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Beware the Pitfalls of Collaborative Divorce

Collaborative Divorce has become the buzzword for couples who want to end their marriage but do not want to have to appear in court to testify. The words "collaborative law" refer to a dispute resolution process in which the parties agree in writing to settle their legal dispute without going to court or even threatening to go to court.

Both attorneys must withdraw from representing their respective clients if either party goes to court to ask a judge to resolve their dispute. Each party must then represent themselves at court or hire a new attorney. Collaborative lawyers tout the process as an all (in court being forced to participate in traumatic and costly litigation) or nothing (the collaborative process) choice. The all-or-nothing approach is misleading, as I will explain later in this article, and promoting the idea that it is less costly than hiring a lawyer and negotiating a fair settlement is untrue in the cases I have seen after the collaborative process failed.

People have consulted me after having terminated a relationship with their collaborative lawyer or after completing the process, signing a Marital Settlement Agreement, and realizing that it is grossly unfair because they were misinformed or intimidated into signing it. In those cases, professional fees exceeded forty thousand ($40,000.00) dollars. I do not consider those cost savings.

Think about what this means and how it affects the parties and the lawyers. First, once they have signed the written contract "participation agreement," had several meetings, and have paid professional fees, the parties hesitate to get a judge involved because they must start from the beginning.

Generally, at least three professionals are at a meeting with the parties. Each party has a lawyer, and there is a mental health professional, called a "collaborative coach." Should it become necessary, which usually is necessary, a financial person is also involved in a four-way meeting, charging their hourly fees simultaneously.

As a collaborative lawyer, my experience with the process is that it begins by requiring each party to take turns reading aloud the entire participation agreement. The process can take an entire meeting.

Next, the parties list everything they will talk about with the three professionals using a whiteboard to memorialize the topics to be covered. An agenda is discussed and drafted before each meeting by the professionals, and notes are generated at the end of each meeting describing what happened. The parties can spend an entire meeting discussing who gets the toaster and the iron and ironing board and other household goods which are the kinds of subjects a judge would not even consider. Remember that the parties are meeting with at least three professionals charging their hourly rates.

When you begin discussing the finances, a financial expert is called to advise you who is present, along with the three other professionals. And suppose you are a person who is not experienced with finances or who has difficulty speaking up for yourself. In that case, you might feel a bit intimidated or even hopeless, a feeling that has been described to me by survivors of the process seeking my representation.

In collaborative, you are supposed to decide what you think is fair. Your collaborative lawyer is not your advocate. They are there to advise. Remember, this process is supposed to be amicable. You are in charge, and both parties are supposed to be honest and disclose everything even though there is no penalty if they are not open and honest. And the costs keep mounting.

I have seen some bad results from both collaborative divorces that did not result in an agreement and one that did result in a grossly unfair agreement. After spending upwards of $40,000, in each of these cases, the parties that could not reach an agreement had to start anew. Their cases were not complicated or unusual.

In the case where an agreement was reached, a woman whose spouse owned a multi-million-dollar business was advised by both the financial expert and her lawyer that there was no value to the business because the income was all based upon the sales generated by the husband. She gave up her entitlement to several million dollars. She signed a marriage settlement agreement. The professional fees that were charged were $44,000.

Mediation previously was considered the way to travel this un-litigious path. But family mediators have no power to force anyone to agree to anything. And they are trained to be unbiased listeners providing both parties with information regarding how the division of property (equitable division) works but not looking to make anyone feel they are taking sides – even if they think a party is lying.

I was the collaborative lawyer on a case for an older woman who had been bullied her entire marriage by her spouse. Another collaborative lawyer criticized me because I would not just sit there and encourage her to speak up when she had privately disclosed to me that she was too intimidated by her spouse to speak freely.

I have had more than 100 hours (about 4 days) of mediation training and mediated for the Allegheny County child custody program and the United States Postage Service. I have also conducted private mediation, many of which failed to settle because one party was intimidated by the other and could not decide or speak up or because one party had more knowledge of the finances than the other. Neither party is permitted to have a third party in the room.

I also trained in collaborative law but usually do not recommend it to my clients unless the contract is modified to permit the collaborative lawyer to continue representing a party if resolution through the collaborative process cannot be achieved. Allowing the collaborative lawyer to continue to represent the client if the case must go through the court takes away the incentive for either the party or the party's lawyer to encourage them to settle for less than what is fair.

If you do not want to litigate, my advice is for both parties to get two experienced family lawyers (not general practitioners) with integrity who will be your advocates and advise you on what is fair and what is not. You want attorneys who are not afraid to speak up on your behalf. A reasonable and fair attorney will be able to refer your spouse to another excellent and fair attorney. It also helps if at least one attorney has the financial expertise to show and explain various alternatives to both parties and the other attorney.

When I present financial reports backed by evidence and easy to understand schedules, the opposing counsel is willing to accept the values. In many instances, once the parties agree to the values of the assets and liabilities in the marital estate, a remote meeting with the judge (called a conciliation) prompts the parties to settle. No trial becomes necessary. Most cases settle. Therefore, it behooves you to have an advocate on your side and not someone who expects you alone to decide what is fair.

Division of marital assets and liabilities can be complex, but everyone has peace of mind when fair values are determined and considered.

