What People Are Asking Westfield Divorce Lawyer Amid Coronavirus

HOBOKEN AND WESTFIELD, NJ — Karen Saminski, a former Jersey City municipal court judge whose family law practice has offices in Hoboken and Westfield, says that recently, people have been calling her and saying, "I know the courts are closed ..." because of the coronavirus. But it isn't true.

Saminski, who's been practicing family law for 32 years, said in a phone interview that the court system is more efficient and accessible now that the pandemic forced it to use modern technology.

"I think no one should get divorced unless they’re sure they want to get divorced," Saminski said. "But if you want to, you should be able to."

Saminski said she hasn't seen an uptick in people wanting a divorce because they're quarantined with a spouse, but the pressure may have exacerbated issues for those already thinking along those lines. She has seen an increase in requests for prenuptial agreements in the last few months — because, with weddings postponed, people have more time to deal with legal issues.

"Even though our office can prepare the agreements quickly, the conversations the couple needs to have to come to terms on sensitive financial issues can take some time," she said. "During COVID, a lot of weddings seem to have been postponed, or setting a date was delayed, and we received more contacts and were hired by more clients interested in prenups."

What about domestic violence issues that are exacerbated during quarantine?

In an emergency, people can call 911. In New Jersey, they can contact police for a temporary restraining order. Those not in an emergency who want to talk to a family law attorney can often get a free consultation, Saminski noted; her office gives them. (For more on co-parenting difficulties during the pandemic, see below.)

Welcome to the 21st century

While some matters are best dealt with by attorneys in person, Saminski said, many court procedures are now being done via Microsoft Teams calls, phone or email. And this has saved time and money — lots of it.

Saminski said that in the past, court hearings often were delayed for hours at a time. Now, with phone calls slated for particular times with judges, individuals are sticking to a schedule.

And attorneys can do more with fewer road trips.

"An attorney who works for me can have a hearing at 9 in Union and 11 in Morris and 3 in Hudson," she said.

Saminski said that the court also used to require couriers to deliver certain signed documents, but now people can sign electronically and send the documents that way as well — saving time and costs, and thus bringing an antiquated system into the current century.

These improvements also save costs for clients. "If someone wants to hire me and I have to go to [court in] Ocean County, they have to think about travel time," she said.

But is it hard to resolve matters without being able to hash out issues in person? Lawyers have been known to resolve cases in hallways before a hearing.

Some of those negotiations occur over email or phone, Saminski noted.

"With some categories of cases, it’s tougher," she said. "With people trying to represent themselves [they have to learn the technology]. And for really difficult cases, you may need an expert witness, a custody expert or financial expert, and sometimes you want to observe everybody — like, each parent with children. Sometimes, you want them to bring a child to an office, and some offices still aren’t open."

She said, "If you're observing people, when you observe them with masks on, you can't see their facial expressions."

With family law, only 2 percent of cases are ultimately decided in a court trial, Saminski noted — but there are sometimes court hearings earlier, as well as mediation sessions, lawyer discussions, and other back-and-forth conversations.

Rather than having a judge decide a family's most sensitive issues — particularly with subtle nuances among family dynamics — lawyers work to resolve those issues in advance. Sometimes, attorneys settle a case on the eve of a trial.

What about parenting differences during a pandemic?

People who are co-parenting during the pandemic have had to decide on safety procedures and adjustments to parenting time amid quarantines.

Across America, there have been cases in which a spouse withheld a child or filed a court motion because the other spouse was an emergency worker and the first spouse believed the child was at risk (or could bring the virus home to them).

Other times, parties disagreed on where a child should be able to go and whom they should be able to see.

"There was a lot of posturing around COVID," Saminski said. "The courts didn’t have a precedent. Some people were threatening to withhold visitation, saying one parent was less diligent than the other, had more exposure, and they were afraid for the children."

She said most of those issues among her clients have been resolved by now, but there are ways to file emergency orders if necessary, or just reach out to an attorney to get guidance or a letter.

"I had one client living with her father, who was a cancer patient," she said. "When the child had parenting time with the other parent, the other parent brought people into the mix, and she was more worried about her father."

Suburban and urban divorces

Saminski grew up in Jersey City and moved to Westfield to raise her family. She said she has handled cases from Bergen County to Ocean County.

She said that she sees differences between the types of divorce cases in her Hoboken office and in her suburban offices.

"In Westfield, the families are established a little longer," she said. "The kids are a little older. In Hoboken, I have some long marriages, but some short marriages with high-earners who have no children. They're often resolving financial matters, not [custody]."

She said her offices aren't getting either more or fewer calls amid the pandemic, just more comments from people who aren't sure what they can do right now.

"I think a lot of people think they can't do anything, and they can," she said. She said, "Most legal offices are open. Some offer free consultations. Don't sit home wishing you could talk to someone. You can at least get your plan laid out."

She said that even those who go through private mediation should talk to a lawyer so they will go in aware of what to ask for.

Saminski's law offices can be found on the web here. There are directions on how to call or email the offices during the pandemic.

For those who want to learn more about domestic violence, the national hotline has a means to talk through chat or text. Call 800-799-7233 or visit here.

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