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When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced its decision last year in K.E.M. v. P.C.S., 38 A.3d 798 (Pa.2012), it changed the face of child support paternity law, applying a “best interests of the child” standard in cases involving paternity by estoppel. An age-old concept, “paternity by estoppel,” means that a man who acts as though he is the father of the child may be held legally and financially responsible, even […]

A non-precedential decision of the Superior Court recently addressed the defenses available to a father who failed to pay child support for fifteen years, after the mother told him that her new husband intended to adopt. Lloyd v. Ader, No. 934 MDA 2012 (March 15, 2013). The child in this case was two years old when his parents divorced in California. Mother and child moved to Virginia, where she was […]

Over New Year’s Weekend, our Congress passed legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff,” which would have resulted in dramatic income tax increases. The new law has ushered in tax increases, to be sure, but those tax hikes are not as dramatic as what might have occurred if Congress had not belatedly acted. The Fiscal Cliff tax legislation makes changes to the Internal Revenue Code, including the following: The 39.6% tax […]

A few months ago, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court resculpted the landscape of paternity cases in K.E.M. v. P.C.S., 38 A.3d 798 (Pa.2012), by establishing a “best interests” standard in cases where the presumption of paternity by estoppel might apply. Paternity by estoppel is a legal principle that prohibits the genetic testing of children who have the benefit of an unmarried father’s love, care and financial resources. As the Superior Court […]

Kimock v. Jones (2012 PA Super 128, 6/19/2012) – Last month the Superior Court considered the plea of a father whose custody rights were severely restricted due to his alienation from his teenage daughter. Mother and Father were divorced when the child was 10 years old, after a decade of physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by Father. Father had no contact with his daughter for a year, until he initiated a […]

Pursuant to federal law, all states are required to review their child support guidelines at least once every four years to reflect the most recent economic data on child-rearing costs. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Domestic Relations Rules Committee has recently issued Recommendation 116, in which they have recommended an increase in child support for cases where the combined income exceeds $3500 per month. In cases below that level, it appears that […]