Since 2011, we have had a statute setting forth both a procedure and a judicial standard for the determination of requests to relocate with a child. We have previously observed that the appellate decisions coming both before and after enactment of 23 Pa.C.S. 5337 have made relocation a rocky road. However, a panel decision issued
Custody
What Could Massachusetts Ruling Non-Disparagement Orders Unconstitutional Mean to Pennsylvania?
By Aaron Weems on
It is always a good idea to keep an eye on other jurisdictions for how they deal with novel or emerging issues. One issue recently considered was the use of non-disparagement orders to prevent parties from criticizing each other in public, in front of their children, and to third parties. It is a fairly common…
MOVIE REVIEW? A Must See Movie for Separating Couples. Just Don’t Watch It Now.
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody
First, a confession. I watch very few moves and when I do, I frequently feel stupid because I don’t see all the nuances others do. So, don’t see this move on my say so. Truth is that since it was premiered in 2017, the movie won a number of awards in Europe. It was produced…
RELOCATION DILEMMAS: It’s Deeper than the Factors
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody, Relocation
It’s not really an important case. And it’s not a precedential case. Yet, I couldn’t resist offering a summary because of the names involved. The legal community has been struggling with the issue of keeping names of parents and children out of case reports. As we have written, there is policy reason in favor of…
Update: Florida Case Highlights Coronavirus Custody Order’s Impact on an Essential Employee
By Aaron Weems on
Posted in Coronavirus, Custody
We’re written about the impact that the coronavirus has had on custody cases and the limited availability of the court’s during this time. A recent story from Florida highlights the impact the virus has on “routine” custody cases where a party is employed as an essential employee and in a high risk environment. In…
AN APPEALING APPROACH TO AN ABBREVIATED TRIAL
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody
The ruling in C.T. v. A.W.T. is non-precedential but instructive nonetheless. It’s a relocation decision out of Philadelphia County involving a six-year-old child. The single sex relationship resulting in the birth of S.T. ended in 2014. In 2018, the parties reached an agreement giving A.W.T. primary physical and C.T. alternate weekends from Friday to Sunday…
A FAMILY COURT JUDGE WEIGHS IN
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody
Sunday night not only brought us the news of 1,000 deaths in New York but US officials discussing potential death numbers as high as the number killed in the US civil war. My partner Rhonda Ores from New York posted a brief essay by the trial judge responsible for coordinating custody matters in a state…
Family Law Triage When Courts Are Closed. Play safe. Be Smart.
By Mark Ashton on
If you are watching the news today, (3/24/20) you have some impression of what New Orleans must have been like in the hours before Hurricane Katrina hit. The Coronavirus storm is hitting New York City and the lower counties with a fury. The numbers are rising fast throughout our region as well, although New York…
TIME TO HIT THE “PAUSE” BUTTON
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody, Family Law
I’m not going to refer to “it”. I have read a hundred emails in the past few days referring to “it.” “It” is frightening for all of us. “It” is affecting every aspect of our life. It is coming across my desk as fear for future financial security. It is also causing people to fight…
Child Custody and the Coronavirus
By Aaron Weems on
Posted in Custody
Last week when I began to consider the impact the coronavirus would have on custody schedules, I was focused on people having different perspectives of how to address the outbreak relative to their children’s day-to-day lives. I imagined there would be some people who wanted to be conservative and hold the children out of school,…