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Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

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Jan 21

How to Know if Your Child Support Agreement is Fair

Making Certain Your Child Support Agreement is Fair

Mom at grecery storeIf you are divorced and have minor children, you want to know that their basic financial needs are being met, but you also want to know that you and your ex-spouse are both paying your fair share. In Pennsylvania, as in other states, the amount of child support ordered, unless agreed upon separately by the parties, is based on a state formula. The formula typically takes into consideration the income of both parents, as well as any special needs of the child.

Working Out an Agreement

If you and your spouse want to work out an agreement, there are some things you need to know up front:

  • A non-custodial parent who makes the same amount or less than a custodial parent will still be likely ordered by a court to pay support. Child support is designed, in part, to ensure that both parties share in the costs of maintaining the child’s principal residence. The custodial parent will have more expenses for food as well.
  • It will be harder to collect back support—Without an order from the court, it can be difficult to collect back support, if your spouse falls in arrears.
  • The court may reject your agreement if there is evidence of domestic violence, misrepresentation, duress or undue influence
  • The bottom line—what’s best for your children. It’s not about how much you can get or how little you can pay. It’s about what your children really need. Paying less than they need can make their home life difficult, but demanding more than they need can put them at risk when they visit the non-custodial parent, as the non-custodial parent may be unable to a safe environment.

Obtaining an Order from the Court

Though the court will use the state formula as a guideline, the judge always has the discretion to order more or less, based on circumstances. The important factors when asking the court to order child support are:

  • Ensuring that all reasonable income is included in the calculation—any consistent income, from any source, ought to be included
  • Making certain that you address special needs, including health insurance, cost of uninsured medical care and private school tuition, if applicable

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Jan 14

The Impact of Divorce on Estate Planning

How a Divorce Will Affect Your Estate Planning

Last will and testamentIf you’ve already put an estate plan in place, and then go through a divorce, you need to think carefully about the impact of the divorce on the plans you had for the orderly distribution of your estate. You may have language in your will or trust that renders the document null and void in the event of divorce. In any event, you will most likely need to take specific steps to protect your interests.

Revoke and Replace All Wills, Codicils and Trusts

An existing will can be revoked by either tearing it up (if it is the one executed copy). You can also revoke a will by drafting and executing a new one. Though the simple act of drafting a new will may legally invalidate any prior will or codicil (an amendment to a will), it is always best to specifically state in a new will that you revoke all prior wills and codicils.

Update Any Beneficiary Designations

If you don’t want your ex (or your ex’s children) to have a claim on your estate, you need to change all beneficiary designations that name your ex-spouse. By drafting a new will, you will exclude your ex-spouse from access to any property covered by the will, but you will also want to change beneficiary designations on:

  • Retirement accounts
  • Life insurance policies
  • Bank or investment accounts that have a pay-on-death provision

Revise Any Other Estate Planning Documents

Chances are, if you have a power of attorney or an advance medical directive, you have named your ex-spouse as the person to whom decision-making authority will be granted. Confirm that someone else is willing to act in that capacity, and draft new documents naming them.

Contact Us

Let us put our commitment, experience and dedication to work for you. To arrange a confidential meeting with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Dec 30

Adopting a Child Who Has Been Abused

Effective Strategies for Adopting a Child Who Has Been Abused

Sad boy stairing out of windowAdopting and providing a home for a child who has suffered abuse or trauma can be an extremely rewarding experience, but it can also be fraught with difficulty, causing anxiety and frustration. Here are some things to understand about children who have been abused, as well as some tips for helping them adjust to a new life and build a relationship based on trust.

The Effect of Abuse

Abuse can take many forms, from physical or mental abuse to neglect or abandonment. Many children of abuse have not learned how to develop a bond or attachment with others, either because the people with whom they would have bonded are a threat to their safety, or because those persons don’t provide a consistent frame of reference for healthy attachment. As a result, a child of abuse may not know how to form a healthy attachment. Additionally, the child’s behavior may be triggered by events familiar to the child, but not familiar to you, things as simple as turning up the volume on a television or stereo (something that may have been used to mask the sound of violence in the child’s earlier life).

Because a child of abuse has not learned any other way of coping with scary events, the typical response to anything new or intimidating may be “fight or flight.” As a result, a adopted child who has been exposed to abuse may be prone to violence or to simply disappearing, physically or emotionally (or both).

