Pennsylvania Family Law Blog

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.

In a Jewish divorce, a divorce contract is drawn up under the supervision of a Rabbi and is signed by witnesses. The husband and wife are not subject to personal questions, and are not required to be present together. The Jewish divorce process typically takes an hour or two, at which time the GET is created and executed. Each party is expected to provide proof of identification, and they will also be asked some formal questions to ensure the GET is being executed on their behalf and without coercion.

The writing and preparing of the GET is a complex matter; therefore, a Jewish divorce should be performed by experts. Based on a religious rule, Rabbis have established that a GET should be handwritten by a scribe for the divorce; as such, the document is handwritten in Aramaic. Also, appropriate witnesses must be present for the writing and delivery of the document.

No matter what your religious affiliation is or what community you are a part of, divorce is a complex matter that should be handled by a knowledgeable Pennsylvania divorce lawyer. If you have made the difficult decision to end your union, Sheryl R. Rentz can assist you with every step of the divorce process and help you efficiently handle the often complicated legal issues that may arise. For a complimentary consultation, please call (866) 290-9292.

The end of a marriage can be one of the most difficult things a person endures in his or her lifetime. A divorce forces a person to redefine their life, relationships, and even traditions. The holidays are a festive time for most, but when you are coping with a divorce, it can be difficult to find any joy in the holiday season. However, the holidays can be an excellent time to celebrate with family and create new traditions with those you love. The following are some helpful tips to help you celebrate during the holidays.

• Be flexible. Keep any old traditions you want, but also try some new things and get creative with the way you celebrate the holidays. Creating new traditions and holiday rituals that you can do each year can be a part of how you redefine your new life.
• Try to focus on others. The spirit of the holiday season is being with those you love and care for, so spread the joy around! Possibly expand your list of those you celebrate with, but sharing and spending time with those closest to you can help you get through the holidays.
• Don’t overspend. Being newly divorced can present new financial challenges, so stick to a budget and remember that the holidays are not only about gifts. Many people accumulate a lot of debt around the holidays that they are paying off well into the next year, so creating a budget can help you avoid financial pitfalls.
• Be patient. Divorces are very difficult and can take a great deal of time to recover from, so be patient with yourself. You need time for your heart and head to heal, so take the holidays one at a time and do whatever you need to cope with the divorce. Give yourself as long as it takes.

Divorce is a very difficult process, and it can present many new challenges for a family. A legal professional will help you every step of the way and simply often complicated matters. The experienced divorce attorney in Montgomery County, Sheryl R. Rentz, can help with the many issues that may arise from a divorce, from division of assets to child custody. For a complimentary consultation, please call (866) 290-9292. We wish you and yours a happy, joyous holiday season.

There can be many signs that a marriage is in trouble at any time during the year, but holidays tend to make those signs more obvious. According to The Huffington Post, one such “relationship fortune telling holiday” is Halloween.

The holidays are a time for couples to celebrate together, so if there are problems in the relationship, they will most likely be more noticeable during these times. When Halloween comes around, married couples usually follow a pattern of tradition, whether it’s decorating the house, hosting a Halloween party, taking their children trick-or-treating, or even not celebrating. If these traditions change for unknown reasons, it may be time to sit down and look at the relationship before it is too late. Some Halloween signs that could mean trouble in the marriage include:

• A sudden change in routine, such as no longer decorating the house;
• A change to wearing more suggestive or revealing costumes; and
• Separateness and/or detachment, such as spending Halloween separately or being inattentive and/or unaffectionate during gatherings.

These signs don’t necessarily mean that the marriage is falling apart, but they could point to something amiss in the relationship. If you are married and have begun noticing similar signs, during the holidays or not, it may be time to have a heart-to-heart about how you both feel about the relationship. Ignoring signs of trouble will only make the trouble worse and divorce inevitable.

The decision to get a divorce is a difficult one to make, but sometimes it is the only option for a troubled marriage. If you are considering a divorce in Pennsylvania, the experienced Chester County divorce attorney Sheryl R. Rentz Sheryl R. Rentz can answer all of your questions and provide you with the legal guidance you need to get through this stressful and emotional time. Call today at (866) 290-9292 for a consultation.

Laurie Metcalf, who played Roseanne’s sister Jackie Harris in the popular TV series Roseanne and most recently played the character of Sheldon’s mother on the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, is divorcing Mike Roth, her actor husband of six and a half years, according to People magazine. The couple had met on the set of Roseanne where Roth played the abusive younger boyfriend of Laurie Metcalf’s character.

Roth filed for divorce on September 12 citing “irreconcilable differences.” He is Metcalf’s second husband. The couple has been separated since November 2008 and has three children, who are all minors: Will, 17, Donovan, 11, and Mae, 6.

