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Imagine fearing your ex might take your child across state lines — or worse, out of the country — in violation of your child custody or visitation agreement. The Uniform Child Abduction and Prevention Act (UCAPA) enables a...

Co-parenting after a divorce is no easy task, and it can be a process of constant give-and-take with your former spouse on everything from bedtimes to holiday plans. But there might be times when you’re not willing to...

Drug abuse is a serious problem in Pennsylvania and across the country. When a person suspects their ex of abusing drugs and is worried for their child’s safety, they can ask a Pennsylvania family court judge to order a drug...

Who gets custody when mom and dad are underage? This complicated scenario often plays out with teen pregnancy because they’re unintended and leave the new parents, and new grandparents, scrambling for the best custody...

Child custody exchanges are an important part of co-parenting when the parents don’t live together. They help maintain and build relationships between the child and each parent, and distribute responsibility for caring for...

It’s no secret that divorce is usually difficult for children, particularly older teens. Youths around 16, 17, and 18 are just beginning to gain independence and make their own choices. Divorce, and their lack of control...

Developing a custody agreement is a high-priority issue for most divorcing parents. Fortunately, parents don’t have to get courts involved to make a custody plan. Pennsylvania courts encourage parents to fashion their own...

If you’ve had a child with your partner but never married, you may have concerns about your custody rights upon a breakup. Many people assume that an unmarried mother in Pennsylvania automatically gets custody, but that is...

If you’re embroiled in a custody battle, you know how stressful—and expensive—it can be. You may also feel the best person to tell your side of the story is you. Pro Se, meaning to argue on one’s behalf, can be an...

Child custody is inevitably the most concerning and emotional issue when parents divorce. In virtually all states, including Pennsylvania, the parties must determine whether one parent will have custody of the child or if both...

Every problem in our life has a root cause, but we rarely take the time to pull up the root and take a look. We wonder why our relationships keep failing, or why we don’t have the relationship with our children that we once...

Although we’re hopefully over the worst of the COVID–19 pandemic, the virus hasn’t gone away. As restrictions ease, everyone will have different opinions about how to live alongside COVID-19 safely, which raises a...

When one parent has physical custody, visitation allows the other parent to build a loving, healthy relationship with their kids. If you’re planning your visitation this summer, though, you might be wondering how to make the...

The CDC reports over 630,000 people got divorced or had their marriages annulled in 2020. The CDC data includes same-sex divorces, and although Pennsylvania law governing divorce is applied the same to all marriages, same-sex...

In November 2021, Jana Russo filed for a temporary protection-from-abuse (PFA) order against her estranged husband, David Russo, Greene County District Attorney. She alleges that Russo has a history of drinking heavily and...

A recent Butler County custody case demonstrates what can happen when a public profile and family law matters converge. In the case, U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell petitioned the court for a gag order to stop his wife and her...

When the television series Modern Family premiered in 2009, it was one of the first times blended families were depicted realistically—albeit humorously –in all their messy glory. There is no strict legal definition of a...

To have in loco parentis standing over a child essentially means that you’re acting in the place of a parent. If you have this status, you can seek child custody – but is there a difference between “caregiving” or...

Child custody and visitation issues can be contentious, emotional, and divisive. When two parents cannot agree on a custody arrangement, the Pennsylvania courts decide for them, taking the best interests of the child into account....

The majority of child custody exchanges go smoothly. The parents are looking out for the best interests of their children, even if they personally can’t stand one another. There are times when custody exchanges can get...