Strategies for Working with a Child of Abuse

An abused child has a history of insecurity and uncertainty. Here are some ways that you can help build the trust necessary to have a healthy relationship:

  • Establish and follow a routine—Consistency and stability will help break down barriers
  • Help your adopted child trust you by being a good role model—Trust is a two-way street. Children learn trust by observing trust, by being trusted.
  • Help your adopted child feel his or her emotions—Emotions that are not acknowledged don’t go away. If your child is angry, sad or hurt, let them express those feelings, but also let them know that they are loved.
  • Don’t take it personally—Your adopted child’s behavior toward you is not just about you. It’s a product of the child’s life experience. Stay calm and positively focused.

Contact Attorney Joanne E. Kleiner

Let us help you find a workable solution to a marital property dispute. Contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266 to schedule a confidential consultation. We will help you stay focused on the issues that matter.

Dec 16

Divorce Proceedings for Same Sex Marriages

Divorce: Is It Any Different for Same Sex Marriages?

Unhappy gay coupleAs more and more states legalize gay marriage, and as time passes, gay marriage starts to take on many of the attributes of heterosexual marriage, including the reality that some marriages don’t work out. If you are a party to a same sex marriage and your relationship has irretrievably broken down, what’s the process for ending it? Does it look any different than a divorce between a man and a woman?

The first thing to understand is that marriage is a legally conferred status. Because of that, you must generally take legal action to change your status. So, if you were married in a state that legally recognized same sex marriage at the time, you must file for divorce to legally change your status to single. Your safest bet would be to file in the same state in which you were married, as those states yet to recognize same sex marriage generally don’t recognize same sex divorce, either.

Once the divorce has been filed, the process may look exactly the same as a heterosexual divorce. That was not the case before the Supreme Court ruled portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional in 2013. Before that decision, parties to same sex marriages did not enjoy the same federal tax benefits that heterosexual copies did. The IRS issued a ruling, however, after the Supreme Court decision, that same sex couples who were legally married (married in a state that recognized same sex marriage at the time of the ceremony) have all the tax benefits of marriage, regardless of where they live. That includes the right to take a federal tax deduction for any alimony paid.

With respect to the traditional issues involved in a divorce—custody and visitation, support and property division—the process looks just like it does in a traditional divorce proceeding.

Contact Our Office

Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Dec 02

The Early History of Same Sex Marriage in the United States

Gay couple holding handsSame-sex marriage is now recognized by a majority of American states, as well as the federal government, but it’s been a long, hard fight. The legal battle for equal rights began more than 40 years ago. Here’s an overview of some of the major legal victories and defeats along the way.

  • 1971—Two University of Minnesota gay student activists apply for a marriage license. The request is denied and they file suit. The district court dismisses their action and it is appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refuses to hear the case, allowing the lower court ruling to stand (denying the license request).
  • 1993—At a national gay rights march in Washington, D.C., a mass gay wedding ceremony takes place.
  • 1998—The Supreme Court of Hawaii holds that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the state constitution’s equal protection clause. The Hawaii legislature responds by passing a new law that defines marriage to include only unions between a man and a woman.
  • 2003—The U.S. Supreme Court holds a “homosexual conduct” statute in Texas unconstitutional, thereby invalidating same-sex sodomy laws in 13 states.
  • 2003—The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holds that denying a marriage license request by a same-sex couple is unconstitutional. The state begins issuing same-sex marriage licenses in 2004.
  • 2004—Officials in five different states—California, Oregon, New York, New Mexico and New Jersey—issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, but are ordered to cease and desist by either the courts or the state attorney general.
  • 2008—The Supreme Court of California rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned under the state’s constitution. In response, a Proposition is placed on the ballot and passes, making same sex marriage illegal. Similar constitutional amendments are approved in Florida and Arizona.
  • 2008—Connecticut’s Supreme Court strikes down a state statute banning gay marriage. The state legislature passes a gender-neutral marriage law the following year.
  • 2009—Courts in Iowa and the District of Columbia invalidate laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. The Vermont legislature legalizes gay marriage without a court battle, but the Governor vetoes the bill. The legislature overrides his veto. Maine’s governor signs a similar law, but it is repealed. New Hampshire and Rhode Island enact gay marriage laws.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

Let us help you successfully resolve your family law problems. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.