Roth is requesting joint legal and physical custody of the children, which means that the children will alternately live with both parents and both have a say in making important decisions concerning their kids. In addition to his request for joint custody of their children, Roth is also requesting that the judge bar Metcalf from any request of spousal support, according to TMZ.com.

Going through a divorce can be a very difficult time, however; going through a high profile divorce makes it exceedingly worse. Constantly being in the public’s eye can make divorce and child custody issues infinitely more stressful and emotionally taxing. The experienced Pennsylvania high profile divorce attorney Sheryl R. Rentz holds herself to the highest standard of professionalism and can promise complete discretion while helping you through your divorce. Contact her today at 866-290-9292 for a consultation.

In a report entitled “Marital Events of Americans: 2009,” the U.S. Census Bureau identifies regional trends in divorce rates for men and women, according to The Huffington Post. The findings are based on 2009 data from the American Community Survey. The report concludes that the South has the highest divorce rates for men and women and the Northeast has the lowest.

According to the Census Bureau, the South includes Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma. In this region, there are 10.2 divorces per 1,000 men and 11.1 per 1,000 women. These rates exceed the 2009 national averages for men and women, which are respectively 9.2 per 1,000 and 9.7 per 1,000. According to a Census family demographer, the higher divorce rates are largely due to the region’s higher marriage rates.

The Northeast, defined as Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New York, has a divorce rate of 7.2 per 1000 men and 7.5 per 1,000 women. The lower divorce rates in the Northeast, in contrast to the South, are greatly attributed to lower marriage rates.

Choosing to divorce is a complicated but sometimes necessary decision. There are many factors that are taken into account during a divorce in Pennsylvania and, without a knowledgeable attorney, it is easy to be taken advantage of. If you are considering a divorce in Pennsylvania, contact Sheryl R. Rentz, an experienced Montgomery County divorce lawyer at 866-290-9292 for a consultation.

On Friday, July 1, Maria Shriver filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger, ending her 25 years of marriage to California’s former governor, reports The Los Angeles Times. Citing “irreconcilable differences,” Shriver also requested joint custody of the couple’s two minor-aged children. The couple has two other older aged children.

The couple announced their separation in May, followed by the news that Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with a former employee. Along with her custody request, Shriver also stipulated that certain property should be considered separate, including earnings made and miscellaneous jewelry obtained after the couple separated. Many news outlets have reported that the couple does not have prenuptial agreement.

According to The New York Post, Schwarzenegger has said he is willing to give Shriver a “very generous divorce settlement,” more than is required of him under California law. California is what is called a “community property” state, which means all assets accumulated during a marriage are divided in half should a divorce occur. Reportedly, however, Schwarzenegger is considering giving Shriver more than that. It is estimated he is worth over $750 million. The exact amount of the settlement is not known, but talks between the couple’s attorneys have reportedly been ongoing for over two months.

The divorce attorneys in Montgomery County at The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz can help you understand your legal options if you are considering a divorce in Pennsylvania. We can help you understand how property division works, as well as answer your questions regarding child custody. Call 610-645-0100 to find out how we can help you today.

Recently released data from the Census Bureau shows that divorces in the United States have leveled off slightly after decades of increase, with couples now somewhat more likely to reach 10 years of marriage. However, the “seven-year itch,” the trend of couples divorcing after seven years of marriage, was found to have carried on, reports ABC News. The new data finds that almost one out of every two first marriages is estimated to end in divorce, with about 46 percent of marriages not lasting until their 25th wedding anniversary.

The data is based upon the most recent figures from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, conducted by the Census Bureau, which surveyed 55,497 adults who have been or are married. According to the data, about 75 percent of people who have been married since 1990 reported they had been married for 10 years, which is an increase of about three percent for people who were married in the 1980s, when divorce rates peaked in the U.S. Divorce rates were the highest in the 1960s and 1970s, after laws were passed that made it easier to divorce.

Based upon the new data, couples who did divorce separated after about seven years of marriage, on average, and divorced one year later. The trend is often referred to as the “seven-year-itch.” For people who got remarried, typically, four years passed before they did so.

The Census Bureau partially credits the slight decline in divorce to the recent increase in couples who chose cohabitation instead of marriage, as well as the increase in the average age of marrying couples as many chose to wait before entering into long-term commitments.

For many years, Philadelphia divorce lawyer Sheryl R. Rentz has assisted many clients as they navigate through the complexity of the divorce process, helping them determine a solution that best fits their needs. If you have questions about getting a divorce in Pennsylvania, call 610-645-0100 today.

An article on The Huffington Post reports that a Nebraska state senator recently proposed legislation that would provide judges the option to send couples with children who are minor-aged to counseling before granting a divorce. Moreover, in cases where no minor-aged children are involved and one spouse believes the marriage could be saved, counseling would be required. The bill does not specify who would pay for the counseling.

