Pittsburgh Family Law Firm
Protecting Kids In Divorce
Divorce can be one of the most difficult challenges in a person’s life. You are learning to cope with a divided family, and you may harbor ill feelings toward your ex-spouse.
As tempting as it may be, it is important to never vent about your ex-spouse to your children. Consider reserving those feelings for friends or counselors.
Remind yourself that the issues between you and your ex-spouse are between the two of you.
Avoid putting your children in the middle of conflict and making them feel as though they have to choose sides.
Spivak Law Firm provides strong, compassionate, cost-effective representation in all family law matters. Call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Divorce: Hidden Assets
Discovery, the formal legal process for obtaining information in a divorce, is essential if your ex refuses to provide important financial information.
Discovery is also an important tool if you believe your ex is hiding financial assets.
People do not usually engage in formal discovery for divorce because it can be expensive and time-consuming.
But you have may have no choice if your ex withholds or conceals information that is necessary for determining the value of the marital estate.
The most common forms of discovery include:
–Requests for Production: requests for documents that must be provided
–Interrogatories: written questions that must be answered
–Depositions: sworn testimony given in the presence of a court reporter
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of divorce and family law. To schedule a consultation, call us at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Child Custody Do’s and Don’ts
One of the most difficult issues for parents who share custody of their children is visitation. Some parents use visitation to achieve destructive goals. However, this can deeply hurt the children caught in the middle.
If you are struggling with visitation, take a look at these Do’s and Don’ts:
Do Make Visitations A Normal Part of Life: Find activities that give you and your children opportunities to build your relationship.
Don’t Argue With Your Ex In Front Of Your Child: Deal with important issues in a separate meeting or telephone call.
Do Show Flexibility Regarding Visitation Schedules: Give the other parent as much advance notice of changes in visitation as possible and respect their need for flexibility.
Don’t Try To Disrupt Your Child’s Relationship With Your Ex: Children need to know that it is okay to love both parents.
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.
Child Custody: Co-Parenting
A key to effective co-parenting is encouraging your children to enjoy time with your ex.
Avoid telling your children that they are visiting with the other parent.
You don’t want to diminish your ex’s role as a parent or make your child feel like a guest in a home where they also reside.
Try to ensure your children feel at ease when transitioning from home to home.
It won’t always be easy, but try to encourage strong ties between the children and their other parent.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law, including: divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, and Protection From Abuse (PFA). We routinely help people with child custody issues, including: negotiating custody agreements, custody relocation, and custody trials.
To speak with an experienced child custody attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Grandparents Have Child-Custody Rights
Under Pennsylvania law, grandparents for years have held a special status that allows them to seek custody of a grandchild even against the parents’ wishes.
A new law that went into effect last summer intended to clarify the specific situations under which grandparents may pursue partial physical or supervised custody of a grandchild.
For instance, a grandparent may seek custody so long as the relationship with the child began either with the consent of a parent of the child or under a court order and the parents of the child have been separated for at least six months.
Alternatively, the new law invests custody rights in grandparents even the parents oppose it in cases when the parents are going through a divorce.
Spivak Law Firm handles all child custody and support matters, including: custody trials, custody conciliations, drafting custody orders, custody relocation, father’s rights, mother’s rights, and grandparents’ rights.
To speak with an experienced child custody attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
PFA And Divorce: Date Of Separation
The filing of a Protection From Abuse (PFA) petition against a married partner may be the first step toward divorce.
If so, the PFA will usually as a clear date of separation when the couple stopped living together.
This may prove important, as divorce laws in Pennsylvania permit a spouse to delay the divorce process by a year.
The filing of a PFA often starts the clock on the one-year waiting period.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law, including: divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, and PFAs.
To schedule a consultation with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Collaborative Divorce: A New Trend
A new Pennsylvania law aims to legitimize collaborative divorce and create a uniform standard of practice.
Collaborative divorce is a relatively new, alternative way for couples to obtain a divorce without need for court intervention.
Collaborative divorce involves a problem-solving approach with interest-based negotiations rather than positional bargaining.
It involves several meetings with two clients, two collaborative lawyers, a facilitative coach who is a mental health professional, a neutral financial professional and a neutral child specialist if needed.
The meetings address all elements of the divorce, including child custody, child and spousal support, and division of the marital assets and debts.
Spivak Law Firm has received specialized training in collaborative divorce with membership in the Collaborative Law Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Child Custody Schedules
When a court has ordered shared custody between parents, it can be particularly challenging to alter that joint schedule.
But there are a number of circumstances where a judge may consider changing a custody schedule, including, when you or your ex:
- Attempt to alienate the child from the other parent;
- Repeatedly denigrate the other parent to the child;
- Are charged or convicted with a crime;
- Are incarcerated;
- Are investigated by Children Youth and Families (CYF);
- Abuse drugs or alcohol, or;
- Relocate outside of the county.
To speak with an experienced child custody lawyer, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Effective Parenting
The most effective parents are authoritative, according to the recently published book “Love, Money and Parenting.”
Authoritative parents use reasoning to persuade kids to do things that are good for them.
Instead of strict obedience, they emphasize adaptability, problem-solving and independence.
The book distinguishes authoritative parents from authoritarian parents – defined, by contrast, as issuing directives, expecting obedience from their children, and using corporal punishment to instill fear and inflict punishment.
Kids raised by authoritative parents report better health, higher self-esteem, and are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, according to the authors.
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law with a special focus on child custody and domestic abuse. To schedule a consultation, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Child Custody: Relocation and School
School placement for children during and after a divorce can be a very contentious topic between spouses.
If you are contemplating changing schools or districts for your child during a custody case, it is imperative that you either agree that the child will change schools or bring the issue in front of the court as early as possible.
Under Pennsylvania law, relocation is any change in residence of the child which significantly impairs the ability of the non-relocating parent to exercise custodial rights. It is up to a judge to determine whether a move qualifies as “significantly impairing.”
Spivak Law Firm handles all areas of family law and child custody, including: drafting custody orders and litigating custody trials and relocation hearings.
To speak with an experienced family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.