Pennsylvania Family Law Blog – The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz
Top Signs of a Marriage Headed for Divorce
As years go by and circumstances change, married couples are bound to face a number of rocky patches that threaten the relationship. Through careful navigation and perseverance it is possible for some couples to get back on track, but what if the path has gotten more than just a bit rocky? Whether a marriage has lasted a few years or several decades, there tend to be a few key signs that indicate a marriage is irretrievably broken and headed for divorce.
If you experience any of the following, it may be time to consider the best course of action for yourself, your children, and even your spouse. Contact Pennsylvania divorce attorney Sheryl R. Rentz to discuss your situation and to learn more about your legal rights and options.
Why Long-Term Separations May Be More Costly than Divorce
There are plenty of horror stories about what it takes to end a marriage that it is understandable why even the unhappiest couple may feel reluctant to go through with divorce. Exorbitant alimony payments, gut-wrenching custody battles, and the risk of losing half of your property are just some of the major fears that would persuade a couple to settle for a long-term separation, rather than make things official.
If you think separating without divorce is the safe way to go, think again. Putting off making a final legal decision for the sake of convenience could lead to an unknown financial disaster in the future. Essentially, the devil you don’t know could be a lot worse than the devil you do know.
How to Tell Your Children They are Adopted
It’s understandable that adoptive parents may want to put off or completely skip having the adoption conversation with their adopted child, especially after having made it through the lengthy adoption process. What if the child feels hurt, ashamed, or unwanted? What if he or she obsesses over finding his or her birth parents? Will the truth interfere with building a loving family relationship?
While the subject may stir up anxieties for many adoptive parents, most experts believe that adopted children greatly benefit from learning about his or her own life story as early as four or six years old. Author of Raising Adopted Children, Lois Ruskai Melina says that an open line of communication will ultimately help your adopted child grow into a self-assured adult. As difficult or uncomfortable as the subject may be, honesty will go a long way toward developing a stronger bond between you and your child.
Rupert and Wendi Murdoch: Lessons from an Affluent Divorce
As the much-publicized divorce of Rupert and Wendi Murdoch continues, the media seems to relish uncovering every aspect of the split, particularly because the couple in question includes someone with significant wealth and a global news empire. But what, if anything, can be learned from the details that emerge when such an affluent couple calls it quits? Examining how the parties try to protect such high-profile assets can reveal a lot of practical advice for even those without millions of dollars in the bank.
Legal Agreements
One of the most notable factors in this divorce is that Rupert and Wendi signed a prenuptial agreement followed by two postnuptial agreements. Postnuptial agreements are typically used to solidify the prenuptial agreement and to make the separation of assets cleaner.
Montgomery County Clerk Challenges Pennsylvania’s Ban on Gay Marriage
Over the past few weeks, the elected register of wills in Montgomery County has been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite Pennsylvania’s ban on gay marriage. So far, at least 100 licenses have been issued to gay men and women hoping to receive the same rights and protections under the law as heterosexual couples.
As the only Northeastern state that does not legally recognize same-sex marriage, the county clerk’s actions have caused a stir on both sides of the issue.
Supporters argue that the open defiance is an act of civil disobedience, not unlike women fighting for the right to vote, or African Americans fighting for civil rights. However, opponents say the county clerk is flat out breaking the law and “may be guilty of a misdemeanor for each act of neglect or refusal.”
Increasing Number of Single-Parent Households Headed by Fathers
According to the Pew Research Center, the number of single father households in the U.S. has steadily increased during the past few decades, from 1% in 1960 to at least 8% in 2011. The most notable explanations for the shift include the rising trend of non-marital births, as well as the consistent rate of divorce in recent years.
However, some experts suggest that changes in the current legal system and an overall evolution of how society views fatherhood to also be considerable factors in this growing trend.
Pennsylvania Father Faces Series of Charges after Fleeing with 2-Week-Old Son
Phillyburbs.com recently reported that a 32-year-old Pittsburgh man was arrested and jailed after jumping out of a second-floor window with his two-week-old son. The police had attempted to serve the man with an emergency protection-from-abuse order from the infant’s mother at her apartment when he fled with the baby. Read the rest »
Signs of a Controlling Spouse
According to a poll commissioned by Divorce360.com, about 36 percent of Americans said they divorced in order to escape relationships that had become verbally or physically abusive. Domestic violence can take many forms and often develops subtly over a period of time. CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Sheryl Cates says that patterns of coercive control that one person exercises over another fall under the umbrella of domestic abuse, such as threats and intimidation, physical harm, or economic deprivation.
In many cases, victims of abuse are unaware that they are involved in an unhealthy, and sometimes dangerous, relationship until the abuser has taken over his or her life. Whether dating or years into a marriage, it’s important to identify the warning signs and know when it’s time to escape a toxic situation.
What Are Grounds for Divorce in Pennsylvania?
Throughout the country, each state has a different set of regulations when it comes to divorce; however, every state requires that a person specifies his or her reason for filing for divorce. In Pennsylvania, spouses are allowed to obtain a no-fault divorce under certain terms when both spouses mutually agree that divorce is the best course of action. No-fault divorces are typically filed as one of the following:
- Mutual Consent – You and your spouse may each consent to a divorce and file an affidavit, which will make your marriage irretrievably broken after at least 90 days.
- Irretrievable Breakdown – You and your spouse may file an affidavit stating that you have lived separately for a minimum of two years and your marriage is irretrievably broken.
Surviving the Summer Child Custody Transition
Divorced families often face a unique situation during the summertime, especially when the parents live far apart. In such cases, it is not uncommon that one parent may have custody of the children throughout the school year, while the other may have custody over the summer break.
Making the transition from one household to the other for a few months can be awkward for everyone involved, but there are ways in which the “school year parent” can help the children make the summer switch. Read the rest »
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