Counseling for Children

Counseling may be a useful resource for children dealing with changes in family status due to divorce or separation. It can serve as a safe place for children to discuss and process their feelings. It is not uncommon for children to be reluctant to discuss their feelings with their parents. Both parents will need to agree to counseling unless one parent has sole legal custody. A parent can petition the court for an Order regarding counseling if they believe it is necessary and they are unable to get the other parent’s consent.

Family counseling may serve to repair a relationship between a parent and child that has been damaged. It may also prove useful where a parent is looking to rebuild a relationship after a period of missed time with the child. Also known as reunification counseling, its goal is to reintroduce and/or reinforce the relationship between a parent and their child. Reunification counseling can be viewed as a more collaborative approach to re-establishing a relationship as opposed to just having the court force certain periods of visitation when the child may not be willing or emotionally ready. This is especially true when dealing with teenagers. It is the role of the reunification therapist to facilitate the process with the end goal of repairing the relationship going forward. If you are facing a high conflict divorce or separation or have been inactive in your child’s life for a certain period of time and feel you may need help rebuilding the relationship, consider counseling as an option.

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Health Insurance in Divorce

One frequent question in the context of divorce is what will happen to health insurance coverage. Generally, a spouse should not drop the other spouse while a divorce is pending. Health insurance is often addressed in the context of support and spouses are obligated to provide support for each other during the marriage. A support order can mandate a spouse to continue to provide health insurance. The obligation to carry health insurance for the other spouse ends at the entry of the final divorce decree. If you are unable to obtain alternate health insurance on your own right away you can look into COBRA coverage but this can be very expensive. More affordable options may be available on the healthcare marketplace.

If there are children between the parties, the children may remain under the health insurance coverage presently provided. There may be an adjustment to any child support award based on who is paying the premiums on the health insurance for the children. Child support will end when the child is eighteen or graduates high school, whichever is later. After court-ordered child support ends there is no longer a requirement for the parents to share the cost of the child’s health insurance however a parent may elect to continue to provide coverage for the child up until the maximum age of 26. Parties with private agreements can contract to continue to share this cost.

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Steps to take before moving with children

In a custody matter, court approval or permission of the parent is required prior to a relocation. A relocation is defined as any move that will substantially interfere with the custodial rights of the other parent. The specific details of your existing custody schedule are relevant in determining if any contemplated move would cause a substantial interference. Moving to a different school district is not necessarily a relocation though it triggers legal custody issues. Similarly, moving to a different state may not necessarily count as a relocation. 23 Pa CS 5337 lays out the specific procedures to be followed in the event of a proposed relocation which will interrupt the existing arrangements. First, the party seeking relocation should give 60 days notice to the other parent by certified mail, return receipt requested. If not possible to give 60 days notice, notice should be given within 10 days of becoming aware of the relocation.

The notice of relocation should include as much information as possible regarding the new address including names and ages of individuals who will be residing there, home telephone number, name of new school district and school, and date of proposed relocation. A counter-affidavit should also be supplied with the notice giving the other party the opportunity to object to the relocation. If notice is properly given and no objection is received, it is presumed the other parent consents to the relocation. The party seeking relocation would simply need to file a petition for confirmation of relocation. If the other parent objects, a hearing would need to be held prior to the relocation where the court would consider if the relocation will serve the best interest of the children.

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Immigration Considerations

Family-based immigration is one of the more common pathways to legal residence in the United States. It is important to understand how family law actions may affect immigration status. Marriage to a US citizen potentially creates an opportunity for a noncitizen to achieve residence. The marriage must first be valid under state law as with any other marriage, but also must pass the criteria of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Marriage fraud, marriage for the sole purpose of obtaining residence, is a serious concern. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) will make inquiries into whether there is a bona fide marriage. Additionally, permanent residence is not an option unless the parties have been married for at least two years.

