If you have children and have previously been through the custody process with the Court it is likely that it resulted with a Court Order. A Court Order for custody is issued in a Custody proceeding. This Order will direct which parent has legal and physical custody. Legal Custody is the right to make decisions for your child. Decisions such as where they go to school, what doctors they see, if they are involved in any religious activities would all fall under legal custody. The Custody Order will specify if one parent has sole legal custody or if legal custody is shared. If parents have shared legal custody they must consult each other about decisions in their children’s lives. A Custody Order will also direct who has physical custody. Physical custody is who the children are physical with. An Order could direct that one parent has sole physical custody or that the physical custody is shared. If the physical custody is shared the Order will probably also set out a schedule as to when the children are with each parent.

If you have a Custody Order and circumstances have changed or new developments have occurred you might think that the Order needs to be changed because the situation has. That is ok. Custody is always modifiable. If you have a Custody Order and you are seeking it to be changed we can help you with that. We would file a Modification of Custody requesting that the Custody be modified. If you are in Pennsylvania and have a Custody Order that you need to have changed, please call our office for a free 15 minute consultation to discuss your options.

It has been 30-60 days since an anonymous complaint was made on the Child Line accusing you of child abuse. The investigation has been completed and a report issued. What does that report say? Children and Youth/DHS will send a letter giving the finding and explaining what it means. The letter will contain one of three results. These are Unfounded, Indicated, or Founded. What do each of them mean.

An Unfounded report is defined as any report that is not Indicated or Founded. That means that there is no proof that any actions of the accused person rose to the level of child abuse as defined in the Child Protective Service statutes.

An Indicated report is one where there is substantial evidence that an action of the accused rose to the level of child abuse based on available medical evidence, a child protective service investigation, or an admission of the alleged abuser. Typically this will be a one time act with no on going threat to the child.

A Founded report is one involving a perpetrator that is made pursuant to this chapter, if any of the following applies:

(1) There has been a judicial adjudication based on a finding that a child who is a subject of the report has been abused and the adjudication involves the same factual circumstances involved in the allegation of child abuse.

(2) There has been an acceptance into an accelerated rehabilitative disposition program and the reason for the acceptance involves the same factual circumstances involved in the allegation of child abuse.

(3) There has been a consent decree entered in a juvenile proceeding that involves the same factual circumstances.

(4) A final protection from abuse order has been granted when the child who is a subject of the report is one of the individuals protected under the protection from abuse order.

Typically, this means there is an ongoing threat of abuse and the Court has stepped in to declare the child(ren) dependent and they must be removed from the abuse perpetrator’s presence.

Abuse can occur in several forms both physical, mental and emotional. If you find yourself in an abusive relationship you should know that there is help,. Getting out of an emotional relationship can sound a lot easier than it might seem. You might have fears that if you leave they will come after you. You could fear for your physical and mental safety. There are actions you can take to protect yourself. In Pennsylvania you can file for a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA). The process of filing for PFA is filling out the paperwork and then likely you will talk to a Judge and a temporary order will be granted. After the temporary is granted then a hearing is scheduled in front of Judge to see if the temporary needs to be extended or if a final order needs to be put in place.

Even if you do get a PFA however, you might have concerns that your abuser will not comply with the order. Do you have any recourse and if so what would that be? If someone violates a PFA Order they can be found in contempt of the Order. If they are found in contempt the result could be that the order is extended for a longer period of time, they could face fines, or they might be incarcerated. The result will depend on how serious the contempt violation was. If you are in Bucks County and are in an abusive relationship know that you do not and should not stay. There are ways of protecting yourself so that you can get out and start living your life safely. If you find yourself in this type of scary situation please contact our firm today for assistance.

If you have children, and are going through a divorce or separation a major thought on your mind is probably what is going to happen with the kids? Who is going to get custody? How is custody decided? What are the different types of custody schedules? These are all very valid and important questions and I know these thoughts can cause anxiety, fear and worry as well. This will give you a little overview on how custody in Pennsylvania is decided to inform you of more information and try and answer some of your questions.

There are several factors that the courts in Pennsylvania consider when deciding on custody. The standard the court uses to determine overall is the best interest of the child. The court will always consider what is in the best interest of the child when determining custody. Using the standard of the best interest of the child there are 16 factors that the court will look to when trying to determine custody. The following are the 16 factors the court will use look to:

  • Which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and another party.
    • They will look which parent actively promotes a relationship with the other parent. The courts do not like to see that one parent is preventing or intentionally hurting the relationship between the other parent and child.
  • The present and past abuse committed by a party or member of the party’s household, whether there is a continued risk of harm to the child or an abused party and which party can better provide adequate physical safeguards and supervision of the child.
  • The parental duties performed by each party on behalf of the child.
    • They will look at who takes them to school, helps with homework, schedules and takes them to doctor’s appointments. Basically what the parties do for parental duties.
  • The need for stability and continuity in the child’s education, family life, and community life.
  • The availability of extended family.
  • The child’s sibling relationships.
  • The well reasoned preference of the child.
    • Depending on the child’s age and maturity a Court may consider their opinion as part of the decision. The decision will not solely be based on the opinion or preference of the child but could be considered.
  • The attempts of a parent to turn the child against the other parent, except in the cases of domestic violence where reasonable safety measures are necessary to protect the child from harm.
  • Which party is more likely to maintain a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child adequate for the child’s emotional needs.
  • Which party is more likely to attend to the daily physical, emotional, developmental, educational and special needs of the child.
  • The proximity of the residences of the parties.
  • Each party’s availability to care for the child or ability to make appropriate child care arrangements.
  • The level of conflict between the parties and the willingness and abilities of the parties to cooperate with one another. A party’s effort to protect a child from abuse by another party is not evidence of unwillingness or inability to cooperate with that party.
  • The history of drug or alcohol abuse of a party or member’s of a party’s household.
  • The mental and physical condition of a party or member of party’s household.
  • Any other relevant factors.
    • The Court will consider any other relevant factors in order to determine what is in the best interest of the child.

These sixteen factors are what the Court considers when determining custody of a minor child. At a hearing evidence is presented and a Judge will consider that evidence with these sixteen factors. If you find yourself in a custody situation in Bucks County and need representation please call our firm today to schedule your free consultation.