Category: Personal / Family

In divorce matters, we sometimes see conduct that is needlessly destructive to the divorcing spouses and their children. Divorce is an unhappy reality and the number of divorces continues to grow. Couples must try to keep the negative fallout of the process to a minimum… Continue reading →

Like all states, Pennsylvania maintains centralized records of criminal history information. These records contain a broad range of information collected by criminal justice agencies throughout the State arising from brushes with the law, including records of arrest, indictment, other formal criminal charges and the disposition… Continue reading →

Suppose your son or daughter goes out to a graduation party, has a few beers and later commits an act of vandalism on the other side of town. While all parents would like to think of their children as incapable of such behavior, could you… Continue reading →

Over the last few years we have seen an increasing number of claims between “spouses” based upon the existence of an alleged “common-law” marriage. Why is this? For one, the institution of marriage potentially creates significant property rights in each spouse. Additionally, insurance, retirement and… Continue reading →

  With the refinement of deoxyribonucleic (DNA) testing in the past decade, the determination of paternity of a child is now virtually absolute; litigation involving the putative father is understandably emotionally charged for so many reasons. The primary consideration must always be the child; who… Continue reading →

    If all of the changes we have witnessed over the past 40 years, among the more notable is our culture’s attitude toward same-sex couples.  Same-sex relationships are portrayed routinely in movies, theater, and, perhaps most of all, television.  It was inevitable then that… Continue reading →

As the cost of nursing care skyrockets, we seem to be receiving more and more inquiries concerning nursing home planning. Unfortunately, such questions are typically asked a few weeks or even days before nursing home care is inevitable. By this time it is usually too… Continue reading →

We are frequently asked questions regarding Medicaid eligibility to cover nursing home costs. Often, the questions are raised when the need for nursing home care is imminent; it may be too late to establish an ideal plan regarding nursing home care, but usually some planning… Continue reading →

Over the last several years, I have had the privilege of working with couples in the process of adopting children and with others simply needing information about adoptions in Pennsylvania. There are different approaches to adoption in Pennsylvania: kinship, private, and agency. Kinship adoption is… Continue reading →

This article has more of a personal touch because the subject is something that I have been dealing with recently: care of an elderly relative in failing health, and the things that can be done to make the process bearable. Apart from the multitude of… Continue reading →