February, 2012 | Pennsylvania Family Law Blog - The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz Archive

The Basics of Divorce Mediation

By Sheryl Rentz on February 22, 2012

When a married couple makes the difficult decision of ending their union, a number of complicated matters are certain to arise throughout the divorce. To help sort out these issues in an amicable, stress-free manner, a pair might choose the process of mediation. During a divorce, mediation is one way of finding solutions to issues such as spousal support or child custody, and is basically an alternative to the formal process of divorce court. A court appointed third party, known as the mediator, meets with both parties in the divorce and their respective attorneys to assist with negotiating resolutions to their divorce.

Both parties in the divorce have the opportunity to discuss relevant issues, clear up any disagreements, and arrive at a mutual agreement. The primary goal of the mediator is to simply act as an intermediary and an objective third party; he or she does not aim to force an agreement or resolve problems. However, a mediator may offer his or her opinion or make suggestions. The process of mediation has some benefits, such as: Read the rest »

Study Reveals Divorcing at a Younger Age May Be Hazardous to Your Health

By Sheryl Rentz on February 15, 2012

The Huffington Post reports that a new study conducted by Michigan State University finds that divorcing at a younger age may be more dangerous to your health than separating later in life. The study’s researcher, Hui Liu, examined health information for a total of 1,282 participants over the last fifteen years in order to analyze the potential difference in well-being between those who stayed married throughout the study and those who divorced. For couples who made the decision to end their marriage, Liu discovered that those who split at a younger age tended to have more health problems than those who divorced later in life.

The findings of the study, which were published in Social Science & Medicine, seem to indicate that older individuals may be better equipped to handle the stress of divorce than younger people. Liu states another explanation of the study’s findings is that older people may be among “the most unhappily married due to years of pressure to stay in their relationships,” and therefore experience greater feelings of relief following the divorce. The finding surprised Liu as she thought younger couples would carry less stress from a divorce because it is more prevalent for the younger generation. Read the rest »

How Facebook May Be Used Against You in Family Court

By Sheryl Rentz on February 9, 2012

According to the Upper Dublin Patch, social media may be the latest weapon used against a spouse in the court of law. The law journal The Legal Intelligencer reports that instances of posts made on the popular social networking site Facebook are frequently being used as evidence and is an increasingly common occurrence in family court. The article cited a handful of examples from court cases in which the social media site became part of the proceedings. Three such examples are: Read the rest »

Divorce in the Jewish Community: What is a GET?

By Sheryl Rentz on February 3, 2012

For those who are members of the Jewish faith, the matter of divorce is slightly different than a standard civil divorce or an annulment. A civil divorce is not sufficient to dissolve a Jewish marriage; Jewish law decrees that a couple remains married until the woman obtains a GET. GET is simply the Hebrew word for “divorce document.” According to Jewish law, a marriage is not dissolved until a GET is exchanged between husband and wife. This particular law has presented some problems for liberal Jews who have a religiously valid marriage, but they do not get a religiously-valid divorce. This can mean that a Rabbi will not officiate at a wedding if either party has been divorced without a GET. Read the rest »