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 directed at the mother and grandmother. But the court also granted father partial custody on alternate weekends from Thursday to Monday. In May 2018 the court dialed that custody time back to alternate Saturdays and Sundays. When she was not returned after a visit on August 5, Kayd ..read more

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 six months later, Jaurigue files a custody action seeking a regular schedule of contact and professing that during the 6+ years the child lived in the same house with him he acquired the status of a parent (in loco parentis is the Latin legal term for this). The Bucks County Court h ..read more

It is no secret that a lot of people in America are living alone and while many have been in one or more serious relationships those never culminated in marriage. Meanwhile, these people accumulate assets but often don’t pay enough attention to what will become of them if the Grim Reaper comes for an early visit. If you marry someone, there are all kinds of laws that help to define and guide your relationship. If you don’t, you’re just kind of out there in the atmosphere. The Philadelphia Inquirer tells us the story of Jeff Rolison, a fellow whose life story would otherwise not be newsworthy ..read more

We have been reading recently about a new life phenomenon called “quiet quitting.” Essentially the concept is that one or both spouses are done with the relationship but neither has the energy or the resources to move on through a separation and divorce. The response that instantly comes to a lawyer’s mind is: this is dangerous because life moves on. If you live with a roomie you don’t have legal responsibilities if they become ill, disabled or lose a job. When your roomie is your spouse the law is quite different. Long ago we were involved in a short term marriage where the parties had separa ..read more

Lawyers are a jaundiced lot. Law school is a three year exercise in anticipating what can go wrong whether in a trial or a transaction. The lawyer’s job is to anticipate, and course correct to protect the client. Napoleon is credited with saying the law sharpens the mind only to narrow it. So, lawyers can be tough customers even though we aren’t the customer. Trial lawyers can be especially cynical because during trials the facts often play out far differently than what the client said was true. Part of preparing a case is trying to figure out if the client is shading the facts or misapprehend ..read more

So, you have remarried. Perhaps it has been 30 months; maybe 30 years. When you got together the guy/girl moved into your crib. It’s always been titled in your name and it’s the house you got in your divorce from No. 1. Now you are 60, 65, 70 or whatever and you find yourself in and around conversations about “the plan.” The one where someone dies. You have kids; he has kids. They have needs and the two of you (hopefully) have accumulated some wealth during your lifetimes. The house. Your house, is worth about $600,000. There’s a small mortgage on it of $100,000 and your school and local taxes ..read more

Many family law practitioners and not a few business owners probably never heard of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A once active part of the business regulatory environment, the agency was placed on sedatives during the Reagan administration and didn’t have much to contribute during the Clinton and Obama years. Under Biden, the meds were taken away and the gloves came off. Both the FTC and the Justice Department have become aggressive in challenging what they deem mergers inimical to market competition. Then, in late April they took a new approach, issuing what are supposed to be final gu ..read more

The local news today informs us that one of our neighbors in and around Philadelphia was arrested after he may have followed up on an internet date by putting a tracking device in the car of his love interest. When the woman returned from a vacation she found her electrical system at home had been tampered with. She phoned local police who found a GPS tracking device in her car. Oh well…perhaps a love interest unconsummated, right? Not quite. The Bucks County DA leveled charges of burglary, criminal trespass, stalking and harassment. The District Justice also was more than annoyed. He conditio ..read more

We have been reading lots of literature about withdrawing funds from tax advantaged accounts like 529 Savings Plans, 401(k)s and IRAs and these articles casually mention the taxes imposed when those accounts are tapped prematurely or for a non-authorized purpose. Two recent reporting events accentuate how important it is for taxpayers to understand these transactions. The first is that credit card debt is back to record levels and the average interest rate on those debts is 20%. This means that unless somehow reduced consumer debt doubles every 3.5 years; a debt growth rate that is disastrous ..read more

The world knows that today was closing argument day in the Trump criminal trial associated with the payments made to Stephanie Clifford in connection with her claims of a sexual relationship with former President Trump. This trial began on April 22 and concluded either today or a week ago depending on how you look at it. It was 21 days of evidence involving  a transaction that took place over just about the same amount of time in 2016. Many people think it is crazy how detailed trials of this kind become. But, this is a criminal trial and as Trump’s counsel Todd Blanche improperly argued ..read more