Custody

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Nala Blu
Nala Blu

Earlier this year, much to my husband’s chagrin, we drove over an hour to Maryland to spend a Sunday afternoon at the home of a stranger.  We left with our new four-legged baby- Nala Blu.  More and more people choose to open their homes to rescue pets.  I must admit, it is a pretty fulfilling feeling to know that you were able to save the life of an animal whose fate was once questionable.  Our girl happened to be thrown into a cardboard box with her 8 brothers and sisters and left next to a dumpster in Tennessee.

This Sunday, April 30, just so happens to be “Adopt a Shelter Pet Day.”  Each year, more than 3.2 million pets are rescued from shelters across the US.  Each one comes with their own special story and leaves with their own special place in their new families’ hearts.

If you have ever had a pet, you know that almost immediately they become an integral part of your family, and are treated just like (or maybe even better!) than children.  But what happens to our four-legged kids when a marriage falls apart?  Some may find it hard to believe, but people do fight over their pets.  And unfortunately, in 49 of the 50 states, courts will refuse to step in to help.  In fact, the courts have labeled our beloved pets as nothing more than property.  In its 2002 decision in DeSanctis v. Pritchard, the Pennsylvania Superior Court went so far as to equate a dog to a table or lamp.  I can’t imagine that analogy won the hearts of those who read it.

Under Pennsylvania divorce law, personal property is distributed between the parties as the court sees fit after analyzing a list of factors.  And because a pet is considered personal property, they will be lumped into the “equitable distribution” of all property.  So if you want to keep your furry friend, you may have to give up that new big screen TV. Continue Reading Pet Custody in Pennsylvania

As income tax season is quickly ramping up, I am commonly asked by clients which parent can claim the children as dependents when they are separated from the other parent. And like any good lawyer, I often say it depends.

So what exactly does it depend on? According to the Internal Revenue Service, in order to claim a child as a dependent he or she must be a qualifying child. Assuming your children are qualifying children, only one exemption can be claimed per qualifying child. The IRS has determined that the “custodial parent” gets the to claim the exemption. The IRS has its own definition of “custodial parent.” According to their regulations, a custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of overnights in the calendar year. Continue Reading Tax season – Who Gets to Claim the Kids?

There are a lot of misconceptions and different definitions for a Notary.  In drafting this blog post I found several different definitions, including one from Google that says a Notary is “a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, especially to draw up contracts, deeds, and other documents for use in other jurisdictions.”  Wikipedia says “[a] Notary is a lawyer (except most of the United States).”  Neither of these are true in Pennsylvania.  So what is a Notary?  Why do you want something notarized? Continue Reading What is a Notary?

The PA Supreme Court recently denied an appeal by Manheim Township School District holding that the district is required to provide bus services to the homes of both divorced parents when the student spends time at both parents home overnight during the school year. While divorced parents rejoice at the ruling in their favor making split custody arrangements a littler easier, school districts will feel the financial pinch of additional costs and organization associated with having to provide students with transportation to and from different homes depending on the custody schedule. However, this ruling simply requires the schools to allow children to ride a different bus on an already established bus route.  It does not change the requirements for students living outside of the district.

After the recent ruling, school districts can no longer require parents to choose one parent’s home as the sole bus stop, nor can they require a parent to drive the student to a stop that is further away than what they would require a student to walk.  If this situation applies to you, contact your school and get a secondary stop set up for your child.  If you are not sure how this will affect you, we suggest contacting a trusted legal advisor.

Lindsay Schoeneberger is an attorney at Russell, Krafft and Gruber, LLP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Widener University School of Law and practices in a variety of areas including Family Law.

This headline recently caught my attention Co-Parenting Win: I Lived With my Stepson’s Mother.  The article, fashioned in the form of a letter to the mother of the author’s stepson, chronicles the evolution of the relationship between Mother, Father, and Father’s Wife.  It is a quick, worthwhile read that demonstrates it really is possible to move past the emotional baggage of a breakup to form a new, different kind of relationship that allows everyone to be actively involved in a child’s life.