50/50 Shared Custody Is the Ideal in Pennsylvania, but It May Not Be Practical for Everyone

The idea of only one parent getting custody of the children after the divorce is an outdated one. Parenting after a divorce is not a contest where one parent wins the children and the other parent loses them. In fact, Pennsylvania parenting plans are very detailed; they give parents a chance to arrive jointly at decisions about every school vacation and every extracurricular activity. Despite this, one or both parents often feel shortchanged by the number of days per year the court grants them to spend with their children. A bill currently under consideration in the Pennsylvania General Assembly proposes to make the equal division of parenting time the default option, but it will still leave it to courts to determine the children’s best interests. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates will help you get the court’s approval for a parenting schedule that works for you and your children.

What Does HB 1397 Do?

Today, most divorce cases involving families with minor children end with the court designating one parent the primary residential parent and granting visitation to the other parent. House Bill 1397 assumes that it is in the best interest of children with divorced parents to spend 50 percent of the time with one parent and the other 50 percent with the other parent. Of course, each parenting plan will be unique, customized however the parents choose, but the goal is for the children to spend substantial time with both parents.

Every Child Custody Situation Is Unique

50/50 timesharing is more practical in some situations than in others. Some parenting plans currently in place divide the parents’ parenting time equally, but circumstances change, and many families end up modifying their parenting plans later on. 50/50 custody works very well for very young children when the parents live near each other and, if both parents work, live near the child’s daycare. Alternating weeks or even transferring the child on Sunday evenings and Wednesday afternoons is not a burden on preschool-aged children.

The older the children are, though, the more complicated 50/50 timesharing becomes. It can be disruptive for children to have to keep track of their textbooks and school-related items in two households, and extracurricular activities on evenings or weekends can take away from the time parents get to spend with their children, even if the children are in their care. Weekdays with Mom and weekends with Dad is such a common parenting plan type for families with school-aged children because so many families find it the easiest to manage. HB 1397 still gives you and your ex-spouse the freedom to decide what works best for your family.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Respects Your Values as a Parent

It is in your children’s best interest to spend time with you on a regular basis, not just on special occasions. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh & Western PA for help with parenting plans. è 412.414.1570

Are Stepsiblings Still Family After a Divorce?

Many children find it even more challenging to adjust to life with a new stepparent and stepsiblings than they do to accept that their parents are getting divorced. As much as you may reassure your children that they now have two real homes instead of one, if there are stepsiblings and younger half-siblings on both sides of the family, your kids might feel like they have nowhere that is really theirs. Over time, though, stepsiblings become family. It is heartbreaking to see your kids lose their relationship with their stepsiblings if you divorce their stepparent. Pennsylvania law recognizes that families take many forms, and the children’s best interest is always the goal of child custody and child support decisions. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh can help you formulate a parenting plan that is conducive to a sibling relationship between your children and their stepsiblings.

Joint Custody and Stepsibling Relationships

If yours is a “my children, your children, and our children” family, then it is in everyone’s interest to draft your parenting plan so that there are times when all the children are in the house at the same time. For example, if the children spend the weekdays with Mom and Stepdad but the weekends with Dad, they should maintain this schedule when Stepsiblings, who spend most of the school year with their mother in another state, spend the summer with Mom and Stepdad (their father) in Pennsylvania. Five days per week for eight weeks will give all the children a chance to form shared memories as a family.

When Blended Families Break Up

Can stepsiblings still be siblings after the parents that connected them to each other get divorced? It depends. If they have half-siblings in common, it is more likely that they will continue to be in each other’s lives, at the very least, seeing each other at their mutual half-siblings’ graduations and weddings. If you and your children’s stepparent were married for a long time, the stepsibling relationship will not simply vanish. The older your children are, the more weight the court gives to their opinions about parenting plans; sometimes teenagers even tell the judge directly how they would like to divide their time between their parents. If your children want to continue to spend time with their stepsiblings, you have the flexibility to include stepsibling visits in the parenting plan.

Remember that parenting plans are eminently customizable. You can include provisions about special occasions that are special to your family, even if they are not public holidays; you can even assign visitation days or transportation responsibilities to extended family members. If you and your spouse formed a blended family but are now planning to divorce, talk to your lawyer about how to help your children maintain their sibling bond with their stepsiblings.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Appreciates the Uniqueness of Your Family

Family law attorneys are in the business of helping families with children maintain a sense of stability and continuity after a divorce. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh & Western PA for help with parenting plans. è 412.414.1570

What Is the Difference Between Moving and Relocation in Pennsylvania Child Custody Cases?

Many parents dream of moving out of state and starting a new life after divorce, but they actually end up staying in Pennsylvania indefinitely for their children’s sake. Not wanting to make their children adjust to a new school and start over from zero finding new friends is only part of the motivation for staying; moving far away with the children would disrupt their relationship with their other parent, your ex-spouse. If you relocate, you must notify your ex-spouse in advance, so that you can modify your parenting plan accordingly. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh if you or your ex-spouse is planning to relocate.

What Is Relocation and How Does It Affect Parenting Plans?

The family courts have a policy of not micromanaging parents’ lives after divorce. As long as you abide by the terms of your parenting plan (which is quite detailed), you are free to change your relationship status, your job, or your residence, within reason. If you move far enough away that it makes your current parenting plan untenable, it is a relocation. The law does not specify a number of miles that marks the difference between a relocation and a regular move, but these are some characteristics of a relocation:

· After the move, it will take more than an hour for the children to travel by car from one parent’s house to the other

· Because of the distance, it will be impractical for both parents to attend special events at the child’s school or the child’s doctor’s appointments

If you want to relocate, you must notify your ex-spouse in writing, and your ex has an opportunity to challenge the move. Most of the time, the court will not stop you from moving, especially if the motivation for the move is to help you provide financial stability for your children, such as if you are moving to take a better-paying job or to be closer to your extended family so you can rely on them for childcare instead of paying babysitters.

