When a couple breaks up after having a child together, one of the child’s parents may choose to remarry and their new spouse will become the child’s stepparent. If that stepparent wants to adopt the child and become the child’s legal parent, they must go through the adoption process. This may last several months. How does the adoption process work for stepparents? Under Pennsylvania family law, a stepparent can only adopt a child after parent’s parental rights are terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. This is because a child cannot legally have more than two parents. Voluntary termi ..read more

A lot of child custody disputes are highly contentious, with each parent flinging mud at the other to see who can come out the cleanest and with the most amount of time with their children. Fortunately, the majority of custody cases are resolved without the need for full-blown litigation. This can save you time and money, and it can also protect your mental health and your children’s well-being. But you can’t improvise child custody negotiations. Doing so results in an outcome that’s vastly different than what you were hoping for, and one that puts your children’s best interests at risk. That ..read more

You may have heard the term “gray divorce” in recent years, which means a divorce for couples over the age of 50. Many older couples who have been married for decades know that divorce is what they want but have many questions about their post-divorce life. These questions usually involve finances. If you are considering a gray divorce, one of your biggest concerns is likely wondering if you have the means to afford the lifestyle you have become accustomed to over the years. Common concerns in a gray divorce This is especially true if you are at or past retirement age and continuing or returni ..read more

Your divorce is a major financial transaction. If you go into settlement negotiations or litigation without a well formulated game plan, then you could end up with an outcome that leaves you on shaky financial footing. To avoid any long-term money woes that may accompany your divorce, then, you need to know how to aggressively tackle issues such as property and asset division and permanent alimony. By building strong legal arguments, you’ll hopefully recover your fair share of the marital estate and an award of permanent alimony, thereby providing you with the financial stability that you need ..read more

Parental alienation, the process through which one parent manipulates their child to distance the child from their other parent, is more common than people think. Some studies estimate that as many as 22 million adults are on the receiving end of parental alienation, which means that millions of children are caught in the middle of bickering parents who think they know what’s best for their children. And the impact on children can be tragic. Parental alienation can drive a child away from one of their parents, resulting in depression, anxiety, lack of trust, low self-esteem, and behavioral iss ..read more

Most parents worry about how their loved ones will get by after they are gone, but for parents of children with special needs, that worry takes on an extra sting. They want to make sure that their loved one has the resources they need to pay for a lifetime of care. At the same time, they need to be careful about how they provide these resources. They could just give the child the money in a will, but their child may not be up to the task of managing it themselves. What’s more, an influx of cash could render the child ineligible for the benefits programs they badly need. To get around these pro ..read more

The divorce process can leave you facing significant emotional turmoil. But as you try to find ways to cope with the emotional realities of your situation, you also have to recognize that divorce is going to be one of the largest financial transactions, if not the largest, of your life. That can be nerve-wracking, and the uncertainty can riddle you with fear. Although that can be incredibly stressful, there are steps that you can take to financially prepare yourself for the next chapter of your life. Tips for protecting your financial stability post-divorce Adequate planning is one of the best ..read more

****This Thursday, Oct. 19**** Live Online Seminar Advanced Custody and Support Issues in Pennsylvania Register Now Learn More COURSE DESCRIPTION You know what the law says – but what factors really matter to the courts’ determination of parenting time and custody? How do you strategically proceed if you receive an unfavorable custody evaluation? Our seasoned faculty will walk you through the messier aspects of parenting and support matters to provide you with operative knowledge, tips and tools you can utilize in your practice. Get your most burning questions answered by a judge, find out how ..read more

When a Pennsylvania married couple divorces, they must divide their marital property between them according to state law. Pennsylvania requires that this property division is fair under the circumstances, and not necessarily that it is equal. So, when dividing relatively simple assets like savings accounts, it’s easy enough for the spouses to withdraw the money and distribute it between them according to the terms of their divorce settlement. But many types of assets aren’t so easy to split. If one or both of the spouses own a small business, dividing this asset can be particularly challenging ..read more

As you navigate your divorce, you’ll want to find ways to stabilize your finances once your marriage dissolution is wrapped up and you move on to the next stage of your life. One way to do that is to focus on property division. If you can successfully negotiate or litigate for your fair share of the marital assets (Pennsylvania calls this Equitable Distribution) then you might be able to secure some financial stability for yourself. But you can’t stop there. Another area where you can find significant support is through alimony. Alimony consists of financial support one ex-spouse pays to ..read more