Richard Diamond

Richard Diamond has been practicing Family Law Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration work in New Jersey for the past 34 years and is a Certified Family Law Trial Attorney by the N.J. Supreme Court; Accredited New Jersey Family Law Mediator, authorized by the NJ Supreme Court to handle family law mediation matters with an active domestic violence restraining order in place and a Family Law Arbitrator.
Mr Diamond is also a Family Law Economic Mediator in Union, Essex, Morris, Somerset, Middlesex and Monmouth Counties.
Mr Diamond is also a member of the Essex, Union and Somerset County's Family Law Early Settlement Panel Program (ESP); a member of Who's Who in American Law; listed in Best Lawyers in America and a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for Family Law accomplishments.
Diamond & Diamond limits is practice to divorce, post divorce matters, child custody disputes, domestic violence representation, child support & alimony claims, business valuations in divorce, and prenuptial agreement drafting & review.
The firm also actively represents litigants in the NJ Family Court system in Somerset, Morris, Union, Essex, Middlesex, Passaic, Bergen, Monmouth, & Ocean Counties and regularly appears before the family part judges in each of those counties.

• Divorce
• Family Law
• Domestic Violence
• Arbitration & Mediation
• Appeals & Appellate

• Certified Attorneys

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  FIRM'S WEB SITE: WWW.DIAMONDANDDIAMOND.COM FIRM'S E MAIL ADDRESS: NJDIVORCELAWYER@AOL.COM FIRM'S FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/NJDivorceLaw

Florida

Since 1991

New Jersey

Since 1985

SENIOR PARTNER

DIAMOND & DIAMOND P.A.

1992 - Current

Seton Hall University School of Law

J.D. (1985) | Law

1982 - 1985

Rutgers University - Newark

B.A. (1981) | Economics / Business Administration

1978 - 1981

Honors: Dual Degree

2019 Award for New Jersey Family Law Attorneys

Lawyers of Distinction

2019

Lifetime Charter Member

Rue Ratings Best Attorneys of America

2019

10 Best Family Law Firms in New Jersey

American Institute of Family Law Attorneys

2019

N.J. Best Lawyers for Families

New Jersey Family Magazine

2019

Certified Matrimonial Trial Lawyer by the NJ Supreme Court

NJ State Bar Association

New Jersey State Bar - Family Law Section

Member

Current

Essex County Family Law Early Settlement Panelist

Member

Current

Somerset County Family Law Early Settlement Panelist

member

Current

Union County Family Law Early Settlement Panelist

member

Current

Accredited Family Law Economic Mediator with Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in Place

New Jersey State Bar

2015

CERTIFIED FAMILY LAW TRIAL ATTORNEY

New Jersey Supreme Court

Accredited Family Law Mediator

New Jersey Superior Court System

Q. Can I retain custody of my twins if , 4 years ago i essentially lost custody as I missed a hearing?

6 July 2020

A: From the information you have provided, 4 years ago, there was an application filed with the court system to take physical custody of the children from you based on claims of abuse or neglect. You were given notice of and the details of the claims made against you and you failed to appear for that hearing ( and presumably, you also failed to submit a certification and supporting documents in opposition to that application). As a result of that application, the court presumably took testimony from others as to the concerns voiced about you and the children's care, etc and based on that testimony, the judge entered an order granted physical custody of the children to someone other than you. I dont know what the court order( entered 4 years ago) provided for your access to the children, parenting time, treatment requirements, etc but for any family law specialist to determine whether there is a proper basis to file an application to reexamine the custodial setting, he is going to need to read that court order, all of the material submitted in connection with that application, the transcript of the testimony from 4 years ago to see what was said and he would need to know what has changed in your life to justify the filing of an application for a change in that setting.

Q. I’m gonna be 18 in 1m and 12d I stay with my mom and that’s where all my belonging are, my dad has custody of me right

6 July 2020

A: lets start off addressing the easier question- When you turn 18, you will have the right to determine where you will live, regardless of the agreement or court order entered into by your parents. Now, lets address the bigger issue - the custody and support plan that is best for you. Even though you will not turn 18 for an additional 41 days, 6 hours and 12 minutes, it makes no sense that you would be forced to sleep in a setting where you and your father do not have proper accommodations for you to remain with him on an overnight basis. I'm not sure if both of your parents are in tough financial straits or if its only your dad but my concern is whether you have proper access to medical care, educational opportunities and proper financial assistance. If both parents are in the same setting, you may want to contact social services in your county to see if there are governmental benefits available to you to help you and your mom. Understand also that if dad says that you must come back to his home because he has a court order or agreement requiring it, given the setting presented and your age, you have the right to push back and tell him that given that you have no bed and given that you will be 18 shortly, you dont want to go back to his home to sleep. If he disagrees, his recourse is to call the police, who will then want to speak with you ( since the decision is not caused by your mother refusing to let you go back to his home) and you have the right to tell the police that you will be 18 years old shortly and that you have no bed at his home and that you dont want to go back. My sense is that the police will inform your dad that they cannot force you to go back and that if he disagrees, he can file an application with the court for relief, but by the time it is heard, you will be 18 years old and most likely, the court will respect your wishes at that point.

Q. Am i allowed to take my kids out of state and am I allowed to move out of state

6 July 2020

A: The law in New Jersey concerning "relocation" changed recently and now the court is required to employ the "best interest" test to a custodial parent seeking to move out of the state of NJ with the parties child[ren] - meaning that either you need to get a writing from him agreeing to permit you to move to NY state with the children or you need to get a court order from the family court permitting the move to occur. The worst thing you can do is simply move out of state ( for whatever reason) and he then files an application with the court for sanctions and to compel you to return the children to New Jersey. In filing that application, he will tell the court a very different story about his relationship with the children and you will be put in a defensive position with the court with the threat of sanctions held over your head. If you simply move without that court order in hand, you do so at your peril.