Author Archives: Jennifer Courtney
Deciding Who Gets the Family Pets After a Divorce
For many people, pets are like part of the family. However, they are not treated that way in a divorce. The law in Pennsylvania, as in most states, doesn’t provide for awarding pet custody or visitation. Pets are considered personal property subject to equitable distribution. That means a judge will grant ownership of the… Read More »
How a Divorce May Affect Your Credit Score
A divorce doesn’t have an automatic or direct impact on your credit score. It won’t appear on your credit report, and no debts or judgments between you and your spouse will be listed either. However, divorce involves property division, which is likely to mean changes to your score. This is especially true if one spouse… Read More »
The Importance of Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Estate planning may not be high on your list of priorities as you go through a divorce and its aftermath. However, divorce alters personal and legal relationships in ways that can affect how you wish your property to be treated in the event of your disability or death. It’s critical to review and update… Read More »
Who Claims the Dependency Exemptions for the Children After a Divorce?
One of the financial issues surrounding a divorce or legal separation concerns which of the parents gets to claim the children as dependents for tax purposes. While recent changes to federal law have eliminated the dollar value of the dependency exemption, it is still necessary to claim the exemption in order to qualify for other… Read More »
Special Issues Facing Pennsylvania Couples in High-Net-Worth Divorces
Divorces between wealthy Pennsylvania couples may develop into complicated and lengthy proceedings. Spouses with valuable and diverse assets will face issues unlike those that arise in a typical divorce, chiefly concerning the identification and valuation of property for purposes of equitable distribution. High-net-worth divorces often involve complex assets, such as multiple real estate interests, pension… Read More »
What to Think About When Filing for Divorce
Making the decision that a divorce is necessary or desirable is not done lightly. It has probably taken you a great deal of time and considerable anguish to get to that point. However, even more decision-making and careful preparation lie ahead. There are basic steps that you should take at the onset of the divorce… Read More »
Filing Taxes When Your Divorce Is Not Yet Final
As if getting divorced weren’t already difficult enough, there is the issue of taxes to think about. The end of your marriage also alters your relationship with the Internal Revenue Service, and this requires careful decision-making. Some of the tax choices can be made on your own, while others will require communicating with you soon-to-be… Read More »
Who Pays for a Child’s Private Schooling and Extracurricular Activities?
When parents get divorced, Pennsylvania law has specific guidelines that judges use to determine how much child support should be paid. But the guidelines are designed only to calculate costs of food, clothing, shelter, health care and other essentials. When extraordinary expenses arise that are outside the scope of basic child-rearing, the court must decide… Read More »
What Happens if Parents with Joint Custody Live in Different School Districts?
Pennsylvania family courts follow the public policy that it is in children’s best interests to have both parents involved in their upbringing. As a result, joint physical custody arrangements are very common. While cooperation is the ideal, there may be complications. For example, what happens when the parents live in different school districts and can’t… Read More »
How a Parent’s Medical Marijuana Card May Affect Child Custody
One of the newest frontiers in Pennsylvania family law is how a parent’s legal medical marijuana use can impact child custody. Before the passage of the Medical Marijuana Act in 2016, a parent who used marijuana faced an uphill battle when it came to custody. But now, custody determinations have become more complicated. Two things,… Read More »