What to Do If You Are Moving a Medium Distance Away

What do you do if you are not moving out of state, but your new house is not just down the street from your old house? For example, what happens if you are moving to the other side of the county, and the drive from your new house to your ex’s house only takes 30 minutes on a Sunday evening, but it takes more than an hour during afternoon rush hour? You should notify your ex-spouse in writing (by postal mail or email) just to be safe; the mere existence of the written notice does not mean that it is a relocation, and the court cannot penalize you for giving notice, but it can penalize you for failing to give notice.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Resolve Conflicts About Relocation

Communication with your ex-spouse is almost always the best policy when you are co-parenting children, but you might need the help of a family law attorney. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh & Western PA for help with parenting plans. è 412.414.1570

When Social Media Shows Your Ex-Spouse’s True Colors

Social media is great for spreading information quickly and providing mindless entertainment; it is also frighteningly effective at showing the worst sides of human nature. While social media makes it easier to keep in touch with your extended family and former co-workers, it also means that you receive an alert about the latest natural disaster or celebrity feud on your phone when you stop at a red light instead of having to wait until you get home and navigate to a news site to find out. Divorce is just one of the many things in life that social media makes more complicated. If your ex-spouse is causing trouble on social media, contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh.

How Social Media Can Affect Your Child Custody Case

An increasing number of parents seeking to prove that their ex-spouse is creating an unsafe environment for their children use their ex’s social media posts as evidence. When determining how much time with each parent would best serve the child’s best interest, the courts consider each parent’s track record of providing a stable environment for children and protecting them from danger. These are some examples of evidence you might show from your ex-spouse’s social media to prove to the court that your parenting plan or child support agreement warrants modification:

· Your ex-spouse posts about being drunk during his or her parenting time

· Your ex posts images of or comments about his or her illegal drug use

· Your ex’s comments or shared content include racist or sexist views that you do not want your children to hear

· Your ex posted their location on social media when they were with your children but told you they were somewhere else, meaning that you have evidence that your ex wasn’t being truthful about your children’s whereabouts

· Your ex boasts about purchases that, according to the financial documents presented for the purpose of determining child support, your ex cannot afford

Setting the Ground Rules About Social Media After Your Divorce

Evidence for reducing your ex’s parenting time is just one of the ways social media can play a role in a divorce case; most of the time, the role of social media is more mundane. Deciding how much information about your children you want to share with the whole world is an individual choice; it is hard enough to reach an agreement about it with your spouse in an intact marriage, and it is even harder after a divorce. You and your ex should agree in writing about what you can and can’t post about your children on social media. For example, you can agree that sending pictures and videos of your children to your respective extended families via What’s App groups is acceptable, but posting them on public social media accounts is not.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Understands the Challenges of Parenting in the Age of Social Media

Family law attorneys can help you build a strong case for modifying your parenting plan or child support order. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh & Western PA for help with parenting plans. è 412.414.1570

June 13, 2020

Kayden’s Law: Protecting Children from Divorce After Abuse

Unless you are a survivor of domestic violence, you might wonder why people wait so long to leave abusive marriages. Many times, it is because they fear that the violence will get worse if they try to leave. Many abusers threaten to harm the children if their spouse files for divorce. The family court system should protect children from domestic violence, and in fact it has many mechanisms in place for that purpose, but it does not always succeed. 23 children in Pennsylvania have been killed by a parent in the midst of a custody dispute. Senate Bill 868, also known as Kayden’s Law, was drafted after seven-year-old Kayden Mancuso was murdered by her father shortly after he separated from her mother. The bill aims to protect children who are in danger of suffering violence at the hands of a parent, even if the parent has never physically abused the child.

How Domestic Violence and Other Dangers Affect Child Custody

In Pennsylvania, the assumption is that children benefit from spending time with both parents. When a parent attempts to reduce their ex-spouse’s parenting time because of the ex-spouse’s new relationship, long work hours, medical cannabis use, or the presence of legal hunting rifles in the house stored out of reach of children, the court usually does not grant the request. You can only take away parenting time from your ex if you can prove that your ex is endangering the child, such as by leaving a young child home alone, driving drunk with a child, or leaving dangerous items such as weapons or drugs within the child’s reach. Only in the most extreme cases does the court suspend the parent’s parenting time entirely. More often, if the parent cannot ensure the child’s safety, the court will order supervised parenting time, either at a visitation facility or in the presence of an extended family member.

Kayden’s Story

In August 2018, Jeffrey Mancuso killed his daughter Kayden and then committed suicide; he left a note saying that the purpose of his actions was to make Kayden’s mother Kathy Sherlock suffer as much as possible. There had been plenty of warning signs, but the court had refused to see them. Jeffrey had been convicted of assault after he attacked a man at a bar in 2012. Kathy had obtained a Protection From Abuse order and Jeffrey was forbidden to have contact with her, but he was still allowed to have unsupervised parenting time with Kayden. After seeing her father physically assault his mother and punch the family dog, Kayden repeatedly told her mother that she did not feel safe with her father, but the courts allowed Jeffrey’s unsupervised parenting time to continue.

