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| Having a strong litigation team is like having a one-iron in your golf bag. You may not need it often; but when the situation calls for it, you want to be able to reach for it quickly and with the confidence that it will do its job. Here at the Law Offices of Samuel Z. Brown, you will have the confidence in knowing that our attorneys have successfully represented both corporations and individuals in a wide variety of contract and commercial disputes, as well as, handle every day matters, such as local violations and offenses. |
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| Business Disputes |
| Disputes constantly arise in business transactions and relationships. Regardless of the type or origin of the dispute, our attorneys are well-equipped and motivated to represent you and your interests. |
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| Equity Court Matters |
The General Equity Division of Superior Court hears civil cases in which monetary damages are not being sought. Our attorneys have experience in assisting clients with cases arising over labor matters, foreclosures and disputes in which restraining orders are sought. |
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| Contract Disputes |
| Our attorneys not only can prepare agreements for you but can also address what happens when those agreements are then breached. Sometimes agreements will provide for a remedy and sometimes a remedy is not quite clear. In any event our attorneys can assist you in resolving these matters. |
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| Bankruptcy and Creditors Rights |
Our attorneys have experience in all aspects of bankruptcy practice and litigation, and federal and state commercial trial and appellate practice, particularly in the area of creditors’ rights. We focus on the representation of lenders, creditors and lessors in Chapter 11 reorganizations, Chapter 7 liquidations and Chapter 13 and 7 individual debtor cases. We can also assist individual debtors seeking bankruptcy relief under Chapter 13 and Chapter 7. |
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| Corporate and Securities Litigation |
Our attorneys are familiar with securities laws, and have represented individuals in a wide variety of litigation arising under both federal and state securities laws. |
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| Constitutional Litigation |
Our attorneys are well versed in Constitutional Law and have experience in understanding and applying the court decisions that interpret the Constitution and its Amendments. |
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| Real Estate Litigation |
Our attorneys have experience in a wide variety of real estate disputes. Our practice focuses on mortgage foreclosure actions; partition actions; construction litigation; lawsuits between purchasers and sellers of real estate; and landlord/tenant controversies involving commercial and residential real estate. |
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| Commercial Litigation |
Our attorneys have experience representing large and small business entities, as well as individuals in commercial disputes in federal and state court. We have represented clients on matters involving securities; contracts; state and federal consumer statutes; and the Uniform Commercial Code. |
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| Employment Litigation |
Our attorneys are knowledgeable in the area of employment law and can assist you with resolving your employment dispute. We represent both employers and employees in a variety of areas. We assist clients with employment contract disputes; discrimination claims; Family Leave Act claims; Conscientious Employee Protection Act claims; in addition to Wrongful Discharge claims. |
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If you have been charged with a criminal offense, don’t face the charges alone. An aggressive criminal defense attorney often means the difference between a prison sentence and probation, hefty fines and dismissed charges. Retain this firm to fight for your rights.
We at the Law Offices of Samuel Z. Brown are committed to the presumption of “innocent until proven guilty” and defend our clients accordingly. Our areas of practice range from violent crimes to drug crimes to white collar offenses. Call us for a consultation, where will gather the facts about your charges and advise you on how to best protect yourself. |
- Municipal Court
- Assault & Battery
- Domestic Violence
- Illegal Possession of Weapons
- Vehicular Manslaughter
- Drug Offenses
- Drunk Driving
- Probation Violations
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| Municipal Court |
Our attorneys have extensive experience representing clients with traffic violations, as well, as municipal ordinance offenses and have successfully negotiated such to lesser offenses. New Jersey municipal courts prosecute a number of traffic and non-indictable offenses. You can not always anticipate when you will need to appear in municipal court. You may have received a minor traffic ticket for speeding or reckless driving, or other violations such as driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance or driving with a suspended license. There is one thing that you can anticipate; when you come to our firm you will have the comfort in knowing that our attorneys are working hard to negotiate the best possible deal for you. |
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| Assault & Battery |
| These different offenses are typically prosecuted together. Assault is the act of threatening to harm another, while battery is the act of harming another. The consequences of these charges are jail time, hefty fines and more. |
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| Domestic Violence |
