Family Law

Divorce and Child Custody

Posted on December 7 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

Separating from your spouse when there are children involved can be emotionally draining.

If you intend to pursue a shared custody schedule, ideally you should plan to relocate to an area within the school district where your children currently attend. You should also find a residence to comfortably accommodate you and your children.

If you moved out of the marital residence and provide support to your spouse, maintaining your own residence can be a huge financial burden. If you are temporarily living with friends or family or are living in a residence outside of the children’s school district, this doesn’t necessarily hurt your chances of obtaining shared physical custody. However, you should eventually establish a more permanent residence to properly accommodate you and your children.

Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law, including: divorce, child custody, child support, and PFA hearings. To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Served with a PFA On Thanksgiving?

Posted on November 22 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

Thanksgiving is a time to relax and feast with family and friends, but everyone has a relative with whom they don’t quite get along. Spending extended periods of time together could lead to conflict.

If you’re served with a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order during the holidays, call Spivak Law Firm to speak with an experienced PFA attorney. A PFA is a powerful tool that can evict you from your home, restrict you from your kids, threaten your job, take away your guns, and lead to your arrest.

Many attorneys are not accessible during the holidays, but Spivak Law Firm always remains available by telephone even on Thanksgiving Day. If you’ve been served with a PFA, we understand that you are likely under significant stress. We are here to help.

Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive defense at PFA hearings in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Greene County, Indiana County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.

For a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Child Custody and the Holidays

Posted on November 21 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

The holiday season is a fun but stressful time for families, especially if the parents have recently separated or divorced.

Straying from tradition during the holidays is difficult, but consider developing new traditions that accommodate your respective holiday schedules.

For instance, if you have the children on Christmas Eve, and your ex has them on Christmas Day, consider exchanging gifts that night. If your ex gets the kids for Thanksgiving this year, consider having your turkey dinner on a different day.

After all, the most important thing about the holidays is spending quality time with family.

Spivak Law Firm handles all family law matters, including divorce, child custody, child support, and Protection from Abuse (PFA). To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Post-Gazette Features Spivak Law Firm

Posted on November 15 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has once again featured Spivak Law Firm on issues involving family law and criminal defense.

The P-G recently published the article, Clean The Slate In Pennsylvania: The Commonwealth Should Make It Easier To Expunge Criminal Records And Give People A Fresh Start In Life, written by attorneys Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury.

The Post-Gazette routinely features Spivak Law Firm, publishing several articles of important legal commentary on Protection From Abuse (PFA), child custody, and criminal-record expungement laws in Pennsylvania.

In Clean The Slate, Attorney Spivak and Attorney Canterbury critique a new Pennsylvania law that for the first time seals criminal information from public view for people convicted of second- and third-degree misdemeanors.

In Impoverished Parents Deserve Their Day In Court, Attorney Canterbury reveals how exorbitant filing fees in Allegheny County prevent low-income parents from asserting their child-custody rights.

In Crack Down on Domestic Violence in Allegheny County, Attorney Spivak recommends that only specialized judges with extensive domestic-violence training oversee PFA hearings.

In Improve Pennsylvania’s Domestic-Abuse Law, Attorney Spivak exposes the issue of bogus PFA orders and recommends ways to curb abuses in the system.

In Child Custody for Rapists, Attorney Spivak explains how sexual predators use family court to harass and intimidate their victims.

Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all family law and criminal defense matters. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Spivak Law Firm Hires New Attorney

Posted on November 13 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

Spivak Law Firm is pleased to announce that Rebecca Canterbury has joined our family law and criminal defense practice as an attorney at law.

A Pittsburgh native, Attorney Canterbury earned a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law. During law school, she represented clients at Protection From Abuse (PFA) and child custody hearings while working for Neighborhood Legal Services Association and the Duquesne University School of Law Family Law Clinic.

Attorney Canterbury served as a law clerk for the Honorable Kevin G. Sasinoski of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas – Criminal Division, as well as for several private law firms in Pittsburgh focusing on criminal defense and family law. She began as a law clerk at Spivak Law Firm before joining the firm as an attorney.

While serving as president of the Family Law Society at Duquesne University School of Law, Attorney Canterbury organized and moderated a symposium to address whether Pennsylvania’s Protection From Abuse (PFA) laws strike the right balance for protecting domestic-violence victims while also limiting false claims of abuse.

