It has been a quick seven or so years since parent coordination was reintroduced by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. When it was brought back in its current iteration, it immediately provided an effective tool for a wide range of custody cases, but probably more acutely to those cases which exist on the border of litigation
Pennsylvania Family Law
Latest from Pennsylvania Family Law
The Complications and Concerns of Gray Divorce
By Aaron Weems
I recently talked with family law attorney Robert Salzer on the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s “Law in the Family” podcast about “gray divorce” and the considerations related to parties divorcing later in life. There’s no firm definition about what constitutes a “gray divorce” in terms of age or length of marriage, but I think…
Top 5 Common Income Sources in Complex Child Support Cases
Income from all sources is considered when calculating a monthly child support amount under the Pennsylvania Support Guidelines. Some child support cases are complex because a party has different sources of income beyond W-2 wages. Complex support cases require an analysis of all forms of income and may require an expert to provide an analysis…
U.S. v. Rahimi – The Discussion Continues
By Aaron Weems
My recently retired colleague, Mark Ashton, wrote a great analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court case, U.S. v. Rahimi, and posed some interesting questions about where future challenges related to Pennsylvania’s firearm restrictions may come from. Since then, the discussions on Rahimi continue. I recently discussed the decision on an episode of the Pennsylvania Bar…
Au Revoir
By Mark Ashton
I wasn’t around for the inception of the Pennsylvania Family Law Blog, which I believe dates to 2006. In fact, I really wasn’t much of a believer that this form of communication would endure. But, in 2008 when the blog founder Charlie Meyer moved on to another firm, my sense of obligation to Fox Rothschild…
Marriage & Divorce: Just What Do Americans Want?
By Mark Ashton
Because of the blog’s topic, we are fed a lot of reported news on the state of marriage and divorce in 21st century America. Three topics seem to be headlining this week, the inconsistency of which is baffling.
…
Protection From Abuse & Guns; Discussion “Continued”
By Mark Ashton
Friday, June 21 brought the U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Rahimi, a Texas case which offered to provide better insight into how the rights to possess and own guns conferred by the Second Amendment plays against situations where those guns are used or could be used in a domestic abuse setting. It’s…
Should You Be Asking for a Disclosure-Only Pre-nuptial?
By Mark Ashton
Recent data relating to couples who have married in recent years shows that men and women are deferring marriage to their late 20s and early 30s. In real terms what that means is that the people approaching the altar do so with “history.” The other thing that has changed over the years is who we…
Kayden’s Law Becomes The Law.
By Mark Ashton
In August 2018 seven year old Kayden Mancuso left her home in suburban Bucks County to visit her dad at his home in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia. Two years earlier Kayden’s mother had secured a Protection from Abuse Order. The order directed Kayden’s father to have no contact with her mom because of violence…
PA. SUPREME COURT ESSENTIALLY REJECTS THIRD PARTY CHILD SUPPORT BASED ON CUSTODY.
By Mark Ashton
In March 2012 Joe Caldwell and Jacqui Spencer have a child. Seventeen months later Jacqui and the toddler move in with Philip Jaurigue. For the next several years the child lives primarily with Jacqui and Phil. Then Jacqui dies in 2019. The child at this time begins to live primarily with her father (Caldwell). But…