Articles

Grandparents Rights in Child Custody Cases If it is determined to be in the best interests of the grandchild, the court may grant custody to a grandparent who:• (1) Began the relationship with the child with the consent of a parent or by court order;• (2) Has assumed or is willing to assume responsibility for […]

Fault Divorce in Pennsylvania: The Fault-Based Grounds for divorces in Pennsylvania include: (1) adultery; (2) cruelty; (3) voluntary desertion; (4) involuntary desertion; (5) bigamy; (6) imprisonment; (7) indignities; and (8) institutionalization. • (1) Adultery: if you engaged in voluntary sex with a non-spouse, then that is a fault-based ground for a divorce. Adultery must be […]

Equitable Division of Property in Philadelphia Divorces Once the court identifies and values the marital property, the court will make an equitable division; (you should note that equitable does not necessarily mean 50/50). The court’s division of the property is not subject to modification once the divorce is final. The court is going to use […]

Division of Property – Philadelphia Divorces In a Pennsylvania divorce, there are two steps to the division of property: (1) There has to be a determination about what is marital property and what is separate property, and (2)  You have to make an equitable division of the marital properties; (you should note that equitable does […]

Defenses for Fault Based Divorces in Pennsylvania The fault-based defenses that are available include: (1) recrimination; (2) Connivance; (3) Condonation; (4) Collusion; (5) Provocation; (6) Insanity; (7) Consent; and (8) Justification. ● (1) Recrimination: recrimination is a defense to adultery. It can be asserted where the plaintiff is also guilty of adultery, (in such a […]

Child Support in Pennsylvania: ● (1) Both parents are legally required to support their minor children.● (2) Child support is a right that belongs to the child, i.e., the parents cannot bargain it away. Any such agreement is void against public policy, (e.g., if the parties want to put something into a prenuptial agreement or […]

Philadelphia Child Custody Lawyer There are three different types of child custody that you need to be aware of: (1) LegalCustody; (2) PhysicalCustody; and (3) SharedCustody.• (1) Legal Custody: legal custody is the right tomake decisions affecting the child’s life; most ofthetime legal custody is shared by the parents,evenaftera marriageend.• (2) Physical Custody: physical custody […]

Annulment in Pennsylvania (1) An annulment voids a marriage and declares it as having never been valid (as opposed to a divorce, which terminates a valid marriage). (2) Annulments are available for defective marriages that are legally void or voidable. (3) What you need to look for to see whether a marriage qualifies for the […]

Alimony in Philadelphia Alimony is paid to the “economically disadvantaged” spouse.  There are three types of Alimony: (1) periodic alimony; (2) lump sum alimony; and (3) rehabilitative alimony. ●       Periodic Alimony: Periodic Alimony is where the court orders the husband to pay periodic alimony of $2,000 per month to the wife until her death or […]

Adoption in Pennsylvania Adoption is a statutory legal action extinguishing the previous parent-child relationship and establishing a new parent-child relationship.  Once the adoption is finalized, the child receives a new birth certificate and the original records are sealed; (however, the adopted children can have access to medical and social information about their birth parents). There […]