 150,000,000 million people without a disability, for a 68 per cent participation rate. Discrimination is prohibited under both New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination…
New Jersey passed the Smoke Free Air Act in 2006. The Act is part of New Jersey’s effort to eliminate tobacco use because it is a significant public health threat. The United States Surgeon General has declared that secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard that leads to premature death…
New Jersey provides new home owners with a warranty under New Jersey’s New Home Warranty and Builders’ Registration Act (“HOW”). The Act provides that newly constructed homes must conform to certain construction and quality standards and provide buyer of the new home with insurance-backed warranty protection in the event any…
It is a fairly common practice for people to open joint bank accounts. Often joint accounts are held by spouses, and the funds do actually belong to both individuals. However, sometimes these accounts are opened for the convenience of allowing a child or to access funds and write checks to…
The minimum wage in New Jersey is $7.25 per hour. New Jersey law requires that all “non-exempt” private sector employees must receive “overtime” pay – one and a half times their normal hourly rate – for all time worked in any given week in excess of forty hours. While New…
The health, stability, and strength of a nation’s economy is directly linked to its banking system. The health, stability, and strength of a nation’s banking system is directly related to a fair and accurate credit reporting system. Congress realized how damaging inaccurate credit reports can directly impair the efficiency of…