Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Archives for February 2020

Feb 18

How Technology Can Help Co-Parents Communicate Better

Using Software Systems to Improve Co-Parenting

One of the keys to a successful co-parenting relationship is communication between the ex-spouses as just over 50 percent of parents are remarried or recoupled. If conversations are respectful and professional, strife will be lessened, and there will be more harmony for the children. There is some help available for high-conflict situations in which the parents have difficulty communicating without fighting.

Third-Party Apps Can Help With Your Tone

There are third-party systems that can host communications between the parents. These are usually ordered by the court when two parties have a history of acrimony and conflict. All communications are done through the third-party system, and the parents are generally not even allowed to text each other unless there is some kind of a pressing, time-sensitive issue that cannot be handled through the communication system.

Many of these systems have artificial intelligence features that scan messages before they are sent to examine the body of the message. The system has the ability to spot words with a negative tone and highlight them before the email is sent. This gives the writer time to stop and review the message to make sure that he or she really intended to send a message with those words. Oftentimes, the writer does not realize that there is a negative tone to his or her message and needs some extra help to spot areas that could lead to trouble. The writer then has the ability to choose different words that may not lead to conflict.

Judges Can Access the Messages

All communications through these systems are generally saved and cannot be deleted. This means that in the event that there is a matter that goes to court, a family law judge has access to all of the messages and can easily read the relevant communications. This knowledge should help the parties learn to be a little more restrained when dealing with each other since these systems are the equivalent of not being able to take back a combative email.

Reduce Your Stress Levels With Better Communication

Even if you do not like your ex-spouse, these systems can help your communication improve to the point where the co-parenting relationship may become more civil. Less conflict can help reduce your stress level because constant arguing reaches a point where it can wear you down over time. Therefore, these systems are generally a great idea for increasing the level of harmony. In a worst-case scenario, these software systems are an extra layer of protection for you in a litigious relationship.

Other Features to Improve Co-Parenting

Not only is there help with communication, but there are also calendars and other features to improve all aspects of the co-parenting relationship. Many of these software systems even have banking features that allow for money transfers and other accountability tools to make sure that each parent responds to the other. The aspects of the relationship that have been chaotic can be managed, bringing with it some relief to struggling co-parents.

How to Implement These Systems

Your family lawyer can help you figure out the best strategy for adding this type of communication to your custody agreement. In some cases, the judge will order this software on his or her own when he or she sees that there is a contentious relationship. Of course, you can always seek a modification to your custody agreement that states that all communications are to be through a third-party software application.

These Systems Can Help You Get on a Better Path

In many cases, this is the solution that enables divided families to engage in better communications. Many co-parents have reported that these communications systems helped improve their overall relationships and created more of a sense of normalcy for their children.

These software packages are not free, but they are money well-spent when there is an improvement in your relationship. Any conflict or litigation that is averted means less time battling it out in court, so these can be worth your while. Therefore, if your ex-spouse has requested one of these communications systems, be open to considering it.

The Law Office of Joanne Kleiner in Jenkintown, PA, stands ready to assist you in either strategically avoiding court or litigating if it is unavoidable. Call us today at (215) 886-1266 to set up a consultation with our family lawyer in Jenkintown.

Feb 15

What You Need to Know About Divorce With Adultery in Pennsylvania

How Does Adultery Affect a Divorce in Pennsylvania?

Most marriages don’t survive after adultery, with more than 66% of unions resulting in divorce. If adultery has taken place in your marriage, there are several important things to know about how it’s going to impact your divorce.

Divorce With Adultery Affects Alimony

The spouse who has committed adultery usually isn’t eligible for alimony in Pennsylvania. Many people think of alimony as given to the woman, but it’s actually given to the earner with the lower income.

However, in Pennsylvania, alimony isn’t automatically given to the person of lower income. The court considers a wide range of factors before deciding whether or not a person must pay alimony to their former spouse. These factors include:

  • Misconduct during the marriage
  • Length of the marriage
  • Financial needs
  • Assets and liabilities
  • Education
  • All sources of income
  • Earning potential
  • Potential inheritance
  • Health
  • Age

The court examines these factors of both spouses, not just one side.

Alimony in Pennsylvania doesn’t last forever. When the person receiving alimony improves his or her financial situation, the court may end payments. Sometimes, the court will rule that alimony must be paid for a certain period of time. In Pennsylvania, alimony isn’t necessarily paid monthly. Instead, the court may put you on an annual payment basis.

Pennsylvania courts have the right to modify or end alimony based on the changing financial circumstances of both parties.

If you’ve committed adultery and your spouse hasn’t, you’ll be more likely to have to pay alimony because adultery falls under misconduct.

How Adultery Affects Child Custody and Visitation

If a spouse’s infidelity has negatively impacted the children, then this can affect child custody and visitation rights. Without proof that a spouse’s adultery has negatively impacted the children, the adultery usually doesn’t influence a court’s decision on child custody and visitation.

Our Jenkintown family lawyer can help you protect your rights if you’re struggling to come to an agreement with your spouse on child custody and visitation. The Law Office of Joanne Kleiner has experience handling numerous aspects of divorce in Pennsylvania.

Adultery Is Sometimes Not Considered Cause for Divorce

If you forgave your spouse after their adultery, then Pennsylvania law likely won’t recognize it as the cause behind your divorce. You must prove adultery caused the divorce.

Another situation in which the state won’t acknowledge adultery as the cause for divorce is when both spouses cheated. However, alimony can still be given to the spouse with a lower income if both of you committed adultery.

Your spouse having an affair with another isn’t adultery if you consented to it or you received a benefit from it. An example of receiving a benefit from your spouse’s affair with another is knowingly spending money that was obtained from prostitution.

Be aware that your spouse may claim to have been insane when they committed adultery in order to still be eligible for alimony. If it turns out the spouse who committed adultery was actually insane at the time they cheated, then the court may allow them to receive alimony from the divorce as long as they can prove a financial need.

You Can’t Sue Someone for Adultery in Pennsylvania

People who commit adultery in Pennsylvania can no longer be prosecuted for it. However, a spouse can still be considered at fault for a divorce because of their infidelity. The court may give the adulterer a smaller portion of the property as a result of their infidelity.

How Do You Prove Adultery in a Divorce?

You must provide proof of adultery if you claim your spouse isn’t eligible for alimony because of adultery. Hold onto anything you can use as evidence your spouse cheated. Items you can use as evidence include hotel receipts, photos, videos, phone records, text messages, and emails. The proof you collect doesn’t need to be of sexual intercourse. Our Jenkintown family lawyer can further advise you on how to prove adultery in divorce in Pennsylvania.

Whether you’re the one who committed adultery, your spouse committed adultery, or both of you cheated, you should consult with a divorce lawyer to ensure your rights are protected. There are aspects of Pennsylvania divorce law that you may be unaware of, and you don’t want to be taken by surprise. Contact the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner at (215) 886-1266 today for advice on divorce, assistance with mediation, or representation in court in Jenkintown.