Category: Personal / Family

If a fence dividing two properties is damaged, must both land owners pay for the repairs? In the past, when farms were more prevalent, the Fence Law was enacted to require the erection and maintenance of division fences. The purpose for the Fence Law was… Continue reading →

There is a growing trend in America for couples seeking to adopt children to look beyond our nation’s borders. Last year, U.S. couples adopted roughly 5,000 children from China, 4,000 children from Russia, and 1,700 from South Korea. International adoptions are done primarily through international… Continue reading →

We all know the sad statistics that roughly half of all marriages end in divorce. What many people don’t know is that there is a variety of ways that a marriage can be dissolved. One way to dissolve a marriage is called annulment. When a… Continue reading →

Here are five suggestions to potentially reduce your annual car insurance premiums: Make sure your vehicles are properly rated as to mileage and use classification. Insurers typically charge based upon potential risks, and the more you drive a car and the riskier situations you put… Continue reading →

If you are receiving child support payments as part of an agreement or as part of a court order, you may not be getting as much as the law provides you. If you are paying child support, you may be paying more than you have… Continue reading →

Despite the growing public awareness of the crime of identity theft- when someone uses your personal information to gain credit in your name – the number of cases continues to grow at an alarming rate. Identity theft takes money from businesses, increases the cost of credit… Continue reading →

If divorcing couples cannot agree on how to divide their property, either party has the option to request an “equitable distribution hearing.” A count for equitable distribution can be included in the initial divorce complaint. At an equitable distribution hearing, husband and wife will present… Continue reading →

According to the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education, 15 to 20% of the population of the United States suffers from some form of disability. Disabilities can range from developmental (cerebral palsy, autism, etc.), acquired (head trauma, etc.), organic (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc) and… Continue reading →

How long must parties live together to be married by common law? If you answered “seven,” you join most in a common misperception. The proper answer is, “as long as it takes to exchange vows.” The typical marriage begins with a trip to the court… Continue reading →

In Pennsylvania, nearly all adoptions, whether through a public adoption agency, a private agency, or an adoption attorney, require a pre-adoption home investigation, known simply as a home study. Under certain circumstances, however, a court may waive this requirement, such as in step-parent adoptions, intra-family… Continue reading →