Pennsylvania Family Law Blog – The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz
Divorce Attorneys Allege Divorce Follows Seasons
Brooky Brown reported on the website divorce360.com that couples considering divorce typically stay married through the end of the holidays or summer vacations. Although no specific reason or science can be attributed to this pattern divorce attorney Jeffrey Levine believes it is because couples have “false expectations and believe miracles will happen during the holidays especially when children are involved,” yet inevitably divorce follows. Some people do not want to interrupt their summer vacations, others believe single parents wait until kids are back in school avoiding daycare payments. While others believe that the holiday season will spark romantic yearnings which may lead to their marriage getting back on track.
Unfortunately the increase in calls following summer vacations and the holiday season to divorce lawyers point to the fact that neither of these is sufficient to mend the couples woes. Ann C. Thompson has been practicing family-law for 29 years and says “Some attorneys say couples stay together until the beginning of the school year, while others say they wait until after graduation is over.” Thompson also said sometimes couples divorce at a certain time based on upcoming family events. “These are all theories,” Thompson said. “Personally, I don’t have a clue why people divorce at certain times of the year more than others.” Read the rest »
Child Support Ruling Overturned in Favor of Former NFL Star
Michael Booth wrote in the New Jersey Law Journal on August 27, 2008 that Michael Strahan a former New York Giants defensive end won his appeal against an $18,000 monthly child support ruling imposed on him in his 2006 divorce. Ruling in his favor that this was ‘exorbitant and unfairly apportioned’ against him was the New Jersey appellate court. The appellate court indicated that the trial judge failed to make the specific findings of fact necessary to sustain his decision to add $200,000 a year to the $35,984 annual award the couples twin girls are due under statutory guidelines.
Acknowledging that children of high-earning families pose distinctive problems in regards to their reasonable needs, the court said trial judges should avoid overindulgence – citing the doctrine of In re Patterson, 920 P.2d 450 (Kan. App. 1996), that “no child, no matter how wealthy the parents, needs to be provided [with] more than three ponies.” Read the rest »
New Online Reporting System to Report Child Custody Violations
The District Attorney of Santa Clara County in California has announced the launch of a new online reporting form for those who want to report a violation of a child custody or visitation court order. This is a big change from the time when parents or guardians had to make a report in the lobby or a public counter at the local police department or wait to have an officer come to them and take a report, according to a recent news article.
However, officials emphasize that this form is only for non-emergency matters. In case of child abduction or a similar criminal matter, families are asked to call their local police departments right away to report the crime. Read the rest »
Domestic Abusers Required to Have GPS Devices under New Michigan Law
More and more states are opting to fit domestic abusers and stalkers with GPS devices to monitor whether these individuals violate restraining orders. According to this news report, Michigan’s new law allows judges to order domestic violence suspects to wear GPS devices even before they go to trial in order to help alert victims of domestic violence if abusers are in the vicinity.
This law in Michigan and other states has been prompted by a slew of killings of women by ex-husbands or estranged husbands. These murders occurred although the women had obtained court orders to protect themselves. GPS devices have been traditionally used to track sex offenders. But technology has advanced to such an extent that domestic violence victims can get a call to their cell phone if the offender gets too close to a specific victim – be it a spouse or a child. Read the rest »
Postnuptial Agreements Increasing in Popularity
A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune discussed the recent surge of postnuptial agreements. These agreements are very similar to a premarital agreement, but instead are entered into AFTER a couple has been married. While they are still very rare (only 1 or 2 percent of married couples request postnuptial agreements) the agreements could become more popular in the near future as they become more common in practice. In fact, a 2007 study by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) indicated that 49 percent of the members said they’d seen an increase in postnups in the past five years. Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Child Custody Tax Hurts Parents, Kids Financially
A recent article in the Patriot News discusses the Pennsylvania state tax fee of $25 that is being charged to custodial parents on an annual basis. That’s right, the Pennsylvania statute actually taxes the parents that HAVE custody of the child in the case of divorce annually.
The Pennsylvania Legislature decided to charge custodial parents $25 annually for each child, provided they collect at least $2,000 a year from the noncustodial parent and have never received cash assistance from welfare. The fee started when a federal law that required states’ help in recouping some of the costs for providing child support enforcement services went on the books. States like Pennsylvania were given the option of collecting the money from one of the parents or paying it themselves. Pennsylvania decided to collect it from parents that had custody of children from broken homes. Read the rest »
Former New Jersey Governor Won’t Owe His Ex-Wife Alimony
Former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey will not owe his ex-wife, Dina Matos-McGreevey, any alimony, a judge has ruled, according to an Associated Press news report. The couple’s divorce is through after an eight-year marriage, which collapsed when McGreevey announced that he was gay. McGreevey resigned in 2004 after he admitted to having an affair with a male staffer, although the staffer alleged that he was sexually harassed by the governor. The couple separated the following year.
A superior court judge ruled McGreevey must pay $250 a week or $1,075 a month in child support for their 6-year-old daughter. The couple has shared custody of the child. Matos has asked for $2,500 a month in alimony for four years and $1,750 a month in child support. McGreevey, who is now a student, testified during the divorce trial that he is now too poor to pay alimony. Read the rest »
Hulk Hogan Ordered to Pay Estranged Wife $40,000 in Alimony
A Florida Judge has ruled that celebrity wrestler Hulk Hogan must pay his estranged wife, Linda Bollea, $40,000 a month in alimony while their divorce is pending. According to an Associated Press news report, the judge also allowed Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, to take $500,000 out of the couple’s assets for himself and use up to $400,000 for legal fees in their son’s criminal case. Nick Bollea is serving an eight-month jail sentence for causing an auto accident that left a passenger severely injured. Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Domestic Violence Deaths on the Rise
This has been one of the deadliest summers when it comes to domestic violence in Pennsylvania. According to an article in the Daily American, 24 people have died in connection with domestic violence since June 22 in Pennsylvania. This is a huge spike in domestic violence deaths in the state, according to the report released by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
A majority of these incidents had to do with acts of violence involving family members attacking other family members, said Somerset County District Attorney Jerry Spangler. He said there has also been an increase in applications for protection from abuse orders and criminal prosecutions for people violating these orders. In 2006, there were a total of 127 domestic violence homicides in Pennsylvania. For more information about domestic violence statistics, please visit the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Read the rest »
New Michigan Law Requires GPS Devices For Domestic Abusers
More and more states are opting to fit domestic abusers and stalkers with GPS devices to monitor whether these individuals violate restraining orders. According to this news report, Michigan’s new law allows judges to order domestic violence suspects to wear GPS devices even before they go to trial in order to help alert victims if abusers are in the vicinity. With this law in effect, enforcing divorce agreements will be much more effective. Read the rest »
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