Child Support

Paternity Judged by New Standard in Child Support Cases – Best Interests – Says Supreme Court

by bvertz on February 26, 2012

With a breathtaking sweep of their pens (or keyboards), four Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week swept away decades of decisional law concerning paternity by estoppel, ushering a new era of parentage litigation, in KEM v. PCS, No. 67 MAP 2011 (February 21, 2012). The facts were relatively simple and commonplace: a married [...]

How to Pay Child Support in Pennsylvania

November 10, 2011 Child Support

“How do I pay my child support?” is a question I am frequently asked by clients. Pursuant to federal and state law, child support orders must be paid via wage attachment unless the support recipient agrees in writing to waive it. Even if the wage attachment is waived, the payments must be submitted to the [...]

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Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines Amended

September 22, 2011 Child Support

The Pennsylvania child support guidelines were modified on August 3, 2011, effective September 3, 2011.

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Child Support Contempt Defendants Not Entitled to Counsel, Says U.S. Supreme Court

August 16, 2011 Child Support

Child support contempt defendants are not entitled to court-appointed representation even in cases where incarceration is threatened, says the U.S. Supreme Court, but the state courts must follow procedures that ensure the fundamental fairness of contempt proceedings. In Turner v. Rogers, Docket No. 10-10, June 20, 2011, the Court considered the rights of a South [...]

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Homeschooling Children Does Not Justify Alimony, says Superior Court

March 19, 2011 Alimony

In Kent v. Kent (March 18, 2011), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania rejected a parent’s argument that she should be entitled to collect alimony for a period of eleven years so that she could continue to homeschool the parties’ minor children. It was undisputed in this case that the mother had withdrawn from the workforce [...]

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10 Cash Flow Rules In Divorce (Part I)

September 28, 2010 Alimony

In business, they say, cash flow rules. The same principle is true, I find, in divorce. I have been brainstorming a set of cash flow “rules” for divorcing spouses. Here is part one: 1.  Never run out of cash. My #1 divorce rule is the as Inc Magazine‘s #1 business rule. In divorce, there is [...]

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International Child Support and Custody Disputes

July 5, 2010 Child Support

An article in the ABA Journal this month focuses attention on the growing problem of international child support and custody disputes. With the advent of global travel and internet relationships, more and more parents are facing the challenge of enforcing child support and custody orders across national boundaries. Some parents describe experiences that sound like scenes from a [...]

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Another State Stops Child Support for College Students

May 1, 2010 Child Support

The law may not treat separated or divorced parents differently than married parents, who have no legal obligation to pay their children’s college tuition.

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Constructive Notice is Sufficient in Child Support Cases

April 30, 2010 Child Support

In Murphy v. Murphy, a recent Superior Court decision, the father appealed a support order entered in absentia because he claimed that he never received notice of the June 2008 support hearing. The father argued that the notice mailed to him was too late (less than 20 days before the hearing, contrary to Rule 1910.6) [...]

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Premature Termination of Child Support Reversed, Affirmed

April 27, 2010 Child Support

In the recent Superior Court decision, Castadi v. Castaldi, the Domestic Relations Section mailed notices to the child’s mother inquiring whether child support should terminate in January 2007, when the child would be eighteen years old. Mother did not respond to the inquiries, and the Domestic Relations Section terminated child support. Unbeknownst to the DRS, [...]

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