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Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

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Aug 29, 2012

Alimony Guidelines in Pennsylvania (PA)

Dividing marital assets and liabilities in a divorce can be a difficult, challenging process wrought with financial concerns and clouded by emotions. It is helpful to understand the property division laws in Pennsylvania, so that you can make wise, sound decisions as you transition into your next phase of life.

Marital assets are divided equitably in Pennsylvania between the two divorcing spouses. This does not mean that assets, property, and liability are divided evenly. It means that they are divided fairly between both spouses. Additionally, the courts in Pennsylvania will take into consideration the contributions, both financial and otherwise by each of the divorcing partners.

Asset Valuation

Asset valuations, or discerning the value of involved assets, are determined in most situations at the time the asset is being divided.

General Points to Consider With Equitable Division

 

Length of marriage, degree of education, and age of divorcing spouses are all factors that the courts take into account when determining how to divide property. Additionally, the health, ability to earn a living, and the standard of living that has been the status quo of the marriage are all taken into account.

 

Pensions

Pensions that will be subject to equitable property division include the amount that was acquired during the time of the marriage up to the separation, in most cases. In some cases, disability pensions may not be considered as marital property.

Gifts and Inheritances

Those gifts and/or inheritances that were given specifically to one spouse during the marriage will generally not be subject ot marital division. Again, it will depend on the specifics of your individual situation.

Sacrifice of Spouse

 

Here the question becomes whether one spouse did give up a potentially lucrative career to support the other spouse in his or her career efforts or to provide a stable home for the children. If one spouse did sacrifice in manners like these, the sacrifice can potentially be compensated for and monetized upon division of property.

Custodial Parent and Children’s Financial Needs

 

This issue becomes especially important when a divorce involves a special needs child or a child with serious health problems.

Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Agreements like these could have excluded some assets, including a business, from property division.

Marital Misconduct

Although indeed troubling, misconduct does not impact equitable distribution in Pennsylvania.

Talk Your Situation Over With a Family Law Attorney – Jenkintown, PA

In any divorce proceeding, equitable division can become a difficult, upsetting process. Having an experienced family law attorney who knows how to protect your rights and help you understand consequences of your decisions can make a world of difference in how you proceed with your life after the divorce. Contact the Jenkintown law firm of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates or call (215) 886-1266 to schedule a consultation with an experienced family law attorney. Our law firm represents clients throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Jul 26, 2012

Problems that Can Arise in Child Parenting Time

Child parenting time or visitation is the time that a noncustodial parent spends with his or her child. Custody and visitation rights are granted based upon your child’s best interests, and generally the family court prefers minor children to have regular and continuing contact with both parents when possible.

Although Pennsylvania custody laws enable parents to come to reasonable visitation agreements between themselves, the plan must be in the child’s best interests and the parents must agree on it. Problems arise when the parents cannot reach an agreement and, in such a case, the court steps in and develops a child visitation schedule that the parents and child must follow. Situations that can make reaching a child parenting agreement difficult can include:

• Acrimony between the ex-spouses
• The desire of one parent to punish the other
• Disputes over child support payments
• Domestic abuse and/or parental neglect issues

The family court views visitation rights as a privilege, so custody is not automatically awarded. In fact, if the court determines that awarding visitation is not in the child’s best interests, sole custody may be awarded to the other parent. And even if visitation rights are denied, the noncustodial parent is required to pay child support.

However, child parenting plans are not set in stone and can be modified for several reasons. An experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney can help you determine if your circumstances are adequate to request a modification of an existing child custody order.

Consult a Pennsylvania family law attorney

In any divorce proceeding involving minor children it is always prudent to work with an experienced family law attorney. Contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 and schedule a consultation to discuss your child parenting time issue.

Jul 12, 2012

Child Parenting Time (Visitation) Guidelines

The intent of child parenting time is to ensure that both parents may play a significant role in their child’s life. While being a parent is not easy and all parents make mistakes, it is in your child’s best interests to have a good and loving relationship with each parent.

In developing a child parenting (visitation) plan, the following guidelines may be helpful:

• Maintain regular contact between the child and both parents.

• Parents should refrain from physically or verbally attacking the other parent in the presence of their children.

• The custodial parent should ensure the children are prepared for the visitation and available at the mutually agreed-upon time. And the noncustodial parent should return the child at the agreed-upon time.

• Visitation should be allowed outside the child’s primary residence, such as the noncustodial parent’s home or an agreed-upon outing location.

