New Rule effective April 10, 2019 changes the Notice and Order regarding Protection Orders in Pennsylvania. The new Order states a Protection Order entered by the Court may be considered in subsequent proceedings under the Child Protective Services Law. The new Order also addresses Contempt sanctions of fines of to $1,000 and/or six months in jail, and the right to call witnesses on the defendant’s behalf, including subpoenaing witnesses to...

Child Custody Vacation Planning by John Zurzola, Partner at Weber Gallagher’s Family Law Group The holidays have come and gone and, believe it or not, Spring Break and Summer Vacation are right around the corner.  In families with separated or divorced parents that can’t get along, or even in blended families where the level of contention is manageable, vacation planning is an absolute necessity. Families that are operating (or should...

Jeff Bezos and the Billion Dollar Divorce By Donna Marcus, Associate in the Weber Gallagher Family Law Group   Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and his wife, MacKkenzie have decided to divorce after 25 years of marriage.  Bezos founded Amazon about a year after the couple wed.  MacKenzie is successful in her own right as a novelist.  Her financial success pales in comparison to that of her husband, though, who is reportedly worth $137 billion. ...

Beginning March 1, 2019 important new Rules go into effect regarding Parent Coordination. The new Rules implement specific guidelines who may be a parent coordinator as well as the necessary training. The new Rule also addresses the role of the parent coordinator and addresses specific issues a parent coordinator may and may not address with the parties in a custody action. More importantly, the parties to a custody action may not utilize a...

Effective January 1, 2019 Pennsylvania is implementing new Support Guidelines. Important issues which are addressed by the new Guidelines include the tax treatment of alimony pendent lite and alimony, new formulas for spousal support, alimony pendent lite, and alimony and new formulas for high income child support cases. For a complete discussion of the new Guidelines in Pennsylvania please see: http://tinyurl.com/ya3mb3mq ...

New Year, New You! By Skip Persick, Partner of Weber Gallagher’s Family Law Group I have some theories on why, but the busiest time of the year for family law attorneys is the first week of the new year.  The next busiest is the rest of January and right around Labor Day when school starts.  Talk to any family law attorney and they will tell you the same thing, there is something to the so-called January Rush. I have never seen any...