Kayden’s law would require an evidentiary hearing to suspend unsupervised parenting time if a child reports feeling unsafe with a parent who shares custody. Judges would be able to treat the child’s fears as reasonable and to order supervised parenting time even if the parent had never physically harmed the child.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Protects Children from Abuse and Danger

Part of stopping domestic violence is taking children’s descriptions of events and their feelings seriously. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Greater Pittsburgh & Western PA for help with parenting plans. è 412.414.1570

Mediation and Your Pennsylvania Divorce

Courtroom trials form the climactic scenes of many famous movies, and these fictional depictions of litigation, whether they depicted civil or criminal courts, were what first inspired many of today’s lawyers to go into the legal profession. Anyone old enough to remember the summer of 1995 will remember that millions of people were glued to their television sets, watching the real-life criminal trial of O.J. Simpson, who was facing charges for murder. Trials, true or fictional, are interesting to watch and read about as long as the case does not relate to you directly, but if you are a party in a lawsuit, the trial and the months of preparation leading up to it are extremely stressful. In the end, it is the judge who gets to decide something important about your future; you get to present your case, but after you do, it is out of your control. Going to trial is the worst-case scenario in a divorce case. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates can help you settle your divorce case without going to trial, and if it is not possible to avoid litigation, will help you come away from your divorce on terms favorable to you.

Mediation Can Save You Money and Stress in a Divorce

In mediation, a mediator meets with you and your spouse to help you reach an agreement about the terms of your divorce. Not all mediators are lawyers; in fact, they come from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, including social workers, teachers, and mental health counselors. Everything you say in a mediation session is confidential; you and your spouse discuss your dispute in the presence of the mediator, who guides the discussion toward a resolution. It is possible to request that the mediator meet with you and your spouse separately at some point during the mediation process. The mediator does not issue a decision like a judge does; it is you and your spouse who decide. Once you reach a decision, the judge will use it as the basis of a court order. You and your spouse may determine, during mediation, that there is no solution that would satisfy both of you and that letting a judge decide is the only solution.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps You Avoid a Costly Divorce Battle

Your family law attorney can help guide you through the mediation process. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about divorce cases. Call 412.414.1570 for a free consultation.

Co-Parenting Do’s and Don’ts

You are officially single as soon as the court issues your divorce decree, but if your children are minors, divorce is not the end of your relationship with your ex-spouse. These are some ways to make life less stressful for yourself and your children when dealing with your ex. Depending on your relationship with your ex, you might be able to do or avoid these things on your own or with the help of relatives. If your ex is uncooperative or the two of you are on especially bad terms, you might need the help of Iwanyshyn & Associates, your Allison Park family law attorneys.

DO: Stick to Your Parenting Plan

Pennsylvania parenting plans are very detailed. They include details about which parent gets the children for which day of Thanksgiving break, who transports the children, and who decides which school sports the children can play. Your parenting plan is an official document. Making holiday plans at the last minute is not an option when you are co-parenting with your ex-spouse.

DON’T: Put Your Children in the Middle of Your Conflicts with Your Ex

No matter how angry you are about the things your ex does during his or her parenting time, do not tell your children how much it bothers you, or they will think it is their fault. If your ex is late paying child support, vent to your friends or call your lawyer about enforcing the child support order, but do not tell your kids that the reason you are stressed out is because of their parent.

DO: Ask Your Family and Friends for Help

No one can raise children all alone. Spending time with your parents, your siblings, and your children’s cousins will help your children feel like your family is still complete, even after your divorce. If you can’t stand to be in the same room with your ex, but your sister has superpowers that enable her to get along with everyone, have your ex drop your children off at her house, and then you pick them up a few minutes later.

DON’T: Move too Fast When Introducing Your Children to Your New Partner

For many children, seeing a parent start a new relationship is even more painful than their parents’ divorce. Your children are dealing with enough changes in their lives. Do not insist on including your new partner in every family activity; your children need to spend time just with you, too. You can gradually increase the amount of time your children spend with your new partner and his or her family. Introducing a new stepparent and new stepsiblings to soon is a recipe for conflict.

DO: Ask a Lawyer for Help with Major Problems

Some co-parenting problems go away over time, but sometimes you need a lawyer’s help. If your ex-spouse refuses to pay child support, does not let you exercise your parenting time, or tells your children malicious lies about you, contact your divorce attorney.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Divorced Parents Resolve Co-Parenting Problems

Your parenting plan is a roadmap for conflict resolution after your divorce, but some co-parenting problems are so big that you need a lawyer’s help. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about child custody cases. Call the office to discuss your case for free: 412.414.1570.

Equitable Distribution Starts with Dividing Marital Property in Half, but It Does not End There

If you Google “my ex is,” the world’s smartest search engine will probably suggest a colorful assortment of choice words about the financial behavior of people’s former spouses. My ex is a cheapskate. My ex is a deadbeat. A gold digger. Lazy. A charlatan. Gullible. Materialistic. Greedy. The perfect victim for multi-level marketing business opportunities. People’s financial choices are tied up with strong emotions, and when deciding what is fair, that is, in determining equitable distribution, divorce courts must look carefully at the facts behind the emotions. Divorce cases can be difficult when it is obvious that your ex could change their financial situation for the better but refuses to. Maybe your ex-wife’s identity is tied to her being a stay-at-home mother even though your youngest child is in high school, or maybe your ex-husband is a serial entrepreneur who thinks that salaried jobs are for chumps, but the only time he has ever has a stable income was when he was doing chump work to raise money for his next business venture. If you need help showing the divorce court the truth about your family’s financial situation, contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Allison Park.

