Weber Gallagher Family Law Update-April

04.03.18

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Weber Gallagher Family Law Update

Investments and Retirement Planning Post- and Pre- Divorce

Christian Badali

Carolyn R. Mirabile

Carolyn R. Mirabile authored "Investments and Retirement Planning Post- and Pre- Divorce" for the Legal Intelligencer. Many financial dependent spouses are not prepared to understand their future financial needs. As the financially dependent spouse how do you navigate the divorce process? Read the entire article here.


 
   

What is Marital Property?

Lynne Z. Gold

Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin

When parties get divorced, one of the things they are always most surprised about is what power the court has as to the division of their property. Under the Pennsylvania Divorce Code, the Court has the power to divide what is called "marital" property. Marital property is defined in the Code as all property acquired during marriage except for certain things such as inheritances and gifts from outside persons. It also includes the increase in value of the pre-marital property during the marriage. Read more here.


 

One Year Separation Divorces are Happening

James Nixon

John Zurzola

Since the implementation of the Divorce Code in the 1980s which permitted "No Fault Divorces" in Pennsylvania, separating parties had to either consent to a divorce or be made to endure a two year period from the date that they separated in order to move their cases forward and obtain a Divorce Decree. That all changed in 2016 when the Pennsylvania Divorce Code and Rules were amended to replace the two year separation period for contested divorces with a one year period of separation. Essentially, the law stated that if your separation began AFTER December 5, 2016, and you then filed for divorce, your waiting period in contested cases is shortened to one year before you can petition the court for your divorce decree or for the economic issues in your case can be heard. Just after last December, 2017, Weber Gallagher Family Lawyers began petitioning the courts to have certain of our clients who separated after December, 2016 divorced as soon as possible. Needless to say, the change in the law combined with our commitment to move our clients' cases to conclusion has resulted in a real shift in how long it can take to get divorced and how costly the process has to be. Should you have any questions on whether you can take advantage of a "One Year Separation Divorce" or if your matter can proceed as an uncontested case that might be able to resolved even sooner than one year, call us at 610-272-5555 and ask to speak to a Weber Gallagher Family Law attorney today.


 

New Technology Helps Divorced Parents Manage Schedules

Daniel Clifford

Donna Marcus

Going through the process of a divorce involves a multitude of issues including dividing assets, paying support and establishing a custody schedule when there are children involved. Once the divorce is final, some of these issues may be ongoing and can potentially cause strife for years to come. This is particularly true when divorced parents are attempting to manage such things as children's activity schedules and doctor appointments. Keeping the other parent informed of children's appointments and last minute scheduling changes can be arduous. Failing to do so can be a downright recipe for disaster; this is especially true if the parents already struggle with communication. Luckily, technology has a solution. Thanks to parent sharing apps, it's now easier than ever for both parents to be on the same page. OurFamilyWizard, 2Houses, and SquareHub are just a few of the available apps that can help ease the exchange of information between divorced parents, thereby minimizing both the task of notifying the other parent and the potential for hurt and resentment if there is no notification. In addition to managing schedules, several of these apps also help keep track of things such as children's medical information and allow payments to be made through the app for child support, extracurricular activities, etc. Having a tool like these family sharing apps to assist divorced parents in keeping each other informed is likely to make for a more amicable situation for the parents and, in turn, make for a happier child.


 

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