Pennsylvania Family Law Blog

A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune discussed the recent surge of postnuptial agreements. These agreements are very similar to a pre-marital agreement, but instead are entered into AFTER a couple has been married. While they are still very rare (only 1 or 2 percent of married couples request postnuptial agreements) the agreements could become more popular in the near future as they become more common in practice. In fact, a 2007 study by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) indicated that 49 percent of the members said they’d seen an increase in postnups in the past five years.

These marital agreements and reconciliation agreements cover much of the same ground that prenuptial agreements do: issues of property division, spousal maintenance or the protection of inheritances for children from previous marriages. The big difference is that they’re entered into during a marriage, sometimes an unhappy marriage, which makes them especially hard to execute.

Postnups can be used in innovative ways that most would not suspect… Some married women use them after stepping out of the workforce to protect their financial future. Parents with special-needs children, or with grown children suddenly down on their luck, can also use a postnup to secure additional child support funds to care for them. A loving spouse might decide to add his wife to share ownership of a family property or item that otherwise would not be hers.

In Pennsylvania, prenuptial and post nuptial agreements are considered the same as any other contract parties may enter into and, therefore, are presumed to be valid and enforceable. If you have any questions regarding pre-marital, co-habitation, or post-marital agreements contact our offices immediately. Sheryl R. Rentz, a Pennsylvania family law attorney, is fully familiar with the particulars of each state’s premarital and co-habitation agreement laws. Contact us for a free evaluation and consultation today.

A recent article in the Patriot News discusses the Pennsylvania state tax fee of $25 that is being charged to custodial parents on an annual basis. That’s right, the Pennsylvania statute actually taxes the parents that HAVE custody of the child in the case of divorce annually.

The Pennsylvania Legislature decided to charge custodial parents $25 annually for each child, provided they collect at least $2,000 a year from the noncustodial parent and have never received cash assistance from welfare. The fee started when a federal law that required states’ help in recouping some of the costs for providing child support enforcement services went on the books. States like Pennsylvania were given the option of collecting the money from one of the parents or paying it themselves. Pennsylvania decided to collect it from parents that had custody of children from broken homes.

The Association for the Children for the Enforcement of Support (ACES) and the Philadelphia district attorney’s office oppose the tax law and have aided Representative Kate Harper, R-Montgomery in her efforts to have the tax repealed. The bill she has introduced has yet to move out of committee, however.

A quote by Christina Marhsall, a member of ACES’ national board of trustees sums it up best:

“Kids don’t choose divorce, but they pay for it both financially and emotionally. Do you know what $25 means to a child? It is not right for our children to have to pay for this government service. The people who made the decision to collect this tax clearly don’t understand the impact it has on families.”

The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz, PC have years of experience handling cases of child support and child custody in Pennsylvania. Sheryl R. Rentz is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar Associations as well as the Montgomery County Bar Association. Our offices can help you recover your legally entitled child support, aid couples who are worried about making a child support contract, or help parents who have not paid child support in some time. Contact us today.

We offer free and confidential consultations on any potential case regarding child support or divorce in Pennsylvania and will let you know what your rights are.