Unmarried Legal Issues
In the New Jersey family court system, issues between unmarried couples are resolved similar to divorcing couples.However, since there is no marriage being dissolved, these cases are called “non-dissolution” cases.
A “non-dissolution” case usually pertains to paternity, custody, parenting time or child support.
The case may first be sent to a consent conference. Similar to a mediation, a consent conference is a meeting between the parents and a court representative or to a hearing officer.
If the case is not resolved at the consent conference and/or by the hearing officer, the parents have a right to appear before a judge who will make a ruling. At this point in the process, the parents may seek a period of discovery, hire experts, conduct custody evaluations, and use any other investigative too, after all, this is litigation!