August, 2012 | Pennsylvania Family Law Blog - The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz Archive
Reasons to Hire a Pennsylvania Family Law Attorney for Your Divorce
Couples who have decided to end their union will likely tell you that, even though the decision to split was extraordinarily difficult, the process of obtaining a divorce can be lengthy, stressful, and overwhelming. Obtaining a divorce is unfortunately not as easy as signing a piece of paper and a number of issues need to be agreed upon and settled before the divorce can be finalized. Thus, without proper legal representation, your rights may not be protected.
With this in mind, it is important for anyone filing for divorce or in the midst of divorce proceedings to understand the importance of hiring an experienced PA family law attorney to assist them through the entire divorce process. Find Law explains the following reasons why a family law attorney can help: Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Observes August as Child Support Awareness Month
As reported by U.S. Politics Today, August is Child Support Enforcement Awareness Month in Pennsylvania, and the state’s Child Support program continues to exceed federal standards designed to ensure children get the financial support they need. The Department of Public Welfare’s Bureau of Child Support Enforcement administers child support collection and enforcement efforts through “cooperative agreements with the 67 county Courts of Common Pleas’ Domestic Relations Sections.” Per federal rules, five measures must be successfully met, including collecting current and overdue child support and being cost-effective in the administration of child support collection.
From 2010 through 2011, Pennsylvania disbursed $1.55 billion in child support collections to custodial parents. The State Secretary notes that through the committed efforts of welfare department employees and county court workers, custodial parents are receiving the child support they need so their children can live in a more secure environment. Read the rest »
Five Lessons Divorced People Learned from their Marriage
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, a new study reveals five common themes that underlie most divorces. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, collected data periodically from 373 same-race couples who were between the ages of 25 to 37 and in their first year of marriage when the study began in 1986. Of the couples included in the continuing study, 46 percent divorced, and the conductor of the study asked a portion of these individuals who went into a new relationship what they learned from their divorce.
The following are five of the lessons revealed from the study: Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Divorce Issues: Who Gets the Pet in a Divorce?
After a married couple has made the decision to end their union, there are a number of things that must be decided during the divorce process, including the division of property, settling financial issues, and deciding who gets custody of the … pets? It is certainly true that a couple may come to love their four-legged friend as if it was their own child; as such, the issue of who will receive custody may be a contentious matter during the divorce process. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reports that attorneys have seen a significant increase in pet custody cases, and issues in such cases can range from visitation rights to how veterinarian bills are split.
Under the law, pets are considered to be personal property capable of human ownership and control, and courts working under that law may only have the authority to award the pet to one of the owners. Conventionally, before a court decides who gets what property in a divorce, it must consider whether it’s a community property or an equitable distribution state. Pennsylvania is an equitable distribution state, and the division of marital property includes anything acquired during the marriage. The court will also take into account whether the couple already has an agreement as to who will receive what property, such as a prenuptial agreement. Read the rest »
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