A strange topic until you examine the law and the data. Americans spend about $140 billion dollars a year supporting pets. Of our 90 million households 66% have a pet. More than 33% have more than one. Average cost for
Latest from Pennsylvania Divorce and Domestic Relations Blog - Page 3
A Decade Old Student Loan Mess Unfolds
In the past 20 years student loan debt has tripled to reach $1.78 trillion. The average debt is now $38,000. Yet, this corner of the finance world remains little understood by those doing the borrowing. Meanwhile it’s often a big
Terms of Estrangement; Parents and their Adult Kids.
The last few weeks have brought the news that three of the kids born or adopted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have filed petitions to drop Pitt from their names. In recent years I have spoken with former clients
When Abuse Allegations Confront Economic Reality
On March 9 of this year Philadelphia police were summoned to a residence to quell a violent domestic disturbance. There, they encountered two women who allegedly had been struck in the face, choked and knocked to the ground. The assailant
Should Child Custody Orders Address Social Media and Other OnLine “Access” Issues?
If you have been reading the news lately governments across the globe are taking up the issue of when and how children should have computer access to an increasingly perilous cyberworld. The danger could not be more clearly cast than
Courts are Increasingly Tasked to Perform without the “Concertmaster.”
For most of my career I litigated in courtrooms populated by a judge, two litigants, two lawyers and a person dubbed the “court reporter” or “stenographer.” That person’s job was to record on paper the circus that hearings can become
The Emerging “Workforce Trigger” Clause in Prenuptials
Perhaps because couples are marrying later and perhaps because of the times, we are reading lots these days about demand for prenups. As we have noted, the classic prenuptial is “Yours is yours and mine is mine unless we make
Criminal Charges Won’t Delay a Protection from Abuse Case.
Mills v. Dunham, decided on July 14 answers a procedural question that merited a published opinion because the issue is one that recurs every day.
Two domestic partners get into a squabble that involves violence or threats of it. Cops
Is that Pic of Your Abuse Real?
In most counties, courts set aside part of a day each week to process trials of claims for Protection from Abuse. These trials are time sensitive as the law requires they be tried within 10 days of filing. 23 Pa.C.S.
Custody Wars 2026: Is this the Year 50/50 Prevails?
The current issue of the Pennsylvania Lawyer ( a state bar association magazine) features attorney Mark Momjian’s article highlighting the raging debate over Representative Jamie Flick’s House Bill 1499. The bill would presume equally shared physical custody arrangements rather than