Just as marriage creates an opportunity for residence, divorce can end eligibility for immigration benefits. This is particularly true if the divorce or legal separation occurs prior to the spousal visa being finalized. Divorce may also draw the attention of the CIS to ensure the marriage was bona fide in the first place. If there were children born of the relationship, look into whether the foreign country would recognize a U.S. custody order if one of the parties will be returning to their native county. Federal law governs how the immigration process works whereas family law is governed by state law. Additionally, family law actions do not require any type of legal US citizenship by the parties. Instead, sufficient residency within the jurisdiction of the local court is generally all that is required for anyone to bring a family law action. It is important to consult with an immigration attorney regarding how family law issues may impact your immigration status.

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Filing Fees

Most family law actions that will be filed include a filing fee for the initial complaint or pleading. A part of these filing fees go to fund the Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund (CTF). This fund has received approximately $40 million dollars from family law filing fees since inception. The initiative of the CTF is to prevent child abuse and neglect across the state. The main emphasis of CTF is to put prevention programs in place to decrease child abuse and neglect overall. The CTF grants its money to local community programs with the same initiatives. It is up to the respective community programs to apply with CTF to see if they are eligible for a grant. Currently, upwards of 280 community based programs across the state have received grants to aid in the fight against child abuse and neglect.

The PA CTF established a supporting organization, “Friends of the Children’s Trust Fund.” The goal of this supporting organization is to raise additional awareness and financial support for the mission of the CTF. The fund focuses on prevention because of the negative, and potentially long-term, impacts of abuse and neglect. Specifically, abuse and neglect is related to poor physical, mental, and emotional health, social difficulties and behavioral problems. There is also a corresponding economic impact in dealing with the aftermath of abuse and neglect making an even greater case for prevention as opposed to reaction. Many other states have similar funds to aid in the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment.

Please visit pactf.org for more information on the Children’s Trust Fund in Pennsylvania.

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Steps to Take Post-Divorce

Receipt of the divorce decree does not necessarily mean nothing else needs to be done. In a case with a marital residence, the parties may still need to sell the house or one party may have a certain window for refinancing the property and buying the other party out. If you are a party retaining a marital residence by agreement or court order, you can change the locks once the property is formerly awarded to you. The party vacating the residence should be sure to change their address with the post office and update other accounts accordingly. In a case where retirement benefits are being split, the parties may need a qualified domestic relations order or QDRO for short.

A QDRO is a document used to rollover a portion of one party’s retirement plan/benefit to the other party. The benefit of a QDRO is that it allows a tax-free transfer of the funds from one party to their new or soon-to-be ex-spouse. The receiving spouse would then be taxed as they withdraw the money as the tax laws provide. The QDRO ultimately needs to be signed by both parties and the court prior to being sent to the plan administrator for implementation.

You will benefit from having an attorney review the terms of the QDRO before signing off on it and submitting it to the plan. If you have been paying support to your spouse, you should notify Domestic Relations if the support is ending or if it is converting to alimony. If switching to alimony, you should confirm the amount if there is any change from an existing charging order. You should also notify Domestic Relations of the term of the alimony.

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Short Sale vs Foreclosure

A short sale is an alternative to foreclosure if you have fallen behind on payments on your home. In the instance of a short sale the lender allows the home to be sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage. This is because it is usually less of a loss for the lender to allow a short sale than to let the home go into foreclosure. Foreclosure is when the lender repossesses the home due to failure to pay the mortgage. The lender often stands to lose even more money in providing for the upkeep of the home on a monthly basis and paying the taxes in a foreclosure situation. Another benefit of a short sale is that it is usually less damaging to the credit of the seller as compared to a foreclosure. A seller should try to negotiate with the lender to minimize damage to their credit rating as part of the sale agreement.

To be eligible for a short sale, the seller must be behind on payments due to financial hardship. Proof of this hardship must be established by supplying tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and list of monthly expenses. A short sale is not likely to occur if the seller is already in bankruptcy as a short sale is considered a prohibited collection activity. The short sale process can move quickly if it is pre-approved by the lender for a certain amount. It is a good idea to work with a real estate agent or attorney to help negotiate the short sale process between the lender and potential buyer and ensure a timely sale. The short sale process can become complicated if there is more than one lender. Second mortgages or home equity lines can muddy the short sale process especially since secondary lenders stand to take the biggest loss on a short sale and all the lenders need to be in agreement with the terms for sale.

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