Pennsylvania Divorce

In any Pennsylvania or New Jersey divorce that is prominently marked by significant assets, the affected parties will understandably have material concerns regarding the ultimate distribution of so-called “marital property.” That term connotes both assets and debt obligations that a married couple in either state acquired during their marriage (as distinguished from nonmarital assets; we […]

On October 4, 2016 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law House Bill 380 and effectively changed the practice of divorce and family law moving forward.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed a bill that would shorten the required period of time a couple must have lived separately to one year for automatic grounds for divorce. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has until October 7, 2016 to sign House Bill 380 into law. The law will then go […]

Are you staying in an unhappy marriage for financial reasons? Are you worried that you won’t be able to make ends meet, much less pay for your divorce attorney? Are you scared you’ll lose your children because you don’t make enough to fight your spouse? Don’t let financial dependence stop you from living the life […]

Before 1980, Pennsylvania couples who wanted to end a marriage had to have “grounds” for divorce. This means that in order to obtain a divorce, a person had to show that his or her spouse had behaved in a way that made it difficult to continue with the marriage. Grounds for divorce in Pennsylvania included: […]

Social Security is extremely important to our economic security. Social Security stands as one of the most complex areas in financial planning (let alone divorce planning), but most people overlook it. For divorcing couples, if proper planning is not done, the result could be economically detrimental. The purpose of this blog is to address some […]

QUESTION: I expect that I will be awarded alimony, how long can I expect to collect it? Alimony is a regular payment that one spouse makes to the other spouse in order to provide financial support after a divorce. In the past, Pennsylvania courts awarded one year of alimony for every three years of marriage. […]

In an opinion issued on March 20, 2014, a Dauphin County judge upheld and explained his prior order denying an ex-husband’s request that he be entirely discharged from paying alimony to his ex-wife.  The case was Eugene v. Eugene. The ex-husband had asked for discharge of his alimony obligation, which was outlined in his written […]

Do I Really Need a Divorce Attorney? QUESTION: Is there any particular reason why I should hire a lawyer rather than doing a do-it-yourself divorce? You’ve seen the ads for $59 do-it-yourself divorce and you are wondering, “Why should I pay an attorney, when I can fill out the forms myself?” Some people have no […]

At Petrelli Previtera, our attorneys believe in the process of resolving family law issues that arise in a divorce proceeding without the necessity of litigation, if possible. This is called alternative dispute resolution (ADR). ADR includes processes such as collaborative law, mediation, and arbitration. However, if ADR is not possible, our family law attorneys are aggressive […]