Allegheny County Family Law
Are You A Victim Of Stalking?
Stalking frequently occurs when someone tries to leave an abusive relationship. Statistics show that 60 percent of female stalking victims are stalked by their intimate partner.
If you are a victim of stalking, you may file a police report and/or obtain a Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order. It may also be helpful to have an attorney send the stalker a defiant trespass letter telling them that:
–You do not want contact with them
–You do not want them near your home, work, or school
Such a letter from an attorney is most effective if you can prove that the stalker received it and the police get a copy. If the stalking continues, you may then have a strong criminal case against your abuser for stalking, harassment, and defiant trespass.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, aggressive representation for plaintiffs and defendants in all domestic violence matters, including: PFA hearings, criminal hearings, child custody hearings, and CYF hearings.
For a free consultation, call (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA: A Sword Or A Shield?
A Protection From Abuse (PFA) Order should be used as a shield not a sword.
It is commonly known that many people who seek the protections of a PFA are abusing the court system itself by seeking to gain leverage in child custody and divorce.
They may lie about abuse or greatly exaggerate the level of conflict.
After all, filing a PFA immediately evicts the “abuser” from the home. So if you want your spouse out of the house, a PFA is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to do it.
And if you want primary custody of your children, a PFA is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to get it.
But judges in Allegheny County and throughout Western Pennsylvania have zero tolerance for people who obtain PFA Orders to gain such advantages.
A PFA is meant to serve as a shield offering protections for people who have been physically or sexually abused.
A PFA should not be used as a sword to inflict pain or otherwise gain advantages in family court.
Based in Pittsburgh, Spivak Law Firm provides aggressive representation in PFA hearings. Call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
What To Expect At Child Custody Mediation
In Allegheny County, any parent who files for child custody must participate in the Generations program, a two-part alternative dispute resolution program administered by the Child Custody Department. Step one is an education seminar. Step two is a mediation session.
Below is information on the Generations mediation session:
- The mediation is a opportunity for parties to negotiate a detailed, workable parenting agreement outlined in an informal agreement called a Memorandum of Understanding. Only the parents are permitted in the mediation session – neither children nor attorneys may attend.
- The mediation session is approximately two hours in length.
- The mediation session is conducted at the child Custody Department on the first floor of the Family Law Center located in downtown Pittsburgh at 440 Ross Street.
- The mediation session is mandatory. If you fail to attend the mediation session, the custody action may be dismissed or you may be held in contempt of court for not following the scheduling order. Failure to appear at a contempt hearing may result in the issuance of a custody order and/or a bench warrant for your arrest.
- If you have been the victim of domestic violence, you may complete and file a domestic violence waiver and bring it to the Child Custody Department. You will then receive an order of court canceling the mediation session and scheduling a conciliation session instead.
- If you and the other party have agreed to a parenting plan at the completion of your mediation session, you may: complete a Memorandum of Understanding, consult with you attorneys, or have the agreement turned into a legally binding, fully enforceable court order by a domestic relations officer, if available (this option will dispose of the custody action and you will go no further into the court system).
- If you do not agree after your mediation session, you can request a conciliation date at the Child Custody Department window or pursue additional mediation sessions privately with your mediator.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all child custody matters. Call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Understanding Family Partnerships
The goal of a family partnership is to nurture family relationships even under the difficult circumstances of divorce and separation. Basic family partnership principles include:
- Maintain a business-like relationship with the other parent and communicate accordingly
- Focus on the needs of your children and the strengths of your relationship with them
- Set boundaries and respect the other parent’s boundaries
- Protect your children from adult issues
- Never allow your children to become your best friends
- Do not use your children as messengers
- Keep your children out of the middle
- Do not make negative comments about the other parent
- Never ask your children to take sides
- Allow your children to develop their own safe relationship with the other parent, regardless of what you feel about them
- Avoid supermom / superdad syndrome of competitive parenting
- Avoid conflict in front of your children
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all child custody matters. To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Stop False Reports To Child Abuse Hotlines
People engaged in child custody battles can exploit child abuse hotlines by falsely reporting abuse in an effort to gain leverage in Court.
The public should not be allowed to make anonymous reports to child abuse hotlines, as these calls can result in innocent parents losing their kids, according to family law professor Dale Margolin Cecka of the University of Richmond.
A study of anonymous public reports found that nationally, only 1.5 percent of all reports are both anonymous and substantiated.
