Pennsylvania Family Law Blog – The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz
Former PA Resident Lured by Fake Movie Deal Arrested for Failure to Pay Child Support
According to NECN.com, a 40-year-old former resident of Pennsylvania wanted on a pair of child support warrants in the state is now behind bars for failure to pay. The man, an unemployed musician, had been living in Maui in recent years, but returned to Pennsylvania on May 22 because he thought he was offered a role in a new Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy film called “Banished in Brooklyn.” However, upon his arrival at the Philadelphia International Airport, the 40-year-old was greeted by police as well as a New York-based bounty hunter Scott Bernstein and his camera crew who are filming a new reality show about parents wanted for child support.
In order to lure the man back to Pennsylvania, the bounty hunter had created a fake Facebook account pretending to be a movie producer and contacted the musician to offer him the faux movie role, claiming an associate had seen his band play in Hawaii. The man arrived at the airport with all of his belongings in hopes of movie stardom, but instead was arrested on a criminal warrant alleging failure to pay child support, which Lehigh County officials say is the first person in county history to be arrested for this charge. This new charge stems from an amendment to a 2008 state law. Read the rest »
Divorce Hotel in the Netherlands Offers a Weekend Program for Couples Who Want a Speedy Split-Up
Is America ready for a Divorce Hotel? Jim Halfens, a Dutch entrepreneur, wants to bring this unique idea and Dutch import to the United States. The concept of the Divorce Hotel is to have couples who have decided to divorce check in on Friday married, then check out on Sunday with divorce papers in hand for a flat fee, all with the expert help of mediators and independent lawyers. Six Divorce Hotels are already used in the Netherlands, and 17 couples have tried it so far with all but one leaving divorce-ready. Halfens, who is helping “unhappy marrieds divorce en suite,” is currently negotiating with hotels and law firms in several major U.S. cities to make Divorce Hotels available to U.S. couples. He is also in talks with two television production companies to make a Divorce Hotel reality show.
Halfens came up with the idea for the Divorce Hotel after watching a college friend go through a painful divorce, eventually creating one of these unique hotels using his marketing background and brief experience with a law firm. Halfens later struck agreements with six high-end hotels in the Netherlands. Divorce Hotel guests stay in separate rooms and a suite is used for mediation talks. The fee for this weekend divorce getaway can range from $3,500 to $10,000, depending on the complexity of a pair’s financial arrangements. Child custody battles or a twosome with more complex financial arrangements, such as stock options, may be more costly, with fees that may exceed $100,000 per party. Read the rest »
How the New Marriage of Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook, May Affect His Assets in a Divorce
Mark Zuckerberg, the infamous founder of the popular social networking site Facebook, married his college sweetheart on May 19 in a backyard ceremony in California. The timing of the nuptials has raised some eyebrows, however, as the wedding happened a day after Facebook went public, and some are wondering if this had anything to do with the terms of a prenuptial agreement or if Zuckerberg was looking to clarify his net worth (estimated at $17 billion), according to The New York Times. Regardless of the actual reasons for the timing of the wedding, matrimonial law experts are clear that whatever the Facebook founder earned before marriage is still his property afterward.
The state of California follows community property laws, which specifically outline how property is divided between two spouses in the event of a divorce, and the general rule states that anything that was a spouse’s property before marriage is considered separate. This “property” can include things like dividends from previously owned stock or rent collected from an income-producing property owned before marriage. After a pair is married, anything either spouse acquires or earns is considered community property. Read the rest »
Why Mediation May Be the Future in Family Law
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution which aims to assist two parties in reaching a formal legal agreement. Though mediation was at first slow to catch on in the state of Pennsylvania, this type of dispute resolution provides an effective way to handle cases that fosters healthier communication between the parties involved. Mediation is growing as an alternative practice to things like standard litigation or arbitration because it allows parties to make their own decisions and assist in creating an agreement. The Pennsylvania Council of Mediators notes that mediation is based on the belief that “the parties themselves are best able to define the issues and generate options leading to a solution that responds to their own needs.”
