Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner

Family Law

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.

Feb 23

Pennsylvania May See Return of Parent Coordinators

Parent Coordinators

In 2008, the Pennsylvania Superior Court concluded that parents who could not cooperatively come to agreement on custody matters needed some place other than the courts to help make those decisions. Accordingly, the role of “parent coordinator” evolved in Pennsylvania, with parent coordinators being given “limited…judicial authority to address…custody matters.” For five years, the system appeared to work well, with parent coordinators prevented from making major changes to legal or physical custody rulings. Parent coordinators were typically mental health professionals or family law attorneys who went through specialized training. The Superior Court put together guidelines and submitted a proposed rule to the state’s Supreme Court.

In 2013, though, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that parent coordinators violated state law, granting judicial authority without supporting law. For the last four years, parents who have been unable to reach accord on custody differences have had few options to settle any disputes. Often, parents would have to file emergency petitions with the court, addressing such mundane issues as whether or not a child could go on a school trip or play school sports.

The Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee has announced that it will be proposing a new rule to the Supreme Court, reestablishing the role of parent coordinator. They have actually drafted the rule and made it available for comments before presenting it to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The proposed rule sets forth the qualifications, duties, scope of authority and other requirements for parent coordinators.

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.

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.

Jan 04

Pennsylvania High Court Says Out-of-State Civil Unions May Be Dissolved in State

PA High Court Allows Dissolution of Out-of-State Civil Unions

Court Allows

The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that a civil union is, for all practical purposes, the equivalent of a marriage, and that the state must grant parties seeking to terminate a civil union the same rights as parties seeking to terminate a marriage. The parties in the lawsuit were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2002, opted to separate less than six months later, and have not been able to terminate the civil union because of the Pennsylvania Defense of Marriage Act. Unfortunately, since the DOMA was found unconstitutional, the Pennsylvania legislature has not taken any action to modify its family law codes to comply with the new law.

In the aftermath of the invalidation of the Pennsylvania DOMA, the parties in this case (Neyman v. Buckley) filed a divorce complaint in Philadelphia Family Court. The court refused to hear the case, however, arguing that it did not have jurisdiction, as the Pennsylvania statute only allows the state’s courts to divorce parties from “the bonds of matrimony.” The court contended that a civil union did not qualify as “bonds of matrimony.” In addition, the court cited Vermont law (where the parties entered into the civil union), which mad a clear distinction between marriage and civil unions. The court concluded that the lawsuit was more akin to a breach of contract than a divorce.

Pennsylvania’s high court, however, disagreed, ruling that a civil union has the “odor of marriage,” and differs only in matters of sexual orientation and semantics. Because the laws of Vermont do not contradict those of Pennsylvania, and because public policy favors recognizing other states’ law when they don’t conflict, the Pennsylvania courts should recognize the Vermont (and other state) civil union as being the same as a marriage.

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.