Experienced family lawyers know that they often become a kind of general counsel to their clients. Family law is in no small measure closely related to contract law. In a state that has seen a shut down order issued for all but essential services, there are many contracts, which have been rendered impractical or frustrated
Family Law
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…
GRANT OF THIRD PARTY STANDING IS NOT APPEALABLE AS A COLLATERAL ORDER.
By Mark Ashton on
It comes in a non-precedential decision but the ruling is important nonetheless. In a panel opinion authored by Judge Daniel McCaffery and published on March 2, 2020, the Superior Court held that a decision of a Crawford County judge to allow a paternal grandmother to intervene in a child custody proceeding was not appealable as…
IN AN AGE OF FINANCIAL UNCERTAINTY MARRIAGE IS ONE OF THE VICTIMS.
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Divorce, Family Law
The March 9, 2020 Wall Street Journal’s front page described marriage as a new form of “luxury good.” According to the Journal since 1980 the middle 40% of U.S. workers have seen the sharpest decline in the number of people who are married. These are households reporting income ranging from $25,000 to $125,000 per annum.…
FINANCIAL INFIDELITY: CHAPTER 2
By Mark Ashton on
As I started this, it occurred to me that I had been to this topic before. Last April 19 I reported on a story published by PBS about spouses who accumulate debt in secret and then want to “share” the debt when the marriage collapses. The February 2020 issue of The Magazine of the American…
LIFE IN THE WORLD OF FAFSA: Advice on the College Loan Application Process for Parents in Divorce.
By Mark Ashton on
In the divorce business, there are few alleys as dark as of the college financial aid. We are commonly asked how separation and divorce may affect eligibility for student aid and loans. The October 21, 2019 Wall Street Journal sheds some light on this murky subject and is worth a full read. But, the main…
DIVORCE AND COLLEGE: Can They Be Reconciled?
By Mark Ashton on
Whenever I start these kinds of articles, I stop to ask, “Is this subject really relevant to the process of divorce?” Separation and divorce are realities of modern day life. Education of the children who come into this world through marriage is not just a major expense. For any caring parent, it is also a…
PARENTAL ALIENATION; DOES IT EXIST? CAN IT BE REPAIRED?
By Mark Ashton on
Posted in Custody, Family Law
The Center for Investigative Reporting at National Public Radio (NPR) published a report on March 9, 2019 about the longstanding controversy over parental alienation. The broadcast includes recordings of actual testimony from a New Jersey child custody proceeding where a father suggested that the mother’s relationship with the children was “toxic.” Parental alienation is a…
Third Party Custody Standing: More from the Supremes
By Mark Ashton on
Two years ago the Pennsylvania Supreme Court weighed in on the matter of how third party standing was consistent with the fundamental right of parents to raise their children. That case moved the ball in a new direction as we had seen a trend favoring third party involvement in child custody litigation where “interest”…
Navigating the Prenuptial Agreement: A Young Person’s Guide & Questions Worth Asking
By Mark Ashton on
This was a summer where prenuptials arrived in profusion, and what made it interesting is that just about all of them involved folks who were either beginning or in the middle of their earning careers. Most prenuptials involve couples who already have kids from former marriages and money they want to preserve for those kids.…