Since the striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act by the United States Supreme Court, many state courts have been trying to fill in the legal vacuum created between
Continue Reading Same Sex Common Law Marriage Established by Superior Court
Superior Court
Superior Court: Civil Unions Can Be Dissolved in Family Courts
By Aaron Weems on
In what some may construe as an effort by the Pennsylvania Superior Court to salvage something positive out of 2016, an Opinion was issued today which effectively opens Pennsylvania’s family…
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C.A.J. v. D.S.M. A Mixed Due Process Message
By Mark Ashton on
My colleague Aaron Weems reported this case on April 12. In the spirit of our U.S. Supreme Court, I offer the following concurrence with his blog but spirited dissent from…
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Superior Court Revisits Huss v. Weaver but Makes No Change to the Panel Decision
By Mark Ashton on
On September 28, 2014 Aaron Weems posted a blog in which he reported on a panel Decision of the Superior Court holding that a Father’s contractual undertaking to pay $10,000…
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A TRANSCRIPT DOES NOT A CUSTODY ORDER MAKE; R.L.P. v. R.F.M, 2015 Pa. Super. 29 (2/11/15)
By Mark Ashton on
Superior Court appeals relating to child custody are supposed to be “fast tracked” in recognition of the fact that in the life of a child, a year is a long…
Continue Reading A TRANSCRIPT DOES NOT A CUSTODY ORDER MAKE; R.L.P. v. R.F.M, 2015 Pa. Super. 29 (2/11/15)
SUPERIOR COURT AFFIRMS THAT MASTER’S RECOMMENDATION IS STILL JUST A RECOMMENDATION
By Aaron Weems on
The process of equitable distribution is multi-stage, often involving one or more conferences with a “master” specifically assigned to the case and who is an expert in equitable distribution. The…
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SUPERIOR COURT CLARIFIES WHEN CUSTODY FACTORS MUST BE EVALUATED
By Mark Ashton on
We are slowly observing some flesh of judicial precedent applied to the bones of the custody stature enacted by the General Assembly and made effective in January, 2011. A recent…
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A PAGE TURNER OPINION FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY REMINDS US OF WHAT IS AND ISN’T RELEVANT IN A CUSTODY CASE
By Mark Ashton on
One of the most difficult concepts for lay persons to understand in the law is the rule stating that only relevant evidence is admissible in judicial proceedings. The concept would …
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ASSET OR INCOME; THE DISABILITY POLICY CONUNDRUM
By Mark Ashton on
Since the inception of equitable distribution in Pennsylvania on July 1, 1980 the law has consistently been that courts have power to divide marital property. With certain exceptions for gifts…
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Trial Court Must Conduct De Novo Hearings for Parent Coordination Appeals
By Aaron Weems on
Pennsylvania formalized the use of Parent Coordinators in custody cases several years ago when the Superior Court’s rendered their 2008 opinion in the case of Yates v. Yates. As…
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