Divorce | Pennsylvania Family Law Blog - The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz
Are Secret Recordings of Your Spouse Admissible Evidence?
In Pennsylvania, secret recordings of your spouse are generally not admissible as evidence in divorce proceedings. This is because such recordings are considered a violation of your spouse’s privacy rights. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if you can show that the recording was made to document illegal activity, such as domestic violence, the recording may be admissible as evidence. Read the rest »
Does Open Marriage Affect Divorce Rates?
In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about how the United States divorce rate is increasing, including the commonly heard statistic that half of marriages end in divorce. The good news for people getting married nowadays? It’s actually closer to a quarter of marriages.
But while it’s an easy statistic to spout off, this broad percentage of failed marriages ignores the fact that not all divorces are created equal. Read the rest »
Keeping the Family Business Safe From Divorce Proceedings
Divorce is a complicated process. Not only do you have child custody and support matters to settle, but also division of marital assets. When a family business is involved, the process can become even more complex.
How the Pennsylvania Court Weighs Child Preference in Divorce Cases
Legal and Physical Custody in Pennsylvania
There are two types of custody, physical and legal. Physical custody relates to where the child will be living, and legal custody refers to the right to make major decisions about the child’s life. Parents may decide to share legal and/or physical custody, but it is ultimately up to the court to determine whether to grant joint, sole, or partial custody to one or both parents after a divorce.
How NFTs Are Handled in a Pennsylvania Divorce
What Is an NFT?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. This is a unique digital asset that only one person has ownership rights to. An NFT is usually either a physical image such as a graphic or a photo, or a short audio or video clip. NFTs are often created by a famous artist or recording star. Although the images or sounds in an NFT can be reproduced, when you buy an NFT, you get exclusive rights to the original digital asset, which cannot be reproduced thanks to blockchain technology.
How to Determine the Value of Cryptocurrency Investment in a Divorce
When couples divorce in Pennsylvania, their marital assets are divided according to equitable distribution. This means the division of property and debts is fair to both parties, but not necessarily equal. In the discovery phase of a divorce, each party is required to disclose all assets to the other party. It is important to ask about cryptocurrency in discovery, as this type of asset can be more easily hidden than others.
What If We Don’t Agree on the Date of Separation?
When a client steps into our office to discuss a looming divorce, one of the most important matters we will discuss is the date of separation. Many assume that is the date that one spouse or the other officially said, “I want a divorce.” However, in Pennsylvania, this not in fact the date of separation, and disagreements about this date can severely impact your divorce proceedings, including when one spouse can receive spousal support or how debt is assigned.
How Isolation Can Affect Your Relationship
In normal times, many working couples may only see each other after work, on holidays, and on weekends. Even when brief, these periods may prove invaluable to growing and strengthening a relationship. But, with the effect of the Pennsylvania Stay at Home Order, many couples may have experienced more “togetherness” than they needed or wanted. When both partners are forced to work at home, isolated, and essentially quarantined within the same four walls, the stress can put a strain on the relationship.
Divorce by War Hammer? Not with Sheryl R. Rentz By Your Side
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, trial by combat, a term more recently made famous by the HBO series Game Of Thrones, may just be legal in Pennsylvania, however unintentionally. The journal calls it an ‘obscure loophole’ but it is a leftover law from the British rule of the thirteen colonies before the Revolutionary War.
Do You Know Your Local Divorce Rate?
In 2018, there were 70,954 marriages and 33,412 divorces and annulments in Pennsylvania, as reported by the state Department of Health. Montgomery County ranked among the counties with the lowest divorce rates, with 1,523 divorces among an estimated population of 828,604, amounting to 540.86 residents per divorce. Read the rest »
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