Professor Cecka distinguishes between the criminal justice system and Child Protective Services:
“The criminal justice system does not permit lay people to make completely anonymous reports. Before arresting or detaining anyone on the basis of an anonymous tip, police must also corroborate aspects of the allegation made by the confidential caller.”
Child Protective Services, meanwhile, “has an opposite mandate: It must visit a home after an anonymous call, if the allegations meet the legal definition of ‘abuse’ or ‘neglect.’”
The public should never be allowed to anonymously call a child abuse hotline, Professor Cecka concludes.
Spivak Law Firm provides aggressive representation in all high-conflict child custody and child abuse cases. To schedule a free consultation, call (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Child Custody Mediation In Allegheny County
In Allegheny County, any parent who files for custody of their child must engage in mediation with the other parent, unless there was domestic violence.
Mediation is a structured problem-solving process to make informed decisions through an impartial third party. The mediation program in Allegheny County is based on the belief that parents are the best experts to make decisions about their children.
Parenting agreement decisions reached through mediation work better and last longer than decisions made by someone in the court. The goal of the custody mediation session is to give parents an opportunity to communicate cooperatively toward solutions that will best meet their child’s needs.
The mediator’s role is to remain neutral and to assist both parents in negotiating options that will work for their family. Mediators are accustomed to working with people who feel hurt, frustrated, and often angry. The mediator can assist in refocusing the parents’ issues toward their children and their family.
Mediation is an alternative to the legal process that intends to be empowering, educational, and confidential.
Spivak Law Firm handles all child custody matters. Our attorneys are skilled trial lawyers and effective negotiators trained in mediation. Call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
How Family Partnerships Benefit Children
You may not like the other parent, you may not trust or respect the other parent, but you should learn to work with him or her for your children.
It is easy to blame the other parent for anything that has gone wrong; you may even wish the other parent would disappear. Parenting, however, is about you, the other parent, and families learning to work in a business-like, cooperative relationship.
Good family agreements allow you to set rules about working together. Every successful business needs to have a good business plan with specific goals.
A family partnership is a limited partnership or business consisting of two parents or other family members. The goal of this partnership is to nurture relationships.
Sometimes businesses must continue to operate under difficult circumstances. Feelings do not enter into professional business negotiations. Polite, courteous, and unemotional communication is most effective.
Children need a working, respectful, and cooperative relationship between their parents and families. Although your adult relationship may no longer exist with the other parent, your family partnership will last forever.
To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Protecting Children Produced By Rape
The Pennsylvania Legislature appears poised to make it easier for a woman who has become pregnant as a result of rape to have her assaulter’s parental rights terminated while maintaining his obligation to pay child support.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, requires the courts to accept requests by rape victims that their rapists not receive custody of children conceived through the assault, unless the child is old enough and agrees to the custody arrangement. The legislation at the same time maintains the rapist’s liability for child support payments if parental rights have been terminated because of a conviction for raping the other parent.
Rape causes more than 32,000 pregnancies among U.S. women each year, according to the Coalition Against Rape.
Spivak Law Firm has proven a leader in advocating for women’s rights, publishing an article in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette back in 2012 on the issue of protecting women who conceive through rape.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all family law matters, including: divorce, child custody, child support, spousal 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.
“Status Quo” Is Key In Child Custody Cases
In child custody cases, judges are generally reluctant to change an arrangement that is working well for a child. Judges recognize the benefit of stability in a child’s life.
“Status quo” is a term that judges frequently use to describe long-standing custody arrangements.
If you are the primary caretaker of a child, then it is important to show the judge that the status quo has been for the child to spend most nights in your care.
On the other hand, if you are seeking to expand your custody time, then you should try to create a new status quo for the child that involves more time in your care.
Some parents go to court seeking to preserve their custody time, while others aim to expand their custody time. To speak with an experienced child custody lawyer, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Why Having a Will is Essential in Pennsylvania
Your last will defines what you want to give, where you want it to go, and how you want your last wishes carried out. The key to a will is to keep it up-to-date about you and your life. A will that is clearly defined and current is the best piece of legal work that you have that can be used to honor your wishes.
With the help of a will, you will be able to clearly define your loved ones’ futures. If you forget to go back to your will and include your newest grandchild, or you forget to make changes to your child’s college education requirements, they may end up losing out. If something changes down the road, include it in your will. You should come back to your will each year to consult it and consider any necessary changes that need to be made.
To speak with a Pittsburgh attorney about drafting your will, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.