The Delicate Art of Equitable Distribution

In family law, marital property is property acquired during the marriage; it is subject to division in a divorce. Some states, including California, are community property states, where the divorce court awards half of the marital property to each spouse, regardless of the length of the marriage, the spouse’s employment history, or any other factor. Pennsylvania, by contrast, is an equitable distribution state. The goal of equitable distribution is to have both spouses enjoy the same level of financial stability after the divorce as they did before it. No one goes from a mansion to a studio apartment just because they got divorced. If you earned $200,000 per year at the end of your 25-year marriage, and your wife permanently left the workforce when your first child was born, the court will have to do some fairly fancy math to make sure that your wife doesn’t walk away empty-handed from a marriage in which she invested 25 years, even though you were the primary source of income.

Hiding marital assets, such as by titling them in other people’s names, will always work against you. So, does intentionally wasting money or destroying property in the years leading up to your divorce. The court will always find out what is fair. If it arrives at an unjust decision, contact a family law attorney to help you modify it.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Resolve Equitable Distribution Issues

Equitable distribution is not possible until the court has all the facts. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about equitable distribution cases. Call JB to discuss your particulars: 412.414.1570.

Equitable Distribution of Marital Debts in Pennsylvania

It is easy to blame your ex-spouse if you are struggling with debt after your divorce, but the debts that you and your ex incurred during your marriage before you divorced don’t disappear just because you are legally single again. The courts do not always divide marital debt equally in a divorce, and they do not always decide that a certain person’s debt is entirely that person’s responsibility. Reckless financial decisions can ruin marriages, and if your spouse’s excessive spending or irresponsible borrowing was an ongoing pattern, or if you can prove that your spouse intentionally wasted money just to devalue your marital assets, the court will not punish you for that. In summary, it all depends on the unique situation of your family’s debts, who borrowed them, when, and why. Those details are not always immediately obvious to the judge, so contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Allison Park to help you make your case.

My Debt, Your Debt, and Our Debt

Just as equitable distribution requires the courts to classify every asset the parties own as marital or separate, it must also identify marital and separate debts. Loans that either person took out before the marriage are usually classified as separate debts, even if they are still not paid off by the time of the divorce. Debts that you incurred while you were married are usually considered marital debts, and the court usually divides the responsibility to repay them between the parties. One exception is car loans; if each party has a car that is not paid off, the court usually rules that the husband keeps his car, including its associated debt, and the wife keeps her car, including its associated debt.

Of course, there are several gray areas regarding whether a debt is marital or non-marital. Here are some examples:

· The husband took out a 30-year mortgage for a house he bought while he and the wife were dating. The following year, she moved in when they got married, and five years later, they got divorced. Does the husband deserve some compensation for the fact that the money he borrowed provided his wife with a place to live while the couple were married?

· The couple borrows money for their children’s benefit, such as for college tuition or a car for a college-aged son or daughter, but the loan is only in one spouse’s name. Generally debts incurred before marriage are the debt of the party that incurred it. You can also protect yourself from the debt liabilities your spouse took on before your marriage by signing a prenuptial agreement. For debts incurred during the marriage, you need a family law attorney to help you persuade the judge of the most equitable way to divide these debts.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Resolve Disputes About Marital Debt

A divorce lawyer cannot make your marital debt disappear, but they can ensure that you do not get stuck with an unfair debt burden. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about divorce cases. Call the office for a free consultation: 412.414.1570.

When Homeowners Divorce in Pennsylvania

The more assets a couple has acquired during their marriage, the more complicated it is for the court to divide their marital property in an equitable way. For many couples, the family home is the most valuable asset they own, and which spouse gets to keep it is a hotly contested issue. There is no universal answer about which spouse gets to keep the marital home; it depends on many factors, such as which spouse needs the home more and what other property the couple owns. Contact the family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates in Allison Park about disputes over marital property.

When One Spouse Gets the House

The court will not let one spouse keep the lion’s share of the marital property while the other one walks away with only the clothes on their back. If the divorce court awards the house to one spouse, the other spouse gets something valuable in return which might be the 401(k). For example, the court might award the house to your ex but award your bank accounts and investment accounts to you. If the house is your only truly valuable asset, the court might award it to your ex but order her to pay you a lump sum, effectively buying you out of your share to the house. Likewise, if your ex has little or no income, if she keeps the house, it will reduce the amount of alimony you would have to pay, especially if the house is already paid off.

When No One Keeps the House

Sometimes neither spouse wants to stay in the house where their marriage disintegrated, and sometimes neither spouse will budge about letting their ex keep the marital home. In those scenarios, and when the parties need cash more than they need a house, the court will order you to sell the marital home and then divide the proceeds from the sale. The court does not always divide the proceeds equally; it depends on what else the court awards to each spouse, as well as each spouse’s income. Remember that equitable does not always mean equal.

If You Bought the House Before You Got Married

In general, assets that you owned before you married your spouse are separate property, but if your ex can demonstrate that you treated these assets as marital property, then he or she might be able to persuade the court to divide these assets. For example, imagine that you bought your house in 2005 with a 15-year mortgage. You married your husband in 2007, and he moved into your house. You used both of your incomes into paying the mortgage and paid it off a little bit early. When you divorce in 2020, the court may view the house as a marital asset since both spouses invested in it and benefited from it. It may ask you to pay your husband a lump sum to compensate him for his share of the house.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps You Keep Your Fair Share of the Marital Property

Your spouse does not have the right to force you out of the marital home without compensating you for your fair share of it. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about divorce cases. Call JB for a free consultation: 412.414.1570.

