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When business owners get divorced, the business may become a casualty if decisive measures are not taken. Divorcing business owners must consider how the company will be operated during the divorce process; the financial impact of divorce-related obligations, like spousal support and legal fees, on business cash flow; and the influence of rumors and conflict at work. These same considerations apply to licensed professionals, like dentists, physicians, accountants and others […]

When a parent who owes child support attempts to sell real estate, or collects a lump sum payment from a government agency, the law may authorize an automatic child support lien to collect the support arrears.  If the child support arrears are less than $5,000, the automatic child support lien imposed by 23 Pa.C.S. § 4308.1 may not apply, but the child support agency has the option of pursuing a […]

Parents who are receiving child support in Pennsylvania might get a small raise in 2017 — if they negotiate or go to court under the new Pennsylvania child support guidelines, effective May 1, 2017.  To find if you might be entitled to a raise (or have to pay more), look at the new Pennsylvania child support guidelines that are posted here. The Pennsylvania courts do not automatically grant child support […]

Grandparents who seek custody rights faced a setback this month when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a portion of the law that allowed grandparents to sue for custody when the children’s parents were separated for at least six months.  The Supreme Court, in D.P. and B.P. v. G.J.P. and A.P., No. 25 WAP 2016 (September 9, 2016), examined the grandparent standing law, that defines which grandparents may sue for custody rights.  The law, […]

When a business is an asset in a Pennsylvania divorce, the court needs detailed information — and often a business valuation in divorce — to perform equitable distribution. The information must be presented in court in an effective way.  Not having a business valuation or detailed information can lead to unexpected results.  Recently, in Sweeney v. Sweeney, No. 2164 EDA 2015 (August 30, 2016) (non-precedential), the Superior Court confronted a divorce case in which the […]

Estranged parents in Pennsylvania might wonder whether a court is likely to award shared custody when there is parental conflict. Recently the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, in S.A.W. v. R.J.S. (non-precedential), No. 2214 MDA 2015 (August 5, 2016), heard an appeal from a Father hoping to overturn a shared custody decision. The Father argued that shared custody was not in the children’s best interests because the parents were incapable of cooperating with […]