by Karen UlmerPennsylvania does not have a statute in place as it relates to surrogacy, however, case law has upheld a surrogacy contract. There are two types of surrogacy. A traditional surrogacy is where the carrier has a genetic relationship with the child. For example, the carrier’s eggs are used along with a sperm donor. A gestational […]
Divorce and Deferred CompensationApril 29, 2026 - 12:41 pm
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Pets in DivorceApril 8, 2026 - 11:23 am
Child Support Awareness Month
August is National Child Support Awareness Month. President Clinton began the month of recognition in 1995 as part of his welfare reform agenda. The goal was to improve the collection of child support payments by widening the use of sanctions including wage garnishment and suspending driver’s licenses and passports for parents with child support arrears. […]
Divorced With Children: Issues You Need to Consider
If you are seeking a divorce and you and your current spouse are parents you need to lay the foundation for a happy and healthy future for yourself and your children. When divorcing there are both emotional and financial issues to consider. Issues surrounding children can be extremely contentious during a divorce, but a skilled […]
Enforcement of Support Orders
There are many options available to ensure support payments are being made. Income withholding is standard with most support orders. This will allow the support payments to be deducted directly from the payor’s income. Domestic Relations will send an income withholding order to the employer for implementation. If there is upwards of a fifteen (15) […]
Partition of Real Property
A partition action is a legal proceeding to divide property amongst unmarried individuals that cannot agree what to do with the property. Pennsylvania partition actions are governed by Rules 1551 – 1574 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. There are generally only two options in a partition action. The parties can physically split the property, […]
Guardianship of the estate of a minor vs. estate of a person
There are two types of guardianship for minors: guardian of the person and guardian of the estate. Guardian of the person is necessary when a minor does not have a parent to make decisions on their behalf. For guardian of the person, the guardian must be a responsible adult who is willing to take care […]
Pennsylvania Surrogacy
Pennsylvania does not have a statute in place as it relates to surrogacy, however, case law has upheld a surrogacy contract. There are two types of surrogacy. A traditional surrogacy is where the carrier has a genetic relationship with the child. For example, the carrier’s eggs are used along with a sperm donor. A gestational […]
Updates to Rules of Civil Procedure
Several updates are being made to the rules as it relates to family law matters. Rule 1915.11, which addresses the appointment of an attorney for a child for a custody matter, now permits the court to apportion the costs for an attorney appointed for a child as the court deems appropriate. Rule 1915.15 will be […]
How Do I Enforce a Custody Agreement in a Divorce Settlement?
When we work with you on your divorce, your divorce settlement agreement will contain all the important issues facing you and your spouse including who has what type of custody. If your relationship breaks down and one party refuses to recognize the other parent’s custody rights, the aggrieved parent can try to have the agreement […]
Two Year Separation Divorce
To move forward with a no-fault divorce in Pennsylvania, the parties need only allege an “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage” and either consent to the divorce after a 90-day period or establish 2-year separation. A no-fault divorce can also be obtained if one of the spouses is institutionalized for a period of 18 months provided […]
Third Party Custody Rights
Parties other than parents and grandparents may be able to file for custody. Section 5324 of the Pennsylvania Domestic Relations laws discusses standing for any form of custody. A person who stands in loco parentis may be able to obtain custody. In loco parentis status has been interpreted to mean an assumption of parental status […]