| Convictions of domestic violence require little evidence and are surprisingly easy to pursue. In addition to clear abuse, domestic violence encompasses non-physical acts such as threats and public humiliation. Oftentimes, a spouse will file such a complaint out of spite or to gain leverage in a divorce proceeding. The penalties for domestic violence are harsh: jail time, loss of custody and/or visitation, fines and community service. |
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| Illegal Possession of Weapons |
| The actual possession of an illegal weapon is a crime, even if the possessor has not harmed or otherwise used that weapon. The consequences of this charge are jail time, fines and loss of right to bear arms. |
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| Vehicular Manslaughter |
| Vehicular manslaughter means the death of a driver or passenger of a car, which results from certain traffic offenses. Penalties for this crime include jail time, restitution to the deceased’s family and mandatory rehabilitation. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your charge, we may be able to reduce or dismiss this charge for you. |
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| Drug Offenses |
These crimes encompass possession, distribution, manufacture and sales, among several others. Law enforcement officers are increasingly on the lookout for such drug offenses and courts do not hesitate to penalize an offender with jail time and fines. Given the current attitudes toward drug offenders, it is in your best interests to hire an experienced attorney if you have been charged with a drug offense.. |
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| Drunk Driving |
Driving while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is a serious offense, even if no accident or mishap results therefrom. Consequences of DUI include jail time, loss of drivers license and insurance and mandatory rehabilitation. |
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| Probation Violations |
Consequences for violating probation range from extended jail time to fines to community service. If you have been accused of violating probation, we can help to minimize or dismiss these consequences. |
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Divorce can be agonizing and confusing. Our Family Law team will aggressively fight for your rights, while guiding you through the process in a sensitive and cost-efficient manner. Unlike many lawyers, we understand that no two clients are the same. We take the time to actually listen to your individual situation and formulate a unique strategy that will best meet your needs. We work with you to achieve the best results possible in your family matter.
Divorce
New Jersey law requires the dissolution, or legal end, of a marriage to be fault-based. Whether you want to aggressively pursue your divorce or peacefully negotiate a property settlement agreement, this firm will establish spousal fault accordingly. As with any legal field, procedural familiarity is helpful to navigate technicalities and nuances of the law.
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Custody / Visitation
The overriding standard by which custody and visitation arrangements are determined is “best interests of the child.” Since parents know their child best, the court will strongly encourage you and your spouse to agree upon a parenting arrangement that best suits your child’s needs. Remember, you don’t want a judge, who does not know your child and is not a child psychologist, to make one of the most important decisions in your child’s life.
There are two categories of custody: legal and physical. Legal custody involves the right to make key determinations in your child’s life regarding issues such as medical treatment, education and religious training. Physical custody, as the term implies, means where your child will live. Usually, divorcing spouses will obtain joint legal custody, with one parent retaining physical custody.
Parents should work together to craft a visitation schedule for the non-custodial spouse. Be creative but practical when arranging for visitation. Consider the varied schedules of yourself, your spouse and your child, as well as holidays and vacation times.
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Child Support
All parents must pay for their children’s expenses, regardless of custody arrangement. New Jersey utilizes an income-based child support guideline to calculate the amount of support a non-custodial spouse must pay for his/her children. Exigent circumstances, such as special needs, travel, or extra curricular activities may warrant the imposition of additional child support.
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Spousal Support
If your marriage has lasted for more than five years, alimony payments may be appropriate. Alimony is usually temporary, or rehabilitative; judges seldom award permanent alimony. An exact guideline does not exist to determine the length or calculation of alimony. However, some elements that factor into awards of alimony include the receiving spouse’s earning capacity and marketable skills, health, standard of living and needs, the age and amount of children in the household.
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Division of Property
The basic definition of marital property is assets acquired during the marriage. It encompasses everything from tangible objects to retirement plan benefits to personal investments. All marital property is subject to “equitable distribution;” equitable is not necessarily equal, and there are times when circumstances may warrant an unequal asset distribution.
Dispute may arise as to whether an asset constitutes marital or separate property. Separate property is property acquired before the marriage or a gift received during the marriage, which was never commingled with marital assets. In addition, inheritance monies or personal injury awards for pain and suffering are separate property. Disputes regarding categorization of assets are always fact-intensive and sometimes require the retainer of a forensic accountant.