Alimony, Child Support, and the Gig Economy

Entrepreneurship courses, especially those that operate on a multi-level marketing business model, might try to tell you that salaried jobs are for chumps, but experience says otherwise. If you can plan on getting paid X amount of money every month for the foreseeable future, even if it is a modest amount, you are one of the lucky ones. Gigs are a nice way to supplement your regular income, but an increasing number of Americans must rely on gigs for their entire income. It is possible to earn a living in the gig economy, but it is hard to make financial plans. What do you list as your income on a rental application or an application for a mortgage loan? Even worse, how does the court calculate your share of the marital property or your alimony or child support obligations if your job is a series of gigs, such that your income varies from one year to the next and this year’s income is not a good predictor of next year’s income? The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates can help ensure that the equitable distribution of marital property in your divorce is truly equitable, even if your work pays based on gigs or projects instead of a predictable salary.

Imputed Income Is Not Just for Deadbeats

Courts sometimes use imputed income as a basis for determining equitable distribution, alimony, and child support. Imputed income is hypothetical income that a person can earn or can be expected to earn. The courts impute income to spouses who are voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily underemployed, especially if the reason they choose not to work is so that they can pay less alimony or receive more alimony. Imputed income is useful in determining equitable distribution and other divorce-related financial matters for non-salaried workers. If you are self-employed or work in a profession where your income varies significantly from year to year (for example, as a restaurant server, rideshare driver, freelance writer, or wedding photographer), imputed income is the most reliable way to determine alimony and child support in your case. In that case, the court calculates your imputed income by averaging the income on the past several years of your tax returns.

Tough Times for Gig Economy Workers

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a serious economic blow to almost all Americans, but self-employed people and gig workers were among the first to feel its sting. If your gigs have dried up because of the pandemic (or if you were furloughed from a salaried job), and you are struggling to pay alimony or child support, you can request an order to modify your obligations, because of a change in circumstances. The new order can even apply retroactively, reducing your past-due child support obligations as soon as it is issued.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Divorced Gig Workers

Hard-working and resourceful people in professions where the pay varies from one project or gig to the next deserve a fair and reasonable divorce settlement or child support order. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about child support cases. Call the office to discuss your case: 412.414.570

The Legal Rights of Parties in a Divorce

Divorce is painful, but the laws are designed to make it fair. People who go through a bitter divorce or who struggle financially after their marriage has been dissolved often complain that the divorce courts are unfair to them. For example, they might feel that it is unfair they have to pay so much child support while their ex, who has remarried, spends so much more time with the children and has so much decision-making power over them. You are entitled to certain rights during and after your divorce. If your divorce is truly unfair, the family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates can help you correct the injustice.

You Have the Right to Alimony While Your Divorce Is Pending

To receive alimony after a divorce, you must prove that you have a legitimate need for it and that your ex-spouse can pay it. After a divorce, you and your ex-spouse are separate, legally as well as financially, so alimony is a last resort and usually only lasts a few years. Until your divorce is final, though, both spouses are legally responsible for their marital property. Therefore, the court orders alimony pendente lite (APL), which means that the higher-income spouse must pay the financially disadvantaged spouse a set amount that is determined by a formula After it is final, the court may or may not order more alimony.

You Have the Right to a Relationship with Your Children

When a couple with minor children gets a divorce, the court must consider the children’s best interests. Safety, stability, and an ongoing relationship with both parents are high priorities. The court will approve a parenting plan setting a schedule for when the children are with which parent. If your ex-spouse wants to move out of state with the children, they must notify you, and if you object, the court will decide whether your ex can move. If the court approves the move, it will issue a new parenting plan with details about when you will see the children and who will transport them.

You Have the Right to Child Support Payments

Children, not ex-spouses, are the beneficiaries of child support payments. The formula for calculating child support payments is complex, but its goal is to ensure that the children have the same standard of living at both parents’ houses.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Stands Up for Your Rights During a Divorce

Your spouse does not have the right to make you and your children suffer financially during a divorce. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about divorce cases. Call the office to discuss your case for free: 412.414.1570

When Divorced Parents Financially Support Their Adult Children

The current financial situation has caused many aspects of the American dream myth to shatter. One of those myths is that simply earning a college degree is enough to make you financially independent of your parents. Young adults who rely on their parents for financial assistance are the rule rather than the exception, regardless of income level and education. Unfortunately, divorce courts do not always take this into account when dividing a couple’s marital property. When your children are minors, the court carefully apportions each parent’s financial obligations to them, but once your children reach adulthood, the court is much less helpful at resolving conflicts about their financial support. Sometimes the court’s general avoidance of getting involved in decisions about adult sons and daughters leads to unfairness in the division of property or the award, or lack thereof, of alimony. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates can help ensure that your division of property and alimony awards are fair if your financial situation involves supporting your grown children.

Paying for College: Dreams versus Reality

The cost of university education has skyrocketed during your children’s lifetime. Even if you and your ex started a college fund when each child was born, most students borrow money to cover at least some of their college expenses. Sometimes students take out student loans in their own names, but sometimes parents also borrow money to fund their children’s college education. From the court’s perspective, your family’ student loan situation is your business, not the court’s. If you are using your own money or your own loans to pay your children’s college tuition, the court may not count it as an expense relevant to the calculation of spousal support.