• Parents should refrain from involving romantic partners in their child visitation time. This time is meant to be shared with child and parent, and involving third parties can be confusing and dilute the quality of parenting time.

• Time spent with the noncustodial parent should be as frequent as is practical. Schedules should be flexible enough to allow for changes when necessary, and the other parent should be informed of schedule changes as soon as possible.

• Any schedule established should be adjusted to reflect your child’s age, health and interests as he or she grows.

• Each parent should encourage a good relationship between the child and the other parent, regardless of his or her personal opinion of the ex-spouse.

• Never use your children as bargaining chips, spies or go-betweens with the other parent. The purpose of parenting time is to spend time with your child.

• Both parents should resolve to reach agreement in decisions about their children, especially concerning discipline. And disagreements should never be discussed in your child’s presence.

Talk to a Pennsylvania family law attorney today

Visitation issues can be difficult, but an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney can help you navigate the process. Contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 to discuss your child parenting matter.

Jun 28, 2012

Child Parenting Time (Visitation) Agreements

Pennsylvania family law attorneys are often asked what type of child parenting time schedule could be awarded in a particular client’s circumstances. While each family’s situation is unique, a typical child parenting schedule may include the following:

• Supervised visits. In cases where endangerment is an issue, visits are typically restricted to supervised visits of a few hours per week.

• Every other weekend. This would be typical as a bare minimum visitation for involved noncustodial parents, and may be most workable for parents who do not live in close proximity but close enough to work out alternate weekends.

• Every other weekend and one weekday evening. This is a common visitation arrangement for couples living in close proximity, with the children returning to the primary residence on the weeknight.

• Every other weekend and one overnight weeknight. This is also a popular visitation arrangement in which the weeknight visit extends overnight.

• Every other weekend and two weekday evenings per week. This visitation arrangement may be more appropriate for older children who require less intensive care and have later bedtime schedules.

• Every other weekend and two overnight weeknights. This type of visitation schedule is more likely when a joint physical custody arrangement exists.

• Week on, week off. This is the clearest example of equal time — however, many parents do not like a full week without seeing their children.

• Six days and one (overnight). This is similar to a week on, week off arrangement, except that the alternating parent has a day midweek.

• Six days and one (evening). This is the same as above except the midweek day has no overnight stay.

• Two-two-three-three. This schedule rotates Monday/Tuesday, then Wednesday/Thursday, then Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then repeats.

• Two-two-five-five. This schedule gives every Monday/Tuesday to one parent and every Wednesday/Thursday to the other parent, and then weeks are rotated.

Contact a Pennsylvania family law attorney today

An experienced family law attorney can help you determine the type of visitation schedule that is most suited to your family’s needs. Contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 to discuss your child parenting time agreement.

Jun 14, 2012

Divorce Mediation in Pennsylvania

Divorce can easily become a lose-lose proposition, and often everyone involved ends up emotionally scarred — particularly in heavily litigated divorces. However, divorce mediation offers an alternative to bitter court battles and may make your divorce less stressful. Even in cases where the ex-spouses feel animosity toward one another, an experienced Pennsylvania divorce mediator can help resolve situations that at first seem impossible.

What is divorce mediation?

Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party helps you resolve disputes relative to your divorce. The goal of divorce mediation is to help the spouses reach agreements on all or some of their disputes. Divorce mediation is successful because it is based on the following principles:

• Communication
• Fairness
• Flexibility
• Negotiation
• Problem solving
• Privacy and confidentiality

The family court often encourages divorcing couples to try divorce mediation before bringing issues to court. Successful divorce mediation can resolve numerous issues including:

• Spousal/child support
• Child custody/visitation
• Property/debt division

Divorce litigation can drain your finances and your emotional fortitude — especially in divorces involving embittered child custody issues and/or large marital assets that can drag on in court for years. And even once the divorce is over, you can still suffer from the financial and emotional fallout.

In a divorce you have a choice — you can either battle over every issue in court, expending time, money and energy, or you can try mediation. A mediated divorce can offer many benefits, including:

• Reduced legal and court costs
• Quicker problem resolution
• Increased control of problem resolution
• Equal airing of grievances
• Cooperation between spouses
• Co-parenting solutions
• Family issues decided by you rather than the judge

A Pennsylvania mediator can help

A contentious divorce can have devastating effects on you and your family. To discuss how a divorce mediator can help you navigate your divorce, contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 to schedule a consultation.