In Pennsylvania, the danger of domestic violence is well understood. The legal system prioritizes the protection of victims through initiatives such as the Protection from Abuse Order (PFA). A PFA is a restraining order granted to a person who alleges they are a victim of domestic violence perpet...

A June 11, 2024, news article in the Philadelphia Tribune, written by staff writer Sherry Stone, spotlighted the issue of increasing elder abuse in the form of financial fraud in Pennsylvania based on reports from the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA). There were several forms of financial...

Not everyone is fortunate enough to feel safe with their family. Jillian Howard of Noble, OK, is one such person. She estimates that she was about seven or eight years old the first time her father beat her. Now, she is 30 years old and has a son of her own, but she still lives in fear of her fa...

If you are newly divorced, in the middle of a divorce, or separated from your spouse, the holidays during November and December can feel like a stressful marathon. Your life has changed dramatically, and it is important to acknowledge that your previous holiday routines and traditions may not be ...

Sexual abuse victims considering filing a civil lawsuit in Pennsylvania against those responsible for the abuse now have more time to bring a claim than victims in previous decades. In 2019, Pennsylvania amended its statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases. Under the new law, victims of chil...

Abuse survivors in Montgomery County, PA, just got an extra helping hand: the Hope Card. This card condenses vital information from a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order into a small, credit card-sized format, making it easier for domestic violence survivors to carry and present to law enforcement....

In 2018, 7-year-old Kayden Mancuso was murdered by her biological father, Jeffrey Mancuso, during a court-ordered visit despite his known mental health issues and history of violence. The court granted Mancuso unsupervised visits contingent on him seeking mental health treatment, disregarding his...

An online entertainment news source reported that Robyn Kass-Gerji announced that she would no longer compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant due to threats she received from a fellow contestant. She officially resigned as “ Miss Susquehanna Valley 2024” due to bullying and death threats from an...

No one going through a divorce and custody negotiations needs to be told that it's a stressful, sometimes drawn-out process with emotions typically running high on both sides. But it may take some introspection to recognize the ways you yourself may be sabotaging your case. If you have children ...

Alexis Smith used her platform at the awards ceremony for Miss Kansas on June 8, 2024, to publicly call out domestic violence and courageously mention that her abuser was seated in the audience. The acceptance speech was published by Live Now Fox on July 30, 2024. Ms. Smith later continued her fo...

Most of us watch movies to escape from reality. We watch to be entertained and rarely to fact-check. Over the summer, a movie billed as a romcom but featuring domestic violence as a central plot point attracted attention. Beyond the dispute between the film's director and one of its stars, It En...

On August 13, 2024, Kayden's Law went into effect in Pennsylvania, legislation that makes critical changes to the state's child custody laws. The law is named after seven-year-old Kayden Mancuso, who died during a court-ordered visit with her father. Her tragic death highlighted the shortcomings ...

It is no secret that custody battles come with tremendous emotional stress and legal complexity. In the throes of divorce proceedings and the custody battles that often follow, many parents are anxious to make any mistake that might impact child custody. If you are concerned that your fault in a ...

Custody can get complicated, especially when the safety of a child is in question. In some cases, judges order that one parent has full custody while the other is allowed to see the child on a schedule known as visitation. But when one parent's fitness is in doubt, a judge may require that those...

If you are co-parenting with a former spouse or partner, you already know the juggling act that complying with the schedule in a child custody order can be. Vacations, car trouble, illnesses, and work demands are just some of the factors that can add another ball to the set you already have in th...

A 2021 jailhouse interview by journalist Kelsey Christenson with TikTok creator Ali Abulaban prior to his trial was summarized by an online true crime website, oxygen.com. The details of the crime involved Ali's arrest for the double murder of his wife Ana and her friend Rayburn Barron. Ali was k...

August is Child Support Month, a time when parents in Pennsylvania face the burden of back-to-school expenses. The cost of raising children is significant, and the needs of a new school year are endless—clothes, backpacks, supplies, extracurricular activities, fees, and costs. Child support, ther...

After a breakup or divorce, many Pennsylvania parents find that a co-parenting arrangement is essential to a healthy family life. Shared custody arrangements are increasingly common in the US and reflect changing ideas on divorce and co-parenting. Although co-parenting can be challenging, it beco...

Domestic violence is a serious problem that often requires victims to seek help from the police. Unfortunately, many cities have been forced to cut budgets for police and law enforcement, and Pennsylvania cities are no exception. In April of 2024, Pittsburgh Police announced that they would no lo...

Friend Murdered After Coming to Help If a domestic violence incident unfolds, call on the protection of the law before you call your mama. Lives changed and perished in Philadelphia recently when a young woman called her mother and sisters for help during a heated argument with her boyfriend, Ki...

Study after study has shown that children living in a home where domestic violence is taking place suffer both short-term and long-term harm, even in situations where the violence only takes place between the parents. The effects can be seen in children of any age – from pre-school through grade ...

When parents disagree over the legal and/or physical custody of their child--whether during divorce proceedings or between unmarried parents--both parents are usually seeking what they believe is best for their child. However, the process of the custody battle itself can often have detrimental ef...

Factors for Co-Parenting in Pennsylvania Courts In Pennsylvania, courts are required to consider a number of factors in determining the best interests of the child for joint custody purposes in a divorce. These include the level of cooperation between parents, the level of conflict between paren...

What may have started as a fairytale romance doesn't always have a happy ending. Unfortunately, these relationships can lead to devastating domestic violence and abuse, whether physical, mental, or emotional. Domestic violence is a cycle; it will repeat and repeat. You must break the pattern. You...

Celebrity entertainer Tyrese Gibson is suing his ex-wife Norma Mitchell Gibson in court to reduce his child support payments by $25,605.50, which he has already paid for his daughter's private school tuition since it wasn't paid by his ex-wife. To ensure he would be repaid, he petitioned the cour...