To illustrate the benefits of mediation, consider divorce and child custody matters, which typically involve parties whose communication may have greatly diminished and may have become very negative by the time the specific matter reaches litigation. Mediators can assist the parties in changing the tone of their interaction and communication to enable them to make constructive and positive decisions for themselves and their family. The process of mediation allows clients to take ownership of these important decisions and have a say in the resolutions, instead of walking away from the judicial process feeling that their personal issues were decided exclusively by a third party. Read the rest »
How Technology Has Made It More Difficult to Hide Money from your Spouse
An unfortunate part of marriage is the deceit that occurs when a twosome hides money from one another, either to splurge on extramarital mischief or simply to keep from sharing it in the event of a divorce. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, electronic discovery has made the hiding of monetary assets much harder for a deceiving spouse or partner to do. Financial mischief is a very common problem in relationships, and a survey conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education shows 31 percent of U.S. adults who combined assets with a partner or spouse say they have been dishonest about money. More than half of the adults surveyed say they hide cash from their significant other.
With financial deceit being such a common part of unions, electronic discovery, or the use of technology to uncover hidden assets, can help a person unearth any wrongdoing. A part of the reason electronic discovery is increasingly popular is because more people are using technology to hide assets to begin with. Spouses or partners who may be suspicious of their loved one’s activities can investigate their social networking accounts or their web viewing history to find signs of a hidden business deal or bank account. In addition, forensic experts and divorce attorneys are now using advanced search tools to swiftly analyze things such as credit card bills or online bank statements. Read the rest »
Sheryl R. Rentz Explains the Difference between Community and Separate Property in a Divorce
Throughout the divorce process, a number of issues are sure to arise that need to be resolved before the final divorce settlement agreement is signed, such as spousal support or child custody. Family law attorney Sheryl R. Rentz has extensive experience aiding divorcing couples and understands the importance of efficiently handling any and all divorce-related issues with skill and compassion. One of the primary issues in a divorce is the division of property, and there are two different types of property for twosomes to be aware of and understand: community property and separate property. The following is essential information on each.
Community Property
An essential matter in a divorce is how to split up community property assets, which are everything that spouses own together. Pennsylvania is not a community property state, however, which means as an equitable distribution state all property acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name it is in, is part of the marital estate and is subject to equitable distribution in a divorce. To fairly divide the assets, the court takes into consideration several different factors. Read the rest »
Frozen Pre-Embryos Awarded to Wife in Pennsylvania Court Case
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently awarded frozen pre-embryos, created from the former husband’s sperm and the wife’s eggs, to the woman in a very interesting legal case. In order for the woman in this case to preserve her ability to have a child after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she was advised to undergo IVF (in vitro fertilization). Following the fertilization, the pre-embryos were then cryopreserved. The husband and wife later separated, and the husband then biologically conceived a child with another woman. Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Family Law: Paternity by Estoppel
In a recent ruling in a family law case, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania deemed that paternity in Pennsylvania by estoppel will continue in the state. Paternity by estoppel acts to impose an obligation on the party who holds himself out as the father of a child and continues to provide support for the child as well. The mother in this particular case acknowledged that she had an extramarital affair with the alleged father during the course of her marriage to her husband. Testing did establish that her husband was not the biological father of the child.
The alleged father asserted paternity by estoppel to defeat the child support claim and argued that the husband had established the father relationship with the child, adding that his involvement in the child’s life had been insignificant. Also, the mother and her husband remained married even though they were separated. Read the rest »
Practical Solutions to 3 Financial Fights Couples Have
Marriage is certainly difficult, and a number of things may put a strain on an otherwise happy twosome. Newlywed or not, one of the most common things for a pair to fight about is finances, which is also one of the primary reasons a couple may get a divorce. In recognition of this unfortunate fact, Creditcards.com offers their assistance by providing solutions to several financial problems couples frequently fight about. After interviewing relationship and financial experts, here is the information that can help you avoid a future money-related spat with your partner: Read the rest »
Dennis Rodman Back in Court, Allegedly Owes More Than $800,000 in Child Support
Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman is again in legal trouble for purportedly owing his ex-wife $860,000 in child and spousal support, according to a report by the Associated Press. The 50-year-old was found in contempt of court in November for failure to pay child support for his two children, and he appeared in an Orange County court recently for sentencing but the hearing was postponed until May 29. The former NBA star may face up to 20 days in jail unless he pays the amount that his ex-wife contends he owes.
Rodman’s attorney asserts that her client owes far less than $860,000 and will provide evidence of his payments to the family court judge. She also aims to have his contempt of court finding overturned. His attorney also claims Rodman is “broke” and is barely able to keep up with his living expenses, let alone the $5,000 in child support he pays for a son from another relationship and the $4,500 a month in spousal and child support he is supposed to pay to his ex-wife in this case. Read the rest »
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