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A Pennsylvania resident who is pursuing a divorce might be concerned about property that is titled in their name for the convenience of a family member, like an elderly parent or a child who has poor credit. A new decision of the Superior Court (unpublished) outlines a legal argument for keeping that property out of the hands of the estranged spouse.  In Werdenbaugh v. Werdenbaugh, No. 1306 MDA 2013 (May 29, 2013), […]

Couples who have settled their divorce in Pennsylvania may recall that divorce settlement agreements are final and enforceable only if there has been a full and fair disclosure of marital assets. A recent decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court tests this principle in a case where one spouse suspected that her husband may have been less than honest in disclosing his net worth. In Ford v. Ford, the wife petitioned […]

Parents who are facing custody disputes in Pennsylvania may be interested in understanding how child alienation tactics are viewed by judges in Pennsylvania courts. A recent decision of the Pennsylvania Superior Court (unpublished) illustrates the perils that may befall a parent who engages in alienation tactics.  In B.E. v. D.N., No. 1894 EDA 2013 (April 9, 2014), a mother lost custody of her children, ages 12 and 9, when the […]

Presumably, opinions of the Superior Court are published when, in the estimation of the Court, they articulate important principles of jurisprudence. So, the Superior Court was sending a message to family law practitioners when it chose to publish M.O. v. J.T.R., 2014 Pa.Super. 15 (February 4, 2014). M.O. is a custody case in which Mother and Father were divorced parents of one emancipated daughter and two minor sons.  When they […]

A non-precedential decision of the Superior Court, Morabito v. Morabito, No. 878 WDA 2013 (January 17, 2014) might provide a little window into the minds of our judiciary when interpreting prenuptial agreements.  The marriage in this case lasted nearly twenty years before the wife filed a complaint in divorce.  Wife initially challenged the validity of the prenup, but soon conceded that it was valid and enforceable. What Husband and Wife […]

In Watts v. Mannheim Twp. S.D., No. 935 C.D. 2013 (January 7, 2014), the Commonwealth Court was confronted with the issue of whether a school district must provide bus service to the homes of both parents who share custody of their children on a week on-week off basis. The school district filed the appeal, arguing that the School Code does not require it to provide transportation to a resident pupil to and from […]