Allegheny County Child Custody Lawyer
Will Police Enforce A Child Custody Order?
If your ex violates a child custody order, the police generally will not get involved. Instead, you can file a motion for contempt requesting a hearing, have a mini-trial on whether the other parent really was in contempt, and then, if you win, receive make-up time with your child and maybe some money for your attorney’s fees.
In other words, the relief is limited and may take a long time to achieve.
But that changes if the child custody arrangement is part of a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order. In such cases, the defendant may be arrested for simply not showing up at a scheduled custody exchange.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive representation for plaintiffs and defendants in all PFA and child custody matters.
If you are a PFA defendant, we help assert your child custody rights while also working to ensure that you’re not arrested for violating the restraining order.
If you are a PFA plaintiff, we can help to maximize your child custody time while also working to ensure that you and your child receive the protection you require.
Call Spivak Law Firm today for a free consultation at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Fathers’ Rights In Child Custody Cases
Is there a bias against men in custody court?
Is it the court’s knee-jerk reaction to give primary physical custody to the Mother?
Many people believe that yes, of course, women have an inherent advantage in child custody disputes. As a result, men may talk themselves out of seeking time with their kids. Do not make this mistake.
Spivak Law Firm fights hard for father’s rights. We believe firmly that, in most cases, parents should have equal access to their children.
We have successfully united many fathers with their kids, ensuring a shared custody schedule, shared holiday time, and shared vacation time.
To speak with an experienced child custody and fathers’ rights attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Tips for Discussing Your Child’s Weekend Away
Whether or not you like your former spouse and whether or not you agree with his or her parenting style, there is not much you can do about what occurs at the other home. Children are generally entitled to spend time with both parents.
Your task is to send them off in the same way you would if you were sending them anywhere else where you wanted them to have a good time while they’re away from you, such as camp or school. Family counselors recommend the following transition tips on discussing your children’s weekend spent away at the other parent’s home:
- Ask your children how their weekend was. To not ask about what goes on when they are apart from you would send the wrong message. Your child might think that you are not interested, or that you can’t stand to hear about them enjoying time with the other parent.
- The motivation for asking about the weekend should be to serve the child’s needs, not to have your curiosity satisfied.
- When children sense that they are being used as spies to report on what is going on in the other home, or when you react to the news with frowns, raised eyebrows, or sarcastic comments, the kids sense that you are not genuinely interested in sharing their lives with them as much as you are about getting some gossip about the other family.
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh child custody lawyer, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Phone Rules for Parents Who Share Custody
There are no specific rules on how to maintain contact with your children when they are with the other parent. It depends on the age of the child, the relationship the child has with the parent, the individual characteristics of the child, and the relationship the parents have with each other. Some children want a phone call and enjoy speaking to the other parent. Other children are not verbally expressive, which makes phone conversations frustrating and difficult. Family therapists recommend abiding by the following phone rules:
- There should be an effort by both parents to allow contact between the child and the other parent, especially if that’s what the child genuinely wants
- The younger the child, the more contact is preferred
- When a parent calls to speak to his or her children, have the children take responsibility for answering the phone or returning the call
- Do not use the phone to intrude on the child’s time with the other parent or to maintain influence over the child when the child is in the other home
- Do not use the phone to have the children spy on the other parent and report all the “bad things” that are going on
- Use the phone in a way that serves the child’s needs, not the parent’s need to continue to influence the child and to interfere with the child’s relaxation and enjoyment of time in the other parent’s house
To speak with an experienced Allegheny County family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Family Law Help in Allegheny County
Not everyone struggling with issues of divorce, child custody and support can afford an attorney. Some simply wish to handle matters themselves.
In Allegheny County, the newly formed Family Division Self-Help Center guides such people through the court system. The center, which opened in January 2014, has already assisted more than 1,500 clients, according to Lawyers Journal, a publication of the Allegheny County Bar Association.
Located on the first floor of the Family Law Center at 440 Ross Street in downtown Pittsburgh, the center is open each weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To speak with a Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
What If Your Ex Violates the Custody Order?
You have a child custody order, but your ex continually violates it. Maybe your ex withholds the child during your custody time or fails to return the child on time. Or maybe your ex unilaterally makes big decisions about where the child goes to school without receiving your input or consent. What can you do?
When a child custody order is entered, family courts expect both parents to comply with its terms. You may seek to hold a non-compliant parent in contempt of court. If a parent is found to be in contempt for failing to follow the court order, the other parent may be awarded make-up time for the missed visits as well as other sanctions such as payment of attorney fees.
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Helping Ellen Get Her Kids Back
When Ellen’s mother died, she became deeply depressed. She started drinking heavily for the first time in her life. Knowing that she was suddenly unfit to care for her two young sons, Ellen signed over custody rights to her ex-husband.
A year passed before Ellen stopped drinking and emerged from her depression. But by then she had lost everything – her home, her job, and her kids. She wanted her life back.
Ellen landed a job and let a three-bedroom apartment hoping to one day fill it with her two sons. Spivak Law Firm has spent the last year helping Ellen exercise her custody rights pro bono. It has been a long difficult journey, but this month we helped her get the child custody schedule of her dreams.
“I am so happy,” Ellen told us. “Finally, I get my kids back.”
To speak with an Allegheny County child custody lawyer, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.