Mt. Lebanon Family Law
Pittsburgh Dad Loses Child Custody Due to PFA
Rick (not his real name) never spent a single night away from his 4-year-old daughter until his wife got a temporary Protection From Abuse (PFA) order against him. The PFA evicted Rick from his home and restricted him from having any contact with his child until the PFA hearing some two weeks away.
Rick’s wife got the PFA on grounds that he threatened her during an argument and hit her once several years ago. Rick says these things never happened.
Rick’s wife did not include their child as a protected party on the PFA. Rick is not accused of ever harming or threatening to harm his little girl. Still, the court took Rick’s daughter away by denying him any custodial or visitation rights until the hearing.
Rick figures that his wife filed the PFA to gain leverage in their imminent divorce and child custody battle. Emotionally devastated, Rick continues to wait for his day in court.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong representation in all family law matters. For a free consultation, call (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Celebrities and Restraining Orders
Musician Jack White has become the latest in a long list of celebrities to receive a restraining order.
White is engaged in an ongoing child custody battle with his ex-wife who has accused him of sending her harassing emails and texts. Best known as the singer and guitarist for the Grammy Award-winning band The White Stripes, White is barred from having any contact with his children until his hearing date, which remains several weeks away.
In Pennsylvania, restraining orders are known as Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders. The PFA law permits alleged victims of domestic violence to obtain a court order secretly without giving any notice to the defendant, who may be evicted from the home and restricted from seeing his or her children until the PFA hearing usually scheduled within ten days.
In recent years, restraining orders have been granted against musicians Chris Brown, M.I.A., and Courtney Love, as well as actors Mel Gibson, Terrence Howard, and Randy Quaid. Numerous athletes have also received restraining orders, particularly NFL players such as Terrell Suggs of the Baltimore Ravens, Randy Moss of the New England Patriots, Shannon Sharpe of the Denver Broncos, Titus Young of the Detroit Lions, and Mike Logan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In California, actors and actres
ses commonly use restraining orders to protect themselves against stalkers. Such actors have included: Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Tyra Banks, Audrina Partridge, Alyson Hannigan, Jeff Goldblum, and Eva Mendes.
In Pennsylvania, by contrast, a person cannot receive a PFA order against a stranger. Rather, the PFA law states that any person can get a PFA against a spouse, a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend, a parent, a child, the parent of his or her child, a former sexual or intimate partner, or any family member related by blood or marriage.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong defense at PFA hearings throughout the Greater Pittsburgh Area, including Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Westmoreland County, and Washington County. To speak with an experienced PFA attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
How To Change Your Child Support Order
Child support orders can always be modified. Parents can petition the court to modify their child support order at any time based on a change in circumstance. Courts may change a child support due to any of the following factors:
- A parent’s income significantly increases or decreases;
- The child now has significant or continuing medical expenses;
- There is a change in child care;
- There is a change in medical insurance;
- The parents now live together;
- The child receiving support has turned 18 and graduated from high school;
- The child starts living with the noncustodial parent or someone other than the custodial parent
- The noncustodial parent is incarcerated
- Other substantial changes in circumstance occur
To learn more about changing your child support order, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Paying Child Support in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, most child support is paid by income withholding, or wage garnishment, as ordered by the court and maintained in the state’s Child Support Enforcement System, which is the state’s child support computer.
Pennsylvania maintains monthly support orders, which charge the first of each month. If your employer gets a court order, the employer will take child support out of your pay and send it to the state’s Support Collection and Disbursement Unit (SCDU).
Support can also be taken from your unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, Social Security, and retirement and pension benefits.
To speak with a Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Protecting Kids in Divorce
In Pennsylvania, courts generally frown on parents who fail to protect their children from conflicts during divorce.
If you’re engaged in a child custody dispute, protect your children from conflicts between you and your partner. Don’t say anything against your partner, no matter how provoked you might be, because anything could become evidence.