Court-Ordered Financial Support for Adults with Medical Special Needs

In the case of children with disabilities that cause them to continue to require financial support from their parents after they reach adulthood, the court will order child support payments to continue for as long as the adult son or daughter will need support, sometimes for the rest of the parents’ lives. Your lawyer can help you resolve disputes related to the financial needs of your adult son or daughter with special needs. For example, a judge in Florida decided a case where divorced parents disagreed about the best interests of their 23-year-old daughter Amy, who has intellectual disabilities and can work, but cannot earn enough to be financially independent. Amy’s mother wanted to send her out of state to an expensive boarding school for young adults with special needs, but her father thought it was best for her parents to help her pay rent while she lived in an inexpensive apartment in her parents’ cities.

When Divorced Parents Support Their Grandchildren

In New Jersey, a woman named Bonnie divorced after 30 years of marriage and was awarded a modest amount of alimony to supplement her earnings. After her divorce, Bonnie’s young grandson moved in with her while Bonnie’s daughter underwent inpatient treatment for drug addiction. Bonnie paid for her daughter’s treatment and supported her grandson without help from her ex-husband, the father of their daughter. She went back to court to have the money she was spending on her daughter and grandson reclassified as expenses, in order to increase her alimony award.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Divorced Parents Be There for Their Adult Children

Your financial relationship with your children does not automatically end when your children graduate from high school. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about child support cases. Call the office (412.414.1570) for a free consultation.

Divorce Mondays Dos and Don’ts

Unlike Taco Tuesday and Throwback Thursday, Divorce Monday comes but once a year, and in 2021, it will be on January 4. Divorce Monday is the first business Monday of the year, and it is the day when family law courts receive the most divorce complaints and divorce lawyers receive the most inquiries from prospective clients. Some of the reasons for the Divorce Monday phenomenon are practical ones; it is simpler for tax purposes if you are married throughout 2020 but separated throughout 2021. Another part of what gives the first business Monday in January its uptick in incidences of divorce is that people’s frustrations tend to bubble over during the holidays. Dumping your spouse has turned out to be an easier New Year’s resolution to keep than giving up carbs, for example. Some of the people whose divorce processes begin on Divorce Monday do not hire lawyers, but unless you have a thorough understanding of the law and excellent communication with your soon-to-be ex-spouse, you should consult the family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates in Allison Park before you file your divorce complaint.

Divorce Monday Starts No Later Than December

Even if you cannot wait to be single again, the worst thing you can do is make an impulsive decision to file for divorce. If you and your spouse have been planning to separate, you should have a series of conversations throughout the holiday season about how you want to divide your property and parenting time. On Divorce Monday, you should set up a consultation with a lawyer to make sure you understand the implications of what you are requesting in your divorce complaint.

If you expect that things will turn ugly when your spouse finds out you want to divorce, then you should meet with a lawyer individually. The lawyer will talk to you about things like mediation and alimony pendente lite (APL, the money that the higher-income spouse must pay to the lower-income spouse while the divorce is in process).

Do not Be a Cheapskate

Trying to get the least expensive divorce possible always backfires. You will end up with lots of unresolved issues, and you and your ex-spouse will probably have to go back to court to fix the problems with the original terms of your divorce. You and your ex should agree on as many details as possible before you file the divorce complaint; divorce trials are expensive. If you and your spouse cannot talk directly to each other without getting angry, then communicate by email or enlist the help of a divorce lawyer.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Couples Divorce on Divorce Monday and Every Day

Even though lots of other people are also moving forward with their plans to divorce on Divorce Monday, the helpful lawyers at Iwanyshyn & Associates are never too busy to answer your questions. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about how to have an amicable and painless divorce on Divorce Monday or at any time of year.

Give the office a call to discuss your case: 412.414.1570

Is There Ever a Legally Valid Reason Not to Pay Child Support?

Child support payments can cause conflict between divorced parents for years after the divorce becomes final. If the paying parent struggles to meet their obligations, the recipient parent might have to keep going back to court and threatening their ex with contempt of court and worse, using their already tight budget just to get the money that the court ordered their ex to pay for their children’s benefit. Meanwhile, the paying parent might feel that the amount they were ordered to pay is unfairly high and that they are being forced, under threat of wage garnishment or even imprisonment, to support their ex in addition to their children. When your child support arrangement causes resentment and financial hardship for all parties involved, you might feel that child support causes more problems than it solves. There are legal ways to get out of child support, but most of them are not an improvement over your current situation. If your child support arrangement is not working out, the best solution is to have the family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates help you modify your child support order.

Ways to Get Out of Paying Child Support

There are legally permissible ways to stop paying child support, but most of them are outside your control or involve circumstances that you would not wish for.

· Your Child Reaches Legal Adulthood -In most cases, child support ends after your child has both turned 18 and graduated from high school. For example, if your child turns 18 in December of his senior year of high school, your child support obligations continue a few more months until he graduates. If your child’s birthday is in August and she is still 17 at graduation time, your child support obligations continue until her 18th birthday.

· Your Child Becomes an Emancipated Minor – In some cases, teenagers can petition the court to declare them legally and financially independent of their parents before they turn 18. If your child becomes an emancipated minor before age 18, you are no longer responsible for paying child support.