The article doesn’t assume that everyone can or should co-parent like this.  In many cases, this type of situation would not work.  But, in a world of custody battles that can sometimes turn ugly, it’s great to see a positive story that reminds us of the unique possibilities for relationships between parents and step-parents.

Lindsay Schoeneberger is an attorney at Russell, Krafft and Gruber, LLP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Widener University School of Law and practices in a variety of areas including Family Law.

Most people know that grandparents have some custody rights under Pennsylvania law. What they may not know is what exactly those rights are. What happens when a grandchild is taken out of the grandparents’ custody when the parents have already agreed that the child could live with them?  Can grandparents have primary physical custody when there is still one parent in the picture? The Pennsylvania Custody Act answers these questions and gives grandparents rights to intervene in a custody action in certain circumstances.

According to the Pennsylvania custody law, grandparents have standing (the right to legally intervene) in a custody action to ask for periods of partial physical custody or supervised physical custody of their grandchildren if certain criteria are met. These criteria include the death of a parent, separation/divorce proceedings between the parents or a situation where a child has already been living with a grandparent or great-grandparent for over a year. Even if the criteria are met, grandparents should consult a family law attorney when they are seeking custody so that they are aware of their rights and the steps they need to take.

Partial or Supervised Physical Custody

One situation where grandparents are allowed to intervene for partial custody or periods of supervised custody is when a parent of a child is deceased. Grandparents may also seek partial custody when the parents of the children are separated or divorced. If either parent has filed for divorce or if the parents have been separated for at least six months, grandparents have legal standing to seek custody.

Sometimes, grandparents already have had physical custody of a child for a period of time, and suddenly a parent decides to remove the child from their home. There are rights for grandparents in these situations too, as long as the child has been living with the grandparents for a period of at least one year. If that is the case, the grandparents must file an action for custody within six months of when the child was removed from their home.

Continue Reading What Rights Do Grandparents Have Under The Pennsylvania Custody Act?

Custody can be a tricky issue no matter what the child’s age. When you add a teenager into the mix, it can be even more difficult to navigate the correct procedures for custodial parents and non-custodial parents to follow. Teens often have strong opinions on which parent they prefer to live with, opinions that can change rather often or unexpectedly. The issue becomes even more clouded when a teen is close to age eighteen. Parents often wonder to what extent they should treat their teens like adults in making major decisions such as which parent to live with.

In my family law practice, I have encountered situations where a non-custodial parent wants to follow the wishes of a teenager and allow him or her to move into their home.  For example, the question may be, “Can my sixteen-year-old daughter just move in with me? Even though the Custody Order gives my ex primary physical custody, isn’t she old enough to decide where she wants to live?”

I always caution parents in this situation. Do not allow your teenager to just move in with you on a whim or because he or she is upset with the other parent. The existing Custody Order is an enforceable legal document and non-compliance could result in contempt proceedings being brought against you. Regardless of the fact that the teen could be only months away from the age of majority, a Custody Order is a directive from the Court, and both parents are obligated to comply with it.

Continue Reading Teenagers and Custody Issues

As family law attorneys, we often encounter the issue of relocation in custody situations. I previously wrote about the top custody myths in Lancaster County and addressed a common myth that parents have in custody situations — "I can move wherever I want and take my children with me." This assumption, as I point out and as Holly Filius expands on in her blog post about changes to the Pennsylvania Custody Act, can be hazardous for parents who do not understand or know about the notice requirements of the law. These requirements are discussed frequently in family law sites and blogs, but what many clients wonder is how far a move has to be in order to trigger the notice requirements required by law. Is it okay to move to the next neighborhood? The other side of town? What about 30 miles away?

