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As the holidays approach for many, it is a time of planning for an engagement. Holiday engagements frequently are rather public affairs with a profession of love and a request for commitment to marriage in front of family and friends. And of course the ring is fit for the occasion — extravagant, sparkly and beautiful. What happens, however, if down the road the couple does not get married?  Who gets […]

In formulating an award of child custody, in addition to physical custody, a court must decide legal custody: the right to make major decisions on behalf of the child, including, but not limited to, medical, religious and educational decisions. 23 Pa.C.S.A. §5322(a). The statute indicates the court may award a parent the right to make decisions regarding a child’s religion, including, but not limited to, which holidays the child would […]

The breakup of a marriage often involves heated, angry, hurt feelings. Despite this, many couples identify maintaining family harmony as a top goal in reorganizing their lives and moving their separate ways. Collaborative law with Pittsburgh family law attorneys is a way to work through the details of a divorce in a fair, cordial, private and cost-effective manner. It facilitates communication between the divorcing spouses to enable them to make decisions […]

In high-income child support cases, the parent who is paying child support might feel the guidelines provide more income than the custodial parent can reasonably spend, particularly for an infant or toddler. On the other hand, the child support guidelines were enacted years ago to ensure that all children at a particular income level are treated the same, with predictable outcomes that encourage parents to settle out of court. The […]

Divorced spouses who do not update their beneficiary designations are taking an unnecessary risk, as illustrated by a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.  In Sveen v. Melin, No. 16-1432 (cert. granted December 8, 2017), the Met Life insurance company was “caught in the middle” when its policyholder Mark Sveen died in 2011.  He had purchased his life insurance policy and designated his then-wife, Kaye Melin, as his […]

Grandparents who seek custody rights faced a setback this month when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a portion of the law that allowed grandparents to sue for custody when the children’s parents were separated for at least six months.  The Supreme Court, in D.P. and B.P. v. G.J.P. and A.P., No. 25 WAP 2016 (September 9, 2016), examined the grandparent standing law, that defines which grandparents may sue for custody rights.  The law, […]