· Termination of Parental Rights – If you voluntarily terminate your parental rights, for example, if your child’s stepfather is going to adopt her, you are no longer responsible for paying support, but you also lose the right to parenting time and a say in decisions related to the child; in other words, you stop being the child’s legal parent. The same happens if the court terminates your parental rights against your wishes, as can happen when a parent is convicted on criminal charges of child abuse.

· Formally Agree with Your Ex That They Do Not Need Child Support- Child support orders and parenting plans are separate. If your ex is so wealthy that they do not need your help in raising your children, you and your ex can formally agree to this in your divorce. If this happens, you still have the right to a parenting plan which specifies which days during the year you will spend with your children.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Parents Resolve Child Support Disputes

In an era where financial hardship is the rule rather than the exception, it is easy to feel that the court and your ex-spouse are inconveniencing you on purpose but remember that child support is for your children’s benefit. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh to help you modify your child support order if you cannot meet your child support obligations.

Give the office a call to discuss your case: 412.414.1570

Are You Responsible for Repaying Debts That Your Ex-Spouse Incurred During Your Marriage?

Many couples disagree about whether to borrow money and how to approach the repayment of their existing debts. People used to say that debt destroys marriages, but now debt has become practically universal for Americans of working age. Blaming debt for the failure of marriages is too easy; if only debt-free people could be happily married, virtually everyone would be lonely. How you and your spouse deal with debts incurred before and after your wedding is a choice only you can make. How the court assigns the responsibility for repaying money borrowed during the marriage depends on your reasons for borrowing it and how you used it. The family law attorneys at Iwanyshyn & Associates can help you reach an equitable solution for dividing your marital debt in a divorce.

Separate and Marital Debts

During a divorce, the court divides the couple’s property and debts according to the theory of equitable distribution, meaning that each spouse gets his or her fair share. Any money that you borrowed before you got married is a separate debt. Even if your spouse used some of their income to make payments on your debt during the marriage, your ex-spouse has no obligation to keep making payments on your debt after you divorce.

Even though the general trend is toward courts holding each spouse responsible for his or her pre-marital debt after the divorce, some couples go to great lengths to stop their own debts from becoming a liability for which their partner is responsible. Some couples in long-term relationships hesitate to get legally married even if they live together, just to keep their debts separate. Some couples sign pre-nuptial agreements promising not to make either spouse responsible for the other one’s debts if they divorce. In other words, you are probably safe from the debts your ex-spouse incurred before you got married.

Money that either spouse borrows during the marriage, however, is usually considered a marital debt. For example, if one spouse took out a personal loan to pay household expenses when both spouses were underemployed, the court will probably consider it the responsibility of both parties in the divorce. Student loans, however, are an exception; most divorce courts consider student loans the sole responsibility of the student. The court will not make you make payments on your ex-spouse’s student loans unless your ex can prove that you benefited financially from your ex’s education or from the loan money. For example, if your ex used student loan money to pay rent on an apartment where you both lived, the court might assign a portion of the debt to you.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps You Resolve Disputes About Marital Debt

It is not fair for one spouse to walk away unscathed from a debt that the couple borrowed for the whole family’s benefit. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about disputes about equitable distribution, including division of marital debts, possibly including student loans.

With DNA Paternity Testing, the Sooner the Better

Before the 1990s, when DNA testing became widely available, it was virtually impossible to validate or invalidate rumors that your biological father as someone other than who you thought he was. Revealing the results of DNA paternity tests became a popular theme for daytime TV shows. While seeing people find out that they have children they didn’t know about, or else find out that the children they have raised since birth are not related to them by blood, makes for compelling voyeuristic entertainment, but it can be devastating to the people involved. Today, DNA testing is so widely available that some people take DNA tests purely out of curiosity, to find out more about their family history. The way that DNA paternity testing affects, or does not affect, your legal relationship to your children might surprise you. It takes more than just a DNA paternity test to establish legal paternity, and Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh can help you in family law cases related to paternity.

Establishing Legal Paternity, with or Without a DNA Test

If you are legally married to the child’s mother when the child is born, you are automatically the child’s legal father. If the mother is not married, you can establish legal paternity by filing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (Form PA-CS 611); both you and the mother must sign the form in front of a witness, and then you file the form with the court. After 60 days, your status as the legal father becomes irrevocable; it lasts until the child reaches adulthood or your legally terminate parental rights.

Establishing legal paternity does not require a DNA test. When you are the legal father, whether through marriage to the mother or through voluntarily acknowledging paternity, a DNA test excluding you as the biological father does not change your status as the legal father. Likewise, if your child’s mother was still legally married to someone else when your child was born, her husband will become the legal father, even if they have been separated for years. In that case, you should consult a family law attorney as soon as possible, even before the child is born.

If You Suspect That Your Wife Has Been Unfaithful to You

If you are not sure whether you are a child’s biological father, the time to get a DNA test is now. Do not wait until after you get divorced to bring up the issue of your wife’s alleged infidelity. With the availability of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), it is even possible to compare your DNA to the child’s before the child is born. If you ask for a DNA test after your divorce, and it turns out that you are not the biological father, you are still responsible for paying child support.

Iwanyshyn & Associates Helps Fathers and Children Stay Together

If your child’s mother was legally married to someone else at the time of the child’s birth, it is possible to establish legal paternity, but you will need the help of a lawyer. Contact Iwanyshyn & Associates in Pittsburgh about paternity cases.

Give the office a call to discuss your case: 412.414.1570

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