Earlier this year, Attorney Canterbury wrote an article published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette entitled Impoverished Parents Deserve Their Day In Court on how filing fees in Allegheny County prevent low-income parents from asserting their child-custody rights. The article was reproduced in the fall 2016 edition of At Issue, published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

This month, Attorney Canterbury co-wrote an article with Attorney Spivak published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette entitled Clean The Slate In Pennsylvania on the importance of making it easier to expunge criminal records and give people a fresh start in life.

Attorney Canterbury focuses her practice on PFAs, child custody, domestic-violence defense, and criminal record expungements.

Spivak Law Firm offers a free consultation on family law and criminal defense matters. To schedule an appointment, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Avoid PFA Violations

Posted on November 11 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

If a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order has been filed against you, you must follow it. Never contact or attempt to pass messages to the plaintiff, even if the contact is non-threatening.

A mere accusation that you violated an active PFA will lead to your arrest. You may then be criminally charged and face a potential six-month jail sentence for Indirect Criminal Contempt.

If you already have criminal charges relating to the same incident that gave rise to the PFA, then the alleged PFA violation could demonstrate to a judge that you intend to continue harassing and abusing the plaintiff.

Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive defense at PFA and ICC hearings. For a free consultation call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Tips for Co-Parenting

Posted on November 8 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

You may still harbor hard feelings against your ex even after divorce. As difficult as it may be, it is important to put the interests of your children ahead of any ill feelings between you and your ex-spouse.

The following tips may be helpful in co-parenting with your ex-spouse:

Communicate with your ex-spouse civilly;
Talk to one another regarding rules and discipline of the children;
Abide by similar dinner, bedtime, and homework schedules;
Avoid high-conflict topics prior to exchanges;
Encourage the children to have frequent and continuing contact with extended family;
Discuss proposed custody schedule changes with your ex-spouse ahead of time.

Spivak Law Firm handles all family law matters, including: divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, and PFAs. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

PFAs and College Students

Posted on October 24 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

Pennsylvania colleges are increasingly cracking down on domestic violence, raising awareness of Protection from Abuse (PFA) restraining orders as tools to stop harassment and stalking, as well as physical and sexual violence.

College students served with PFA orders are at great risk of violating the PFA if they continue to attend college on the same campus as their accuser.

You may be arrested and charged with Indirect Criminal Contempt if the plaintiff merely accuses you of contacting, harassing, or stalking, even if a police officer does not witness the alleged violation.

A PFA alone is enough to disrupt educational and employment opportunities, but you could face even more hurdles when the PFA is coupled with criminal contempt charges that include a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive representation at PFA hearings in Pittsburgh and all surrounding counties, including: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Indiana County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County.

We have effectively represented college students attending University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Carlow University, Slippery Rock University, and other schools in the Pittsburgh area.

To schedule a free consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Reporting Child Abuse in Pennsylvania

Posted on October 18 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal at Penn State University, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed laws expanding mandatory reporting of child abuse for certain adults, including: medical facility employees, medical examiners, school employees, social services staff, child-care center staff, clergy, EMTs, foster parents, librarians, and adults in regular contact with a child.

Reporting is mandatory when:

There is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is being abused,
Someone reports that the child is a victim of abuse, or
Someone age 14 or older admits to abusing a child.

Spivak Law Firm routinely defends parents against allegations of child abuse. We provide strong, compassionate representation at Protection From Abuse (PFA) hearings, Child Youth and Family (CYF) hearings, and criminal defense hearings.

Accused of abuse? Call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.

Brangelina Custody War

Posted on October 12 2016 by Todd Spivak and Rebecca Canterbury

America’s sweethearts Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among the latest celebrities to split. In addition to divorce, Jolie filed for shared legal and sole physical custody of their six minor children.

Legal custody refers to a parent’s right to make decisions regarding the upbringing of the children, including religion, education, medical care, etc.

Physical custody involves where the children are physically residing. If Jolie wins, the children will reside with her and potentially only visit with Pitt.

But courts seldom award sole physical custody to one parent, unless there are findings that the other parent is unfit to have the children in their physical custody. Jolie’s actions were harsh and designed to severely restrict Pitt’s rights to his children. Hopefully, for the kids’ sakes, they will have equal access to both parents.