Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner

child support

Jun 13

How to Prepare for a Contested Divorce

If you are thinking of filing for divorce, know that you are not alone. Studies show that the chances of a marriage in the United States ending in divorce are between 40 percent and 50 percent. Although some divorces can be settled amicably, it’s also possible for the divorce to be contested, which can be a lengthy affair that is best settled with the assistance of a divorce lawyer or child support attorney because when children are involved, custody and visitation rights will need to be determined as well as the amount of financial support they’ll require.

Ascertain the Value of Assets and Income

When it has become impossible for you and your spouse to agree on how you’re going to split the assets or how much child support is necessary, you’ll probably find it best to have an experienced attorney by your side who can help protect your specific interests. However, there are a number of steps you can take to prepare for your case and be ready when the divorce proceedings begin. One of the most important aspects of progressing smoothly through a contested divorce is to accurately determine the assets and income you have.

When it comes to your assets, it can be easy to forget which items are owned by you and which are owned by your spouse. This can be particularly difficult if you’ve never handled the family finances. When you are thinking of getting a divorce, the first thing you need to do is identify which assets are yours. Look for any bank statements you can locate and find out all that you can about who really owns the home that you live in and the cars that are in your driveway. Copy any document you believe is important to identifying your complete assets. You also need to be aware of your specific income level, which is something that your recent tax returns will assist you in identifying.

Focus on Custody

If you have children, some of the most important facets of the divorce proceedings will include child support and child custody. We’ll try to make sure that all the medical and educational needs of your children are taken into consideration when determining the best course for both custody and visitation. In the case of child support, it’s important that you include all your sources of income in order to identify the level of financial assistance that’s necessary.

If you believe that custody will be contested along with other aspects of your divorce, consider starting a journal about all the important events that have recently happened in your child’s life. This can be important if you have some safety concerns regarding the other parent. A journal will allow you to keep track of all the details you might otherwise forget if you don’t write them down. Keep recording any pertinent details even after the divorce proceedings have started. It can sometimes prove to be very helpful.

Seek the Counsel of an Attorney

In some situations, it may be possible to get through a divorce without retaining an attorney. This might be true in cases where mediation is possible as a means of dividing the assets and an agreement can be reached regarding child custody and support. However, if any of these important aspects is in dispute, it would probably be wise to arrange legal counsel. Before you seek out an attorney, make sure that you are organized and have everything you believe you’ll need for a contested divorce.

When you already have a binder or folder filled with what you believe to be the essential documents related to your case, it’s possible that you can save money on the expenses associated with litigation. An experienced attorney from our practice will understand how Pennsylvania law relates to your circumstances and attempt to achieve a favorable outcome for you. Our firm will guide you through this process and try to minimize the stress you experience as the divorce proceeds.

If you are considering filing for divorce and expect the matter to be contested, call the law office of Joanne Kleiner to schedule an appointment. We’ll arrange a consultation for you with our divorce and child support attorney so that you can determine whether our services are the right fit for your needs. Our office is located in Jenkintown, and we can be reached by phone 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.

Jul 01

How Child Support is Calculated in Pennsylvania

How Child Support

If you have filed for divorce or have been served with a divorce complaint and there are minor children in the home, one of your first questions will involve child support. Under what circumstances will the court order the payment of child support, who will be required to pay, and how is child support calculated?

Who Pays Child Support?

In Pennsylvania, the parent of a child can request an order of support, whether or not a divorce complaint has been filed, and whether or not the parents were ever married. The support order typically follows on the heels of a custody order. If the court grants physical custody to one of the parents, that parent becomes entitled to support payments. In situations where the parents are not married, the court may require a paternity test before ordering support. It’s important to understand that you can be ordered to pay support, even if you are unemployed, provided you are the non-custodial parent. In addition, it doesn’t matter if the custodial parent makes more money than the non-custodial parent. Child support is intended to ensure that both parents contribute to the financial needs of the child.

The Calculation of Child Support

Either or both parents may be ordered to pay child support, with the court considering the following factors when determining the amount of support:

  • The net income of each parent
  • The earning capacity of each parent
  • The assets of each parent
  • Any unusual needs of the parent or child
  • Any extraordinary expenses

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.

May 06

Important Terms to Know as You Prepare for Divorce

Prepare for Divorce

If you are considering or have filed for divorce, or if you anticipate being served with a divorce complaint, you’ll start hearing many terms with which you may not be familiar. Here are some legal terms that you should learn, so that you can meaningfully participate in the proceedings

Discovery

If your divorce is contested in any way—custody, visitation, child support or division of marital debts and assets—the court will most likely identify the length of the “discovery” period, and set some rules governing discovery. “Discovery” is simply the term that lawyers and judges use for gathering evidence. In the American judicial system, we have the concept of “open discovery.” That means that both sides are entitled to access to all evidence related to the case—one party cannot intentionally hide or fail to disclose relevant evidence. If that happens, there’s a significant chance that the court will rule the evidence to be inadmissible.

Equitable Distribution

Equitable distribution refers to a method for allocating the debts and assets of a marriage. For states that follow equitable distribution principles, property and liabilities are divided equitably, or “fairly.” It’s important to understand that “equitable” does not mean “equal.” The court may consider a wide range of factors. For example, in Pennsylvania, the court can examine, among other factor:

  • The duration of the marriage
  • The age and health of both parties
  • The earning power and sources of income of both parties

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance is just another term for alimony. It can also be referred to as “spousal support.” Though alimony or spousal maintenance is not as common as it used to be, it is still used in specific situations, including where a spouse may lack the skills to be gainfully employed, or may need time to develop those skills or get the requisite education or training.

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.

Jan 16

Pennsylvania High Court Allows Termination of “Gay Adoptions”

Because of a recent decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, many gay couples who had used adoption as a legal strategy will now be able to get married. Here’s how it works.

Gay Adoptions

Prior to the 2014 ruling that invalidated Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act, gay couples in Pennsylvania frequently used adoption as a means of protecting inheritance rights. However, under state laws, a person could not marry someone he had adopted, so those same couples had to seek to have their adoptions dissolved before they could marry. Many of them ran into obstacles, as judges frequently held that the state’s adoption laws did not allow for the termination or dissolution of an adoption, absent a showing of fraud or misrepresentation.

In a decision handed down on Wednesday, December 21, the state’s high court ruled that Pennsylvania allows an “unopposed annulment or revocation of an adult adoption.” The parties to the lawsuit, who have been in a committed relationship since 1970, are a 69-year-old man and his 80-year-old partner. They had asked the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas to dissolve their adoption in June of 2015, but the court said it lacked the authority to do so under state law.

The court acknowledged that other states, with similar adoption provisions, had permitted adult adoptions to be dissolved under similar circumstances. The court remanded the matter to the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas with instructions to terminate the adoption, so that the parties can get married. The parties to the lawsuit said they thought the matter was a lost cause, as the high court had taken a long time to return a decision.

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.