Joanne Kleiner & Associates

Family Law

Jan 10, 2018

Nesting Divorce Plans: What You Need to Know

Nesting Plan | Divorce Lawyer

Now more than ever couples considering divorce want options. There are many different variations of how people choose to get divorced and how they structure their life after the fact.

What is Nesting?

One recent development that more families are considering is called a nesting plan and it could help you and your former spouse chart out an appropriate way to parent. However, nesting plans are not right for everyone. Read on to learn more about how these plans work and how you can identify whether or not it’s the right fit for you.

For the vast majority of people going through a divorce, keeping the children in the family home is the main priority and this is for a good reason. The marital residence might be the only home ever known by the children and with so much change on the rise, stability may be the only thing you and your former spouse can agree on.

As parents go through a divorce, they may feel that the children should be kept in the home because it will help with stability and comfort during a time of major transition.

A nesting plan means that both parents take a turn living in the primary home while the children stay there all the time. There are a number of different issues you need to consider before deciding if this is the right choice for you, and the help of your family lawyer cannot be understated.

How Do I Know Whether Nesting is the Right Fit for Us?

Your Montgomery County Pennsylvania family attorney may be able to recommend whether or not nesting makes sense in your case. A nesting plan refers to co-parenting in which both children keep the marital family home. The parents then might also rent additional space for the two of them to share or their own one-bedroom apartment after their divorce and it’s not their parenting time.

The parent will live in the marital home and the other parent lives in the rented space until the parenting time switches; however, this might initially seem simple but if you and the spouse are rotating in and out of your previous marital home, you will still need a parenting plan. A bird nesting plan is not a substitute for a time-sharing agreement or a parenting plan.

Pros and Cons of Nesting Plans

There are benefits and disadvantages to the nesting plan. It could reduce your potential post-marital housing costs to have a small apartment while keeping the family home that you may already own. This is usually the biggest expense that each person will incur after a divorce.

There are also costs of having a second location, however. Emotionally, your primary concern is probably about the well-being of your children, however, it can be challenging for children to adjust to these this new situation.

Furthermore, you might find it difficult to go back and forth especially if you and the other spouse are not able to get along well or if you have disagreements about appropriate parenting style. Many different issues can emerge in the bird nesting agreement and if you do not have a system in place with the other spouse to discuss how these issues will be addressed, you could put yourself at risk for constant arguments and problems with the other spouse. Bird nesting maybe something to consider in the short-term but you need to see how it might work for your family. If you’re unable to come to terms of agreement with your former spouse on anything else, it is unlikely that a bird nesting plan would be most appropriate for you.

CONTACT US

At the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner, 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.

Aug 08

Spousal Support in Pennsylvania

Spousal Support in PennsylvaniaSpousal support, or alimony, though not as common as it used to be, is still available to a spouse in a divorce proceeding in Pennsylvania. The objective, with a grant of alimony, is to provide a person with the financial resources to meet their day-to-day expenses while they take the steps necessary to become self-sufficient. The court may, in certain circumstances, determine that the recipient, either because of age or health considerations, will never be able to take care of his or her own needs. In those limited circumstances, the court may award permanent spousal support. In all other situations, alimony is generally granted only when it is determined to be necessary. It may be awarded for a specific period of time or until it can be demonstrated that the recipient is self-sufficient.

In Pennsylvania, an award of alimony is entirely at the discretion of the court. When determining whether spousal support is warranted and, if so, how much should be paid and for how long, the court can take a number of factors into consideration, including:

  • The age and health of both parties
  • The respective income of each party
  • The earning potential of both parties
  • The length of the marriage
  • The standard of living to which the parties were accustomed
  • The contributions of a spouse as homemaker
  • The extent to which one party contributed to the earning power of the other
  • The educational background of both parties and the time needed to prepare the recipient to be self-sufficient
  • The extent to which either of the parties engaged in adultery or other marital misconduct

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.

Apr 13

Protecting Your Minor Children after a Divorce

Protecting Your Minor Children after a DivorceWhen your marriage has failed, but you have minor children living in the home, one of your priorities will need to be the physical, emotional and mental health of your children. Even though the conflict was between you and your ex, your children were most likely aware of it, and have some emotional wounds that need to be addressed. In addition, you need to be careful not to engage in behaviors that are detrimental to them.

The most important thing you can offer your child in the midst of and after a divorce is your full listening attention. They’ll be scared and uncertain of their future, and will likely have a lot of questions. They may worry that they’ll never see their other parent again. Be honest with them. Don’t sugarcoat the situation or minimize the consequences of the divorce. But also help them understand that you’ll all get through it.

Don’t put your children in a position where they feel forced to take sides. If you still have significant differences with your ex, keep them to yourself. If there are issues you need to discuss with your ex, particularly ones that may be contested and potentially confusing to your children, have those discussions by phone or somewhere and some time when your kids are not present.

Don’t ever assume that your kids are too young to deserve an answer to their questions. Don’t ever tell them “we’ll talk about that more when you are older.” Your kids are trying to figure out what happened and if you don’t tell them, they’ll try to figure it out on their own—and they’ll probably come up with the wrong answer. They may conclude that they were the cause of your divorce.

Don’t ever disparage your ex with your children. It’s okay for them to see that you and your ex don’t agree on everything—that’s a part of life. But avoid statements that demean or belittle their other parent. They love both of you and should never feel wrong for feeling that way.

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.

Mar 03

Determining Custody and Visitation in Pennsylvania

Determining Custody

When you are involved in a family law dispute, whether it’s the breakup of a marriage or a long-term relationship, and there are minor children involved, you’ll have to make difficult decisions about where your children will spend most of their time—who will be the custodial parent—and how visitation will work—when they will see the non-custodial parent. You can typically work out an arrangement, but the court will likely review it to ensure it’s in the best interests of your children. If you can’t come to agreement, the court may need to get involved.

The first thing to understand is that there are technically two types of custody: physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody refers to where the children actually live when they are not on visitation, where they spend most of their time. Legal custody refers to decisions about the child’s well-being, such as education, medical needs and religious training. The courts encourage both parents to be involved with legal custody, in an arrangement known as joint legal custody. With respect to physical custody, though, the arrangement can take a variety of forms, but ultimately must give priority to the best interests of the children.

Factors the Court Will Consider in Custody and Visitation Proceedings

When assessing how custody and visitation should work, the courts will consider a couple factors:

  • The likelihood that each parent will encourage and foster continuing and frequent contact between the child and the other parent
  • Any evidence of domestic violence or abuse

If there’s evidence of domestic violence or abuse, involving either a spouse or a child, the court can either deny visitation altogether or order supervised visitation only.

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.