Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner

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Oct 18, 2017

Uncontested Divorce in Pennsylvania

Uncontested Divorce Lawyer

Many people are interested in the smoothest possible management of their Pennsylvania divorce claim. This may mean that you initiate a claim for uncontested divorce. In a contested divorce, there may be one or multiple issues up for debate among the divorcing spouses.

You may not be able to come to terms about equitable distribution of the property or child custody. This is not uncommon as many people who are watching their marriage unravel are concerned about getting along with their spouse and may be unable to reach an amicable outcome. Pennsylvania law recently changed to allow for faster divorces for those people who have an uncontested marital dissolution.

In order to proceed with an uncontested divorce in Pennsylvania, you must be able to agree on all the terms with your spouse outside of court. This can mean significantly less time spent arguing and less money invested in your divorce overall. However, it is rare that you will be able to come to terms with your other spouse.

Different Types of PA Divorce

If you have been separated for a year or more and your date of separation happened on or beyond December 5th, 2016, you may be eligible to pursue a section 3301(d) divorce. You can also qualify for a section 3301(d) divorce if you have been separated for two years or more. In the event that neither of those two situations applies to you in your Pennsylvania divorce, you may still be eligible to receive a section 3301(c) divorce. The law requires a 90-day waiting period for all divorces under this umbrella.

A typical 3301 divorce may vary based on how soon you want the service to be completed. In a manner of weeks, you could have rush service completed but it could be up to 16 weeks for a typical divorce service. A 3301(c) divorce, however, may take several months with a rush divorce service and up to six months with a normal divorce service. If you have already tried to come to terms with your former spouse about the circumstances of ending your marriage and been unsuccessful at doing so, you are not alone.

Many people who are looking to dissolve their marriage and move on with their lives may try to work things out with their spouse in mediation or an informal settlement agreement. This may help move the ball forward if you and your spouse are able to come to terms on certain aspects of the divorce. But if you have a difficult spouse and one who will not agree to these terms willingly, you may need to consult with an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney who is knowledgeable about contested divorce.

Having someone in your corner from the outset of the divorce is strongly recommended in any case as you should be knowledgeable about ow long these processes typically take and what can be gained from speaking directly with a lawyer. When you know your rights and responsibilities at the outset of a divorce, you can make an informed decision about when and how to file. If you want to try to work thing out with your former spouse on your own, you are certainly entitled to do so but many people find themselves hitting a wall when it comes to agreeing on very contentious issues such as child custody. There is certainly nothing wrong with your or your case if you find yourself in this situation. Rather, you should prepare yourself to hire an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney who can walk you through each phase. Do not hesitate to get help when you are concerned about how your Pennsylvania divorce will be handled whether it is uncontested or contested. There are many different factors that can influence how long it will take for you to ultimately receive a divorce but the most important thing to consider is that having an attorney who is knowledgeable and caring about your individual situation can make a world of difference.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266. Let us use our experience, skill, knowledge and resources to help you make informed and effective decisions.

Sep 05

Making the Collaborative Divorce Process Work

MAKING THE COLLABORATIVE DIVORCE PROCESS WORKIf your marriage has failed, but you don’t want to spend months or years bickering over the same things that brought the relationship to an end, you may have considered the collaborative approach to divorce, where all parties and their attorneys work to resolve any issues or disagreements without the intervention of the court. It can be an effective and less stressful process than a traditional divorce, but both parties (and their lawyers) have to be on board, and need to concur on a number of basic principles:

  • There needs to be a free and open exchange of information at all times — It will be difficult to reach a mutually acceptable solution if you try to hide information from the other parties. The more transparency you have, the smoother the process will be.
  • You need to be committed to listening, as well as advocating — The collaborative process is a two way street. Try to listen to your ex and understand his or her concerns.
  • All interactions should be as courteous and respectful as possible — Very little will be accomplished if you try to bully or dominate your ex.
  • You’ll have a better chance of moving forward if you leave the past behind — The past can’t be changed, and no amount of bringing it up will help resolve y our differences. Focus on where you are headed, not where you’ve been.
  • Put your children’s interests ahead of yours — Your children will probably be affected more acutely by the divorce than you will be, and they don’t have all the tools to cope. When making any decision, always ask first how it will affect your children, both in the short term and for years to come.
  • Always bargain in good faith — Deception or posturing has no place in the collaborative process. You’ll reach a better solution, and sooner, if you honestly seek a solution that works for everyone.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266. Let us use our experience, skill, knowledge and resources to help you make informed and effective decisions.

