More and more common is the use of Pre-Nuptial Agreements. These are agreements, negotiated and signed before marriage, when parties have assets or debts they wish to address before their wedding. Often, a party (and often both parties) is coming into a marriage owning a business, a house, or having money in a retirement or
You are at a crossroads….you or your patient/client have decided that it makes sense to mediate your Family Law matter rather than litigate it. However, the question then becomes: How do I select the mediator. After all, selecting your Mediator is a big decision. This is the person who will guide you and your spouse
Many of you were in the midst of Court proceedings, whether in a Custody matter, a Divorce (division of property) or a Support/Alimony/APL matter. Then… BANG: Courts were closed and there is now no access to Justice. Not only are Court’s closed, but there is no real end in sight. Simply put, we just don’t
As the excitement of the wedding day approaches and the happy couple is attending to all of the details of the approaching happy day, nothing can put the brakes on that growing momentum like one party announcing: “Sweetheart, I think we need to talk about a Pre-Nup.” Certainly, the need for the Pre-Nuptial Agreement is
Now that Courts have reopened in Family Courts across Pennsylvania, each County is scheduling their cases as each County sees fit. Some counties Court appearances are substantially in person; some counties are substantially virtual. However, it is safe to say that all counties scheduling has been adversely affected by Covid. There is another way. We
In today’s society, with divorce being so prevalent, the need to consider the Pre-Marital or Pre-Nuptial Agreement is more and more relevant. The “psychological hurdle” I mention is the responsive comment, by an intended spouse, to the suggestion that the other party to the future marriage wishes to have a Pre-Marital Agreement drafted. What is
In keeping with other States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by the stroke of Governor Tom Wolf’s pen, signed into law the Pennsylvania Collaborative Law Act, on June 28, 2018. This action by the Governor served to recognize the validity of this alternative divorce process. Collaborative Law is an alternative to both a Mediation process and
There’s a New Sheriff in town, and that Sheriff is a hybrid. Traditionally, people contemplating Divorce had one choice: each side hires a Family Lawyer and they begin the arduous, expensive, exhausting and sometimes pointless process of litigating Custody, Support, Alimony, Division of Property, etc. in a courtroom setting. This can serve to increase hostility
Tools to Help Achieve and Maintain Neutrality By Lee A. Schwartz and Carolyn M. Zack As family lawyers, we practice the art of civil litigation as we would engage in battle. We burnish the armor of our client’s cause, shore up weak links with creative theories, root out weak-nesses in the opposition’s lines of defense