In Wyoming, a similar bill was introduced, and would make it mandatory for any couple wishing to marry to attend three hours of marriage counseling. If they failed to do so, they would have to wait a year before receiving a marriage license. Additionally, the bill would require couples who are seeking divorce to attend three hours of counseling. If they fail to do so, they would have to wait one year to file for marriage dissolution. This bill would require couples to pay for the counseling.

However, similar bills have been rejected. In 2009, a bill failed to pass in Texas that proposed anyone who files for divorce with minor-aged children would be required to complete 10 hours of counseling. In Oklahoma, in 2008, a bill was rejected that would have required couples who wished to divorce visit a therapist or faith-based counselor. The bill also aimed to eliminate “incompatibility” as grounds for divorce if the couple had been married for over 10 years or had children.

These bills raise several questions, such as, who will pay for the counseling? Therapists have expressed apprehension regarding whether or not insurance would cover the expense of counseling if the bills pass. Critics have also noted that the bills may not even be constitutional, as they would hinder an individual’s rights by creating obstacles to end marriage. Forty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a state law that mandated fees for divorce filings because it wasn’t affordable for the middle- to lower-classes.

The Pennsylvania divorce lawyers at The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz have dedicated their practice to helping those in need of legal assistance with family law matters in Pennsylvania. If you are considering filing for divorce in Pennsylvania, contact us today by calling 610-645-0100 to learn how we can help guide you through this difficult time.

When the difficult decision is reached to divorce your spouse, you may not know what to do next. At this time, it is crucial to find a Pennsylvania divorce attorney to help ensure that your legal rights are fully protected once the divorce process begins. Because divorce can be one of the most painful and complicated chapters of a person’s life, it is important to have an experienced lawyer fighting on your behalf.

When you contact a law office to schedule your initial meeting, make sure you will be meeting with the attorney themselves, not an assistant. A skilled attorney will be able to answer any questions you have about the divorce process in Pennsylvania, and you will be able to discover if they are the right attorney for you during the meeting.

There are a few items you should plan to bring that will help the meeting run smoother and be more productive. Bring your tax returns, a list of your assets and any liabilities, bank and credit card statements, a mortgage statement, if applicable, and any investment statements.

Topics that are typically covered during initial consultations include whether mediation is an option, if a PA pre-marital agreement was signed, property division, and more. If children are involved, the attorney can advise you on other aspects of Pennsylvania divorce, including child custody and child support. They can also inform you of financial and tax issues pertaining to divorce, and can determine whether alimony or spousal support should be paid.

When meeting with a divorce attorney for the first time, remember to keep in mind that it is important for you to feel comfortable with them. This is crucial since you will need to develop an emotional rapport with the lawyer, as well as disclose personal information to them. You should be completely honest with the attorney when sharing the history of your marriage and its dissolution. You do not need to worry as your truthfulness is protected by attorney-client privilege, and will only serve to strengthen your case. You should not be afraid to ask the lawyer any questions you have, including what their experience level is with divorce cases in Pennsylvania.

It is important you find the right attorney for you. At The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz, our Pennsylvania divorce attorneys have many years of experience handling divorce cases in the state. We can help you during this difficult time in your life. Call 610-645-0100 to learn more.

A recent article in The Sun Herald discusses several useful tips to help make the divorce process easier for both a divorce lawyer as well as the individual seeking a divorce. The article notes that after hiring an attorney, you shouldn’t just sit back and relax – there are some things you can do to help your lawyer, which is to the benefit of both of you.

First, you should tell your attorney the truth. They need to know the good facts as well as the bad ones. But rest easy – under attorney/client privilege, you can disclose all aspects of your marriage without any fear of the details being leaked. If your lawyer knows all the facts surrounding your marriage, it will prevent them from being blindsided in the middle of a court hearing, which you should try to prevent at all costs. You may want to write a very brief summary of the facts of your case to give to your lawyer.

Second, if you need help, get it. If you are finding your divorce is having a serious impact on your health, or you aren’t able to handle it as well as you thought you would, find a good counselor who specializes in divorce recovery. Your attorney needs you to focus as best you can on your case.

Third, you should listen to your lawyer. Let them do their job – that’s why you’re paying them. Going through a divorce can be very emotional, and it’s likely you’re not thinking straight. Your attorney knows what you need to do, and it is important for you to listen and follow their advice. That said, if your lawyer is advising you on a course of action you don’t understand, ask them to explain it—you shouldn’t follow them blindly.

Lastly, help with your lawyer’s workload, which can make the divorce process smoother. Gather the necessary documents, such as an inventory of your marital assets, make copies, and organize them well ahead of the due date. This can help your attorney and their paralegal save a lot of time than if you had given them a pile of mixed up papers that would require them to sort through.

Helping your attorney will only help you through what can be an extremely difficult time in your life. At The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz, our Pennsylvania divorce lawyers can provide the legal assistance you require during your divorce and answer any questions you may have about the process. Call 610-645-0100 to schedule a free consultation today.