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Domestic Violence
Victims of domestic violence have legal options for protecting themselves from an abusive relationship. They may pursue a civil restraining order, which prohibits the abuser from contacting the victim in any way, and they may press criminal charges against their abuser. When implicated in divorce, domestic violence often bars the abuser from retaining custody of his children.
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| Proper estate planning can assure that financial and gifting problems after your death do not compound your family’s grief. Our attorneys provide invaluable insight into state law regarding wills, trusts, the probate process and non-probate transfers. Additionally, our attorneys have an in-depth knowledge of the federal gift, federal and New Jersey estate and transfer tax issues. Allow us to use our knowledge and expertise to assist you with making these important life decisions. |
- Estate Planning
- Wills
- Trusts
- Trusteeships
- Tax Planning
- Probate and Estate Administration
- Will Contests
- Health Care Proxies, Power of Attorney, and Advanced Directive (Living Will)
- Guardianship Proceedings
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| Estate Planning |
| Our attorneys counsel clients on techniques to transfer assets to their loved ones in an efficient and orderly manner. Our attorneys meet personally with clients to review their personal and financial information as well as their goals and objectives for their family members. In addition to learning about our clients and their goals, we educate our clients about issues affecting wealth transfer such as: wills and trusts; probate and trust administration, alternatives to estate administration; estate, and tax issues. We believe that an informed client will make the best possible decisions for his or her family. |
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| Wills |
| With a Will, you can decide who will care for your children and how your property will be distributed thus avoiding possible disputes among your family members after your death. Here your wishes are memorialized so that the Personal Representative you choose will know how to distribute your assets. Furthermore, through insightful tax advice, we can help you to pre-plan to avoid or limit the various state and federal taxes that are implicated at your death. |
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| Trusts |
| Trusts are useful tools to supplement a will. There are various reasons why it may be beneficial to you and your heirs to incorporate a trust into your estate plan. After a review of your financial information and assets and a discussion of your goals, our attorneys can discuss various options that will best accomplish these objectives for you. |
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| Trusteeships |
| Our attornies have acted in numerous capacities as trustee in relation to the State Administration including insurance trusts in other such estate planning tools. |
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| Tax Planning |
As they say, there are two things you can count on in life – death and taxes. Even after death, there are still taxes to be paid. But, proper estate planning can reduce the amount of taxes that either your estate or your heirs will have to pay. Our attorneys can analyze your finances and assets and can advise you on taxes that are implicated at your death without any planning and what difference careful planning can make for your estate and heirs after your death. |
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| Probate and Estate Administration |
Our attorneys handle all aspects of Probate and Estate Administration for estates. Estate Administration includes the probate process of paying debts and distributing assets, as well as, non-probate transfers of the deceased's assets, such as life insurance, annuities, qualified plans, and trust assets and compliance with applicable estate tax requirements. We can assist the personal representative of the estate in the gathering, valuing, accounting and distributing the decedent's assets. We can also assist with preparing federal and state estate tax returns as well as the appropriate documents in order to release liens on a decedent's real estate. We can help you to make sure that the decedent's intent is carried out in accordance with the law. |
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| Will Contests |
We have litigated a wide variety of matters in the trust and estate area including trust and will contests. Allow our attorneys to use their experience and knowledge in these areas to your advantage. But you should know that these are issues that are typically addressed at the estate planning state. Careful drafting can ensure that your estate is distributed in the terms you set forth without any challenges. |
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| Health Care Proxies, Power of Attorney, and Advanced Directive (Living Will) |
| We can assist you with the preparation of a living will or advanced health care directive, in order to designate a health care proxy to ensure that when the time comes, your wishes are memorialized so that loved ones will not need to make these difficult decisions without your guidance. |
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| Guardianship Proceedings |
When a person cannot properly manage property or take care of himself, someone must assume responsibility for that person's affairs. If no one has legal authority to act under a Power of Attorney and/or Living Will or Advanced Directive, a court appointed guardian is required. We have assisted families with the appointment process and carrying out their duties as guardian. |
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