Sep 05

Pennsylvania Court Allows Same-Sex Divorce

Pennsylvania Court Allows Same-Sex DivorceCommonwealth courts in Pennsylvania must give equal legal status to same-sex marriages legally entered into in other states before Pennsylvania law sanctioned gay marriage, according to an opinion by a Pennsylvania Superior Court panel. The ruling, handed down on December 28, 2016, actually addressed whether parties to a same-sex union that was performed in Vermont could seek to end the legal relationship in Pennsylvania. The court said they could.

In the matter before the court, the parties, two women who entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2002, sought to terminate the legal relationship, but ran into a hurdle when a Philadelphia County family court judge asserted that she lacked authority to dissolve the union. Senior Judge James J. Fitzgerald, writing for the panel, concluded that Pennsylvania must consider Vermont civil unions the same manner as marriages approved under Pennsylvania law. He further ruled that, if Pennsylvania marriage laws apply to the union, so do Pennsylvania divorce laws.

The parties to the divorce action, Freyda Neyman and Florence Buckley, entered into a civil union in Vermont when that state was the only one in the country that permitted same-sex unions. At the time, Vermont did not use the term “marriage” to refer to same-sex unions. The state officially applied the term “marriage” to same-sex unions in 2009.

Buckley and Neyman stayed together only five months. When they sought a legal ruling in Pennsylvania in 2014 to terminate their civil union, their request was denied by Judge Margaret Theresa Murphy, who ruled that, pursuant to Pennsylvania law, she could only grant divorces to couples who were bound “in matrimony.”

Contact Attorney Joanne E. Kleiner

Let us help you protect your rights. Contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266 to schedule a confidential consultation. We will help you stay focused on the issues that matter.

Aug 30

The Impact of Cohabitation on Alimony in Pennsylvania

Though alimony, or spousal support, is far less common than it was a quarter of a century ago, there are still many circumstances where the court will order temporary, or even permanent, payment of support from one spouse to another. Typically, however, the alimony order contains a stipulation that terminates the obligation to pay alimony if the recipient remarries. The provision can also apply if the beneficiary is found to be cohabitating with another person in an intimate relationship.

It’s important to understand, though, that it’s not necessary to have such a provision in a divorce decree for the law to be applied. In fact, Pennsylvania law is clear that, when a person enters into cohabitation with a person of the opposite sex who is not a family member, an alimony order can be terminated. The law does not specify a length of time for the cohabitation to render a spousal support order invalid. Instead, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that cohabitation will be decided on a case-by-case basis, looking at all evidence of “financial, social and sexual interdependence.”

Alimony is a discretionary award in Pennsylvania, with the court looking at a variety of factors, including age and health of the parties, income potential, standard of living, and relative needs of the parties, all in an effort to bring about a result that is fair. When one spouse, typically the lower earning spouse, must try to survive on her or his own, the courts are more inclined to see it as fair to expect the other party to defray some of those expenses. However, if the party receiving alimony chooses to cohabitate with another person, it can be assumed that there will be additional income and the spousal support is no longer necessary or fair.

Contact Us

At the office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, we have more than 25 years of family law experience. We’ll help you stay focused on what matters. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Aug 17

Study Shows Impact of Silent Divorce

Study Shows Impact of Silent DivorceMental health professionals have long expressed concerns about the lifelong impact of contested divorce on children. Now there’s some scientific evidence to suggest that the unwillingness of parents of divorce to work cooperatively can have long-term physiological consequences as well.

A study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University has found a greater incidence of health vulnerabilities in adults whose parents separated or divorced and did not maintain communications during their childhoods. Researchers found children of uncommunicative parents to be three times as likely to catch a cold when intentionally exposed to a common cold virus.

In the study, more than 200 healthy adults were quarantined and exposed to a common cold virus. Researchers monitored them for five days to determine whether they developed any signs of respiratory illness. Test subjects whose parents lived separately and did not have any communication showed a heightened inflammation in response to the virus and were three times as likely to show symptoms of a cold. Researchers also found that children of divorce whose parents stayed in communication showed no meaningful change in susceptibility to health problems.

Researchers were looking to see if there were long-term health consequences for children of divorce. Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon, said that the results of the study suggest that there are long effects of early exposure to family conflict. Michael Murphy, a postdoctoral research associate involved in the study, noted that the results support the assertion that early life stressful experiences can have a physiological consequence that can stay with us for decades.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266. Let us use our experience, skill, knowledge and resources to help you make informed and effective decisions.