Avoid the following behavior:
- Asking your children questions about the other partner;
- Discussing court with your children or within their hearing;
- Asking your children to compare you and your partner;
- Giving your children choices between their two parents;
- Exposing your children to your negative emotions.
To speak with a Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines
Pennsylvania and 36 other states apply the Income Shares Model for calculating child support. Under this model, children of separated, divorced or never-married parents are entitled to receive the same proportion of parental income that they would have received if the parents lived together.
Several economic studies estimate the average amount of household expenses for children in intact households. These studies show that the proportion of household spending devoted to children is directly related to the level of household income and to the number of children.
Pennsylvania’s child support guidelines represent average expenses on children for food, housing, transportation, clothing and other miscellaneous items that are needed by children and provided by their parents. The guidelines, which are established by rule by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, are based upon the reasonable needs of the child.
To speak with a Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Understanding Child Custody in Pennsylvania
When seeking custody of a child in Pennsylvania, it is important to understand the different types of custody available.
First, distinguish between “legal custody” and “physical custody.”
“Legal custody” refers to the right to make major decisions affecting the best interests of a minor child, including medical, religious, and educational decisions. Under Pennsylvania law, there is a presumption that “legal custody” is shared equally by both parents.
“Physical custody,” on the other hand, refers to the actual physical possession and control of a child. Custody disputes usually arise over issues of “physical custody,” as parents disagree about who gets the child and when.
There are several types of “physical custody.”
“Shared physical custody” refers to when parents divide time with the child equally – for example, on a week-on, week-off basis. It does not have to be 50/50; even a 60/40 time split based on overnights spent with the child is considered “shared physical custody.”
Another typical custody arrangement occurs where one parent has “primary physical custody” and the other parent has “partial physical custody.”
“Primary physical custody” refers to the right to have physical possession of a child for the majority of the time.
“Partial physical custody” means the right to take possession of a child away from the custodial person for a certain period of time.
For example, a parent who gets the child every other weekend and for a few hours during the week has “partial physical custody,” whereas the other parent has “primary physical custody.”
Finally, “visitation” means the right to visit a child, but does not include the right to remove the child from the custodial parent’s control. “Visitation” is frequently granted to grandparents or a parent who has been out of the child’s life for a substantial amount of time.
“Supervised visitation” refers to when a court orders that a supervisor be present during the visit. This usually occurs when there are issues of physical abuse or substance abuse that could endanger a child’s welfare. If no such issues exist, the arrangement is known as “unsupervised visitation.”
It is important to remember that child custody arrangements can always be modified so long as the parents mutually consent. To speak with an experienced child custody attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Getting Ann’s PFA Dismissed
For the first time, Ann went several days without seeing her child. The reason? Ann’s husband filed a Protection From Abuse (PFA) restraining order against her. The PFA booted Ann from her home and granted temporary custody of their child to her husband.
Ann’s husband said she hit him after discovering that he was having an affair. He claimed to be afraid of her.
In domestic violence cases, women typically seek protection from their boyfriends or husbands. But Spivak Law Firm has also successfully defended many women accused of abuse by their male partners.
At Ann’s PFA hearing in downtown Pittsburgh, her husband didn’t back down. He wanted to permanently evict Ann from their home and to get primary custody of their son. Both parties testified before a judge.
We aimed to show that Ann’s husband was abusing the PFA system to gain leverage in their imminent divorce and custody disputes. We argued that Ann’s actions did not rise to the level of a PFA because it was a single incident and there were no injuries.
The hearing lasted more than two hours. In the end, the judge dismissed the PFA.
“Thank you so much for everything,” Ann wrote us later that evening. “I couldn’t have done this without you. I am home with my son, I couldn’t be happier.”
Spivak Law Firm provides strong defense at PFA hearings throughout the Pittsburgh area in Allegheny County, Westmoreland County, Washington County, Beaver County, and Butler County. To speak with an experienced PFA defense attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.