Who Gets to Keep the Family Pet?
For those who don’t have pets, this may seem like a silly question in the big picture of a divorce. I know first-hand that for many pet owners, this is a very important question that can take on many of...[Continue reading]
The Automatic Two Year Divorce Myth
I’ve had enough clients and other people ask me about the “automatic” two year divorce, that I wanted to address it here. The court does not automatically issue a divorce decree after spouses have been separated for two years or...[Continue reading]
What am I Entitled to?
A lot of clients come to me with the overall question of “What am I entitled to?” In most cases, they mean “What can I expect the financial outcome to be if I get divorced?” and I can appreciate their...[Continue reading]
Do You Need a Cohabitation Agreement?
If you’re cohabitating (living with someone), you need a cohabitation agreement. That doesn’t mean the world will grind to a halt if you don’t have one, but you’re going into this arrangement without a clear understanding of what happens when...[Continue reading]
Using the Domestic Relations Rules
The Domestic Relations child and spousal support guidelines deserve special mention here. Talk about a one-size-fits-all (or none) solution! The PA support guidelines are based on both parents’ net monthly incomes, with virtually no consideration for the parents’ or children’s...[Continue reading]
A Recent Project
I recently had the pleasure of creating a podcast with John Gavazzi, PsyD. John is a psychologist and we recorded the podcast for use by psychologists, but it has tremendous potential for non-psychologists also. Here are two different links to...[Continue reading]
An Alternative to Court-Based Divorce
Would you like to handle your divorce privately? Would you like to make the decisions about your family and how it’s going to change instead of having a court make those decisions for you? Would you like to maintain a...[Continue reading]
Divorce for Control Freaks
I do not use the term “control freak” in a derogatory or insulting way and hopefully none of the control freaks reading this post take it that way. Control freaks, like me, want to be in control of their own...[Continue reading]
Infidelity and Divorce
I initially titled this post “Divorce and Adultery” but changed it because “adultery” has a specific meaning in the PA Divorce Code and I wasn’t talking about just that specific meaning. When I talk about infidelity, I’m talking about a...[Continue reading]
Using the Divorce Code
Why spend all the time and energy trying to reach a “fair” agreement of your own when you can just rely on the Divorce Code? I can give you a laundry list of reasons, but I only have so much...[Continue reading]