Posted in: General, Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements
A postnuptial agreement is simply a contract between two people who are married. The parties may be heterosexual or same-sex spouses and the agreement may include just about any terms, with a few exceptions, that a couple may desire. While ...
Posted in: General, Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements
What It Is and How It Work A “love contract” is an agreement you make with someone you love to help keep your relationship a loving one. It appeals to those couples who refuse to leave some aspects of their ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements, Property Division
More and more couples are choosing to live together, but are choosing not to get married. Whether they do so for religious, ethical, moral or legal reasons, their rights can be affected by their decision not to marry. The Marriage ...
Posted in: General
When you marry someone who has a biological or adoptive child from a previous relationship, you become a stepparent of that child. This is not a legal parental relationship, however. In order to become a legal parent of your spouse’s ...
Posted in: Divorce, Featured Articles, Property Division
Divorce is an emotional event. It is not uncommon for decisions to be made in haste, anger and sadness. Very often, though, the decisions made in the midst of the haste and anger can significantly affect how a divorce will ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation
In 2011 Pennsylvania amended the legal standard for awarding child custody by establishing 15 standards [1] on which the deciding court must base a custody decision. By showing the court a pattern of parenting behavior that meets the standards in the custody ...
Posted in: Alimony
Taxes on Alimony: Who Pays Them? Your divorce is final and you are now receiving alimony from, or paying alimony to, your ex-spouse. But wait — what about the taxes? What will you owe the next time you file your ...
Posted in: General, Spousal & Child Support
How Child Support Works in Pennsylvania Child support is given high priority in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. When one or both parents move from the state in which an initial child support order was entered, the order may still be ...
Posted in: General, Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements
A prenup (also known as a prenuptial, premarital, or antenuptial agreement) is an agreement between two people who are planning to marry. When most of us hear the word “prenup,” we envision a well-to-do man presenting his less wealthy and ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, Divorce, General
Parents with custody of minor children often feel the need or desire to move with their children to another location at some point after a divorce. Whether you are the parent who is about to be left behind or the ...
Posted in: Divorce, Property Division, Senior Divorce
When you get divorced at a young age, you have years ahead of you in which to adjust. You might go back to school and launch a second career, or remarry and start a new family. But, when you divorce ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, Divorce
The Divorce Process For same-sex divorcing couples, the process required to initiate and complete the divorce is, technically speaking, the same as it is for heterosexual couples. But, in practice, there are significant differences.Though the specifics vary from state to state, ...
Posted in: Divorce, Property Division, Senior Divorce
When you divorce, your marital property is subject to equitable distribution. If you own all or part of a business and your business interest is characterized as marital property, the court may divide that interest between you and your spouse. ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, Divorce, General
Pennsylvania’s Child Custody law applies to married parents, married but separated parents, and parents who have never been married. The laws may also apply to biological and non-biological parents. For purposes of this blog article, individuals seeking or granted Child ...
Posted in: Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements, Property Division
When business-owners marry, they often neglect to take one of the easiest and most cost-effective steps toward protecting their business interests from the ravages of an unforeseen divorce. Without a precisely drawn premarital agreement (also known as a prenuptial agreement), ...
Posted in: General, Spousal & Child Support
For a divorcing couple with children in Pennsylvania, there are many critical child support questions that need to be answered and understood before there can be any kind of permanent resolution to the financial aspects of how their children will be ...
Posted in: Alimony, Divorce, Featured Articles
Alimony was traditionally paid by a man to his ex-wife after the couple divorced. But the world was somewhat different way back when. Today, more women are working (even after having children) and many are out-earning their husbands. As a ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, Custody & Visitation, General, Spousal & Child Support
As a same-sex partner, you may file a petition for either child custody or child support even if you are not filing for divorce. You may also do so if you are unmarried, as long as you can establish that ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, General, Property Division
For many Americans, purchasing a home will be the largest financial investment of their lives. And while there is always stress involved in such a substantial purchase, the stress is eased to some degree for married couples by the fact ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Until recently, an individual’s ability to seek citizenship in the United States through a citizen partner has been clear: unless a marriage is deemed valid, the federal government will not grant legal resident status. Traditionally, the federal government has looked ...
Posted in: Divorce, Spousal & Child Support
What Qualifies as a Change in Circumstances? Before an order of child support can be entered, a court must determine the amount of support appropriate for a particular child and which parent should pay a portion of that amount to ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, General, Spousal & Child Support
One of the mistakes many divorced parents of minor children make is assuming the custody order entered in the course of their divorce will remain in effect until the child reaches the age of majority. As a result, they ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, General
Four states (Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, and New Jersey) currently grant civil unions. Though the precise definition may vary from state to state, a civil union is generally defined as a legal relationship between two persons of the same sex that ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, General, Grandparent Visitation
Pennsylvania Statute 42, as it relates to juvenile matters, defines a "dependent child" as a child who: (1) is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for his physical, mental, ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, General, Spousal & Child Support
What Is an Emancipated Minor? Emancipation typically occurs when a minor reaches the age of majority, which in Pennsylvania is 18, and is then independent of his or her parents. Emancipation can also occur before a minor reaches the age of ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, General
Pennsylvania’s Child Custody law applies to married parents, married but separated parents, and parents who have never been married. The law may also apply to biological and non-biological parents. In 2011 Pennsylvania amended the legal standard for awarding child custody ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships, Custody & Visitation, Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements
On May 27, 2013, in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Dr. Lauren Daly was arrested for shooting her former partner in the heat of a custody dispute over one of their children. Dr. Daly and her partner have shared custody of their 11-year-old son ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation, Divorce
Until recently, separated and divorced parents in Pennsylvania could rely on a new, popular program to help facilitate joint custody arrangements. Until the change this past April, Pennsylvania was one of an increasing number of states to permit its courts ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation
Whether through divorce, by the conclusion of a relationship that bore children but no marriage, or by any other reason that you may end up a single parent, facing custody concerns can be daunting. To say that significant issues could ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court (in U.S. v. Windsor) held section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. What does this mean for legally married same-sex couples? The answer may depend upon a ...