The Custody Act defines relocation as any move that significantly impairs the non-custodial parent’s ability to exercise custodial rights to the children. Any move that falls under this definition requires the custodial parent (the parent who has physical custody of the child or children the majority of the time) to follow the notice procedures of the Act. This begs the question, how far can a move be before it "significantly impairs" the other parent? Here in Lancaster County, a move is usually considered relocation if the custodial parent proposes to move with the children to a different school district. Changing districts could make it difficult for the other parent to complete the necessary custodial exchanges and take the children to any events or appointments they have while under their care. Although there are some Pennsylvania school districts that are geographically small, rural ones can be spaced far apart so that even moving to the "next district over" could create a significant distance to travel. 

Continue Reading How Far is Too Far? A Must-Read for Custodial Parents Seeking to Move

I once had a client call me on Thanksgiving Day because she had a custody dispute with her ex-husband about who was to pick up their child at 4 p.m. The police were called and actually intervened, their child was distraught and the entire holiday was ruined for everyone, extended families included.

Without fail, every year after the holiday break I receive calls from clients with concerns about problems that arose during a custody exchange or the late arrival of a parent. Folks, juggling holiday activities with children is difficult even for intact families. It only gets more difficult when parents are separated and have their own individual plans for celebrating. My advice for making sure that you and your kids get through the holidays without a lot of aggravation and stress about custody issues is to plan ahead. Know what the holiday schedule will be well in advance of the holidays. If that means hashing it out with your ex weeks or months in advance, then do it.  If you’re having difficulty reaching an agreement about a schedule, transportation or exchange times, seek the input of an attorney to clarify what your rights and obligations may be.

Embracing the holiday and focusing on making this a joyous time for your children can help you to successfully make it through the holiday season . 
 
Julie Miller is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She received her law degree from Dickinson School of Law and practices in a variety of areas including Family Law.

In a recent article about the top 10 custody myths in Lancaster County, Julie Miller touched upon one of the most popular myths – that a parent can relocate without the other parent’s permission. In reality, the relocation procedure that was in place for many years in Pennsylvania required any individual who wanted to relocate to meet the legal standard quantified in the case of Gruber v. Gruber. In 2011, the Gruber requirements were superseded by a new statutory provision, 23 Pa. C.S.A. § 5337, which required that no relocation could occur unless every individual who has custody rights to a child consents to the proposed relocation or the court approves the proposed relocation. As a parent, you must take all the proper steps before you may relocate, or conversely, in order to stop a relocation if you disapprove of it.

What do I have to do to relocate?

If you are the moving parent, the statute requires you to give notice to every individual who has custody rights by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 60 days before the proposed moving date. If you do not reasonably know of the relocation in time to comply with the 60-day notice requirement and it is not possible to delay the date, you must provide notice to all parties no later than the tenth day after the date that you know about the relocation. The second scenario would apply in situations such as a short-notice job relocation or an emergency relocation with limited date flexibility.

Whether providing the 60 days’ notice or a shorter period of time as allowed by the statute, you must provide the following information to any individual who has custody rights to the child:

1. The address of your intended new residence, including the mailing address if it is different than the physical address;

2. The names and ages of the individuals who will be living with you;

3. The home telephone number of your new residence;

4. The name of the new school district and specific school your child will be attending;

5. The date of the proposed relocation;

6. The reasons for the proposed relocation; and

7. A revised custody schedule.

Counter-affidavit regarding relocation

In addition to the above information, a counter-affidavit must be provided with the notice allowing the other party to indicate their position with regard to your relocation. The counter-affidavit must include a warning that if the other party does not file an objection with the court objecting to the relocation within 30 days of receiving notice of the proposed relocation, the non-relocating party cannot object to the relocation.

If no objection is made to a relocation, you must file an affidavit stating that you have provided notice to every individual entitled to notice of the relocation, that the time to file an objection to the proposed relocation has passed, and that no one entitled to receive notice of the relocation has filed an objection to the relocation. You must also file proof that proper notice of the relocation was given and then file a petition to confirm the relocation and modify any existing custody order, along with a proposed order containing the information delineated by the relocation statute. The court then has the ability to modify the order based on the non-relocating party’s lack of objection to the relocation.
 

Continue Reading Child Custody and Relocation in Pennsylvania