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The era of blended families presents dilemmas that family lawyers might recognize but remarrying spouses do not contemplate when they say “I do (again).” After divorce, a parent’s opportunities for careeer advancement may be limited, if he or she cannot relocate geographically for work or will not be relieved of a child support obligation temporarily to pursue further education. These limitations might also impact upon new spouses who bind their […]

A new unpublished memorandum opinion of the Superior Court  illustrates what we tell clients all the time in custody cases: Those who have a clear plan for the children are more likely to prevail. In C.H. v. D.M.T.H., No. 1500 MDA 2012 (memo op., January 17, 2013), the Superior Court considered a custody case emerging from a virtually-equal shared custody arrangement, in which the child lived with mom four overnights per […]

For the past few years, some Pennsylvania counties have experimented with parenting coordination, which involves the appointment of a lawyer or therapist to assist parents in resolving routine conflicts that do not (read: “should not”) rise to the level of judicial intervention. Perhaps this method ultimately will be abandoned, as rumors have it, but for now, there is a recent decision emphasizing the importance of judicial oversight. In A.H. v. […]

In PHD v. RRD, 2012 PA Super 246 (November 13, 2012), the appeal arose in a custody proceeding. Father and Mother were the divorced parents of two children, whose custody was governed by a September 2011 custody order. That order limited Father’s custody to weekly supervised visits until he completed therapy, and specifically directed Father “to have no contact with the children other than supervised visits.” In January, 2012, Mother filed a contempt petition, in which […]

Custody relocation cases are among the hardest decisions that judges face. When parents cross state lines to relocate, the courts must decide which judge has jurisdiction, before addressing the substantive question of where the children will live. These issues were met head-on by Superior Court Judge Eugene Strassberger, of Allegheny County, in M.E.V. v. R.D.V., 2012 PA Super 233 (October 23, 2012). A good decision conveys a satisfying sense of justice and […]

A new Superior Court decision arising from Northampton County affirms the constitutional advantage that biological parents have in custody proceedings against grandparents and other third parties. In V.B. and C.B. v. J.E.B. and C.C. (2012 PA Super 200, 9/21/12), the Court reversed a decision in which the trial court awarded primary custody to the grandparents. The Court held that the presumption in favor of parents was not overcome by evidence […]