Posted in: Civil Unions & Domestic Partnerships
Even for federal employees, there is no currently available definitive answer regarding which rights legally married same-sex couples will now be entitled to in non-recognition states. The following is a list of some of the rights that will now be available ...
Posted in: Divorce, Property Division
You’ve Got to Know What You’ve Got to Get What You Deserve Whether you are contemplating divorce or in the midst of one, when it comes to claiming what is rightfully yours financially, you must look out for yourself from ...
Posted in: Alimony, Spousal & Child Support
There are three basic types of support that may be payable to a spouse or ex-spouse in Pennsylvania: (1) Spousal Support, (2) Alimony, and (3) Alimony Pendente Lite. Each type has a very specific definition and each is available under ...
Posted in: Alimony, Spousal & Child Support
What Is Post-divorce Alimony? Alimony, as it is defined under Pennsylvania law, is what most people think of when they hear the terms “alimony” or “spousal support.” This is support provided by one ex-spouse to the other after a divorce ...
Posted in: Divorce
Divorce is not a single event. It’s a process that begins when a couple makes the decision to separate, and can last for years. Divorce can be costly, but the price is not limited to the expenditure of time and ...
Posted in: Divorce, Property Division
Your house could be the most valuable asset (and your mortgage, the largest debt) you and your spouse have to deal with during your divorce. Selling the house is a trying experience in the best of times. During a divorce, ...
“Permanent” or “lifetime” alimony can be a daunting, financially devastating concept to those who are obligated to pay it. But for many of those who receive it, it can be a lifesaver. Alimony is court-ordered support paid by one spouse ...
Posted in: Adoption
The basic legal process of adoption involves terminating the parental rights of the birth parents and giving new parental rights to the adoptive parents. There are many factors that can impact and complicate the process. Things like location, timing, and ...
Posted in: Grandparent Visitation
With increases in life expectancy, older Americans are often able to enjoy playing a role in the lives of their grandchildren. In the event that a grandparent is unable to agree on a visitation arrangement with the parent(s) of the ...
Posted in: Property Division
With approximately 124 million dogs and cats living in U.S. households and countless other animals treated as members of their owner family, it is no surprise that the question of who gets the pet in a divorce is becoming more common ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation
Who gets custody of the children after a marriage ends may be one of the most complicated issues a divorcing couple has to face. Not so very long ago, the parent who spent the most time caring for a child ...
Posted in: Spousal Abuse
While many courts may regularly issue several different types of restraining orders, the most commonly known category of restraining orders arises in the context of abuse occurring in a household or domestic situation. In Pennsylvania, tens of thousands of domestic ...
Posted in: Spousal Abuse
Restraining orders serve the necessary and important interest of protecting victims of domestic violence, but, in the context of divorce and separation proceedings, they have increasingly been misused for the purpose of throwing a soon-to-be ex-spouse or partner off-balance while ...
Posted in: Property Division
When a marriage ends in divorce, the courts are often called upon to make sure that the property or wealth obtained during the marriage is divided up in a way that is fair to both parties. Equitable property distribution is the ...
Posted in: Counsel Fee Awards
Counsel fees, also known as legal fees or lawyer fees, can build up considerably during the course of a lawsuit. Often, the parties on each side of a dispute are not on equal financial grounds. These kind of financial imbalances ...
Posted in: Divorce
The scenario happens every day. You and your spouse are no longer working as a couple. Perhaps the kids are grown and out of the house and you both have developed separate interests. Perhaps you married too young and you ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation
There are some things we do not want to think about when we should: pre-nuptial agreements when we have just become engaged; purchasing cemetery plots when we are alive and well; or that our marriage may one day end in ...
Posted in: Custody & Visitation
A child custody proceeding can take many forms, and it can happen for a number of reasons. Although the most common reasons include divorce and separation, a custody proceeding can also follow paternity questions, abuse or neglect allegations, deaths of ...
Posted in: Divorce
Posting to Facebook during a divorce may be one of the biggest mistakes a party to a divorce proceeding can make. Divorce attorneys love Facebook, and this is particularly so in Pennsylvania, where courts have repeatedly ordered access to a party’s account ...
Posted in: Premarital & Cohabitation Agreements
You’re engaged, in love, and planning a wedding with your beloved. This isn't the right time to discuss something as unpleasant as what will happen to all your pre-marriage possessions, debts, gifts, etc. if you divorce, or one of you dies, ...
