Pennsylvania Family Law Blog – The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz
Learning More About How Divorce May Influence Survivor Benefits
Financial responsibility after a divorce, particularly after the loss of a spouse or ex-spouse, is also connected to survivor benefits if a spouse or ex-spouse passes away. Our previous two blogs addressed a few important issues regarding how divorce may or may not affect your social security. We now turn our attention to whether or not an individual may collect spousal or ex-spousal survivor benefits. Generally speaking, if you are divorced, and if you remarry before the age of 60, you are not allowed to collect a survivor benefit based on the earnings of your deceased ex-spouse for the duration of that new marriage.
A few other factors that may influence whether you qualify to obtain survivor benefits relate to your age and how long your marriage lasted. For instance, you may be able to receive survivor benefits beginning at the age of 60. However it should be noted that you may be able to receive these benefits before the age of 60 if you are at least 50-years-old and disabled. Read the rest »
Understanding How Divorce May Influence Your Social Security (Part Two)
In Part Two of our blog series discussing how divorce may or may not affect your social security, we will discuss what role time and age may play in social security and divorce. Based on a recent Wall Street Journal article, it is helpful to note that an individual who has not yet arrived at his or her full retirement age may receive a percentage of the monetary gain he or she would be entitled to get at that time.
When taking into consideration the benefits you are provided by your own work earnings, what is owed to you would generally have to be less than the benefits you would be given through your spouse’s work benefits. An exception to this is that if you delay filing for Social Security until your full retirement age, you can limit the degree of your application to your ex-spouse’s benefit only. In doing this, you can also maintain accumulating credits for postponing your own retirement benefit up to the age of 70. Read the rest »
Understanding How Divorce May Influence Your Social Security (Part One)
As a Philadelphia family law attorney, I am often asked whether or not a divorce will affect social security benefits. This is a question that many individuals encounter throughout the United States, including Pennsylvania. From my experience as a divorce lawyer, and according to a Wall Street Journal article, there are a few points that may help clear up any confusion regarding social security retirement benefits based on an ex spouse’s work record.
In Part One of our blog series discussing whether or not a divorce will affect your social security, we will discuss four universal conditions that you must meet in order to obtain social security retirement benefits from your ex-spouse’s income. They are as follows: Read the rest »
Child Custody for Fathers Shows Increase
Anyone who has gone through a divorce and has children is likely to tell you that it takes a lot of heart and courage to fight for what is best for your child. Even when a parent does not receive primary physical custody for their child or children, obtaining visitation rights or joint custody are both very important issues of concern.
A recent article from the New York Times discusses a collection of articles from Working Mother Magazine that address a new and heightened tendency for fathers to be given custody of children over the children’s mothers. Interestingly, as more women have become primary earners in a marriage, more women have seen their husbands receive primary physical custody of their children when a divorce takes place. According to the article, there are approximately 2.2 million divorced women in the U.S. who did not obtain primary physical custody of their children during their custody hearings. Furthermore, at this point, about 50% of fathers who seek primary custody in such divorce cases are granted it. Read the rest »
Jim Nantz’s Divorce Leads to an Annual $916,000 in Alimony and Child Support
According to a recent huffintonpost.com article, Jim Nantz, a well-known CBS sportscaster, faces some newfound issues regarding his divorce. Apparently, Mr. Nantz is now required to pay an annual sum of $916,000 to his ex-wife for alimony and child support, both in addition to surrendering his home in Connecticut. Read the rest »
Free Paternity Tests Aim to Help Curb Child Support Debt
Mississippi has recently taken efforts to receive federal funding to help children. Based on a 2.wjtv.com report, Mississippi’s Department of Human Services is hoping that offering free paternity tests will motivate more potential fathers to take responsibility for helping support their children, if that responsibility is in fact theirs to uphold.
According to the report, the state’s main goal is to obtain more child support payments, which will ultimately assist Mississippi federal funding for the new fiscal year. Therefore, the Department of Human Services is providing DNA tests, which can amount to costs between $300 and $500. This initiative may even be something that Mississippi prolongs or that other states adopt to further help parents who can’t afford a paternity test. Read the rest »
Dodgers’ Owner and Chief Executive Still Sift Through Divorce
While questions about the Dodgers’ future still abounds, there is still much uncertainty regarding what will happen for owner Frank McCourt and chief executive Jamie McCourt. According to a latimes.com article, there has been much “buzz” in the media over how Frank allegedly fired Jamie and “branded her with a scarlet letter”. Another big issue in the divorce filings relates to the large annual expenses that Jamie is saying she needs to maintain the lifestyle of a baseball owner. While no one can really blame the questionable ownership of the Dodger franchise for the team’s performance in the National League Championship Series, this separation emphasizes the many challenges a divorce may create.
Similar to the McCourts, some married couples experience long-term tension that is often difficult to hide from close friends and family, and especially children. The couple formally closed the purchase of the Dodgers from News Corp. in January 2004 for approximately $430 million. Although there has been no word on whether the McCourts will sell the franchise as a means of dividing their assets, such an option is one that they may explore. However, based on the report, Frank claims that the Dodgers belong to him and him alone, while Jamie claims that she owns part of the team. Read the rest »
Philadelphia Parents Owing Child Support Offered Arrest Pardon
Philadelphia family court is offering amnesty to the thousands of parents who have bench warrants for outstanding child support payments, according to a kyw1060.com report. The court’s administrative judge announced that beginning November 12 and ending on November 18 at 4pm, parents with outstanding bench warrants are free to come in without worrying about being arrested. Parents should note that they will still have to pay their child support debt.
Based on the article, the judge stated, “We will in fact withdraw your bench warrant and we will register you for a court hearing so that you can come back into the courthouse and meet your obligations.” This is definitely a break that parents owing child support may want to consider, especially since the court is working with Philadelphia fatherhood organizations to help fathers without jobs acquire employment training and find jobs. The opportunity to obtain long-term employment and benefits is a step in the right direction to ensure that parents receive the financial support they need to take care of their children. Read the rest »
Stephanie Seymour’s Divorce to Peter Brant Gets Chaotic
A recent article on nypost.com demonstrates how some divorces can get out of hand, and fast. Ex-supermodel Stephanie Seymour’s divorce to pony breeder and polo player Peter Brant has become full of allegations, making legal matters much more complicated. Filed in the state of Connecticut, the divorce is turning ugly, and fast. Brant has claimed that Seymour has quite a few bad habits that have consequently cost him thousands of dollars. For example, Brant says that Seymour spends $257, 000 per month, with an average of $50,000 alone going towards the purchase of new clothes. Read the rest »
Kate Gosselin Requests Child and Spousal Support
Supporting a family takes work, and subsequently, requires money. Parents may find this responsibility daunting when raising even just one child, let alone more than one. Such a task may become even more challenging after a divorce, or when eight children are involved. According to a seattlepi.com story, Kate Gosselin has submitted paperwork asking for child support in addition to temporary spousal support from her estranged husband, Jon Gosselin.
The Gosselin divorce has been at the forefront of family law discussion recently due to its many complexities. For instance, Kate’s lawyers claim that she is unable to pay bills due to John removing money from their joint bank account. Her attorneys stated, “She needs relief in light of the draining of substantial marital assets.” Apparently, Kate submitted petitions for child and spousal support last week at just about the same time she filed an emergency petition requesting to have a Pennsylvania judge order Jon to return the money that he took from the joint account. Reports say that these financial issues are scheduled to be addressed on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Read the rest »
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