Lee A. Schwartz, Moderator/Pennsylvania Community Forums

News for February 2, 2005: Lee A. Schwartz, Esq. sets a record for the largest spousal support award in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Lee A. Schwartz, Attorney at Law
Spear, Wilderman, Borish, Endy, Spear and Runckel, P.C.

Handling all aspects of divorce including:

• SUPPORT
• HIGH END SUPPORT
• CUSTODY
• DIVORCE
• DIVISION OF PROPERTY
• ALIMONY
• MEDIATION
• PRE-MARITAL AGREEMENTS
• PROTECTION FROM ABUSE

Divorce, custody, division of property, protection from abuse, support....these are issues that go to the core of our being. The selection of an experienced, competent Domestic Relations attorney is perhaps one of the most important decisions you will make. The choice will influence much of your future....how much support am I entitled to or how much support will I have to pay?...should I be concerned about the custody of my children?...am I entitled to or will I have to pay alimony?...how will we divide our assets?

To litigate or to mediate? That can be a difficult but important concern. Litigation involves courts and mediation involves discussion and agreement outside of court. Both have the advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of which you choose, I can help. I have been mediating divorce, custody, support, property division and related matters for many years. I am an approved arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, perhaps the largest and most well known arbitration and mediation group in the country. I have also been litigating these matters for an even longer period of time and am very comfortable in that setting.

I have been servicing clients in the Greater Philadelphia region since 1981. My practice is dedicated to people with divorce, custody, support, protection from abuse, division of property and other related issues. My goal is to move you through this difficult period as quickly and painlessly as the process will allow. Some issues will be negotiated and settled; others will be heard by a judge. Whether your case is amicably settled or there is a vigorous trial, my philosophy is simple: to provide you with the legal advice and support you need in order to make sound, educated decisions that will prepare you for your future. My practice is evenly divided between men and women.

Also, I provide services in negotiating and preparing pre-marital agreements before you get married in order to protect your assets. People sometimes have issues that arise after their domestic relations order has been entered by the court. These matters can involve the modifcation of a custody or support order, the enforcement of a custody, support or divorce obligation or other issues that can arise in the future. I have represented many clients in these areas.

I practice in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia Counties. My rates are reasonable and are directly related to the factors of your individual case. All cases are handled personally by me; no other attorney will be with you in court. All telephone calls are returned within 24 hours, at the very latest.

So, whether it is litigation or mediation you choose, I am ready and available to help. Please identify which you wish to engage me for when you first call. If you would like more information on either or both of these options, please feel free to contact me to discuss these matters.

I pride myself on quality, personal service. I am involved in several Bar Association Family Law Committees and I lecture frequently on legal topics. I received my law degree from the Delaware Law School of Widener University in 1981. I am a member of all courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I look forward to hearing from you and meeting with you.

SUPPORT: Support in Pennsylvania is calculated pursuant to a formula, which we call "guidelines". These guidelines apply only when the net monthly income of husband and wife is $20,000.00 or less and there are 6 or less children. These guidelines consider the income of the husband and wife ONLY. One's expenses are not considered in calculating a support obligation, unless one has what the law considers an "extraordinary expense", which is outside the contemplation of the guidelines. In addition to the support amount, other expenses such as child care, and medical expenses, for example, are not part of the guidelines but are shared by the parties in addition to the support amount. Support is never a permanent order. It is always modifiable if there is a change of circumstances which would warrant either an increase or a decrease.

HIGH END SUPPORT: If the net monthly income of both Husband and Wife combined exceeds $20,000.00, the guidelines do not apply in the calculation of both child support and alimony. Rather, a case called Melzer v. Witsberger applies. This case says that in these types of support/alimony cases, the dependent party must prove their actual and reasonable monthly need and this will be the amount of support/alimony.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that your selection of counsel in these types of cases will by critical. One should only look to very experienced family law counsel to represent you in these types of high end matters. The pitfalls are many and un less your attorney has experience with this particular sub-specialty, you could be very disappointed with the results.

CUSTODY: There are two types of custody in Pennsylvania, physical custody and legal custody. In the usual situation, custody is shared between parents, generally with one parent being the primary physical custodian (this means the child lives with that parent the majority of time) and the other being the partial physical custodian (this parent visits with the child, usually pursuant to a schedule). However, such a sharing is not required. Some parents share physical custody of their children equally, and this is called "shared" custody. Legal custody concerns which parent makes the major, important decisions regarding the child. This is shared equally in the vast majority of cases. A custody order is a court order which establishes the type of custodial arrangement the parents will follow. The order generally provides for a custody schedule to be followed. This schedule covers weekly visits, vacation and holiday time, and transportation issues, to name a few.

DIVORCE: Pennsylvania is a no-fault state. As such, the reasons for the divorce, except in the case of alimony, are not relevant. There are two no- fault ways to get divorced in Pennsylvania. The first way is a consensual no- fault divorce. Under this system, a divorce complaint is filed and served upon the non-filing party. There is then a 90 day waiting period, after the date of service of the complaint, during which time nothing can be filed with the court. This is called the "cooling off period". Once 90 days have passed, so long as the parties have agreed upon all other issues (support, custody, division of property, etc.), the court will grant the parties a divorce after they each sign an affidavit agreeing to be divorced. The other no-fault divorce is the non-consensual divorce. In this situation, one party will not agree to be divorced. The party that wants the divorce must then wait two years from the date the parties separated before that party can ask the court to divorce the parties. After this two year period, the court will divorce the parties even if one party does not consent.

DIVISION OF PROPERTY: There are many factors that are considered in deciding the precise division of marital assests. Any asset acquired during the marraige (regardless how it is titled or who paid for it) and the increase in value of an asset brought into the marraige by a party (unless a pre- marital agreement says otherwise) is a marital asset. These assets include, but are not limited to, real estate, household items, vehicles, boats, IRAs, retirement plans, 401ks, cash, investments, etc.The division of assets starts from a presumption that the division will be 50/50 between spouses. From there, a number of factors are applied (such as the relative earnings of the parties, the future earnings of the respective parties, whether either party has separate assets and the like) to determine how to split the assets.

ALIMONY: Pennsylvania is an alimony state. The purpose of alimony is to both provide the dependent spouse (the spouse who makes less income) with the ability to somewhat equalize the incomes of the parties and to provide that spouse with a fresh start. The general rule of thumb in Pennsylvania is one year of alimony for every three years of marraige. Therefore, in a marraige of 15 years, with one spouse having greater income than the other, alimony might last approximately 5 years. In certain circumstances, one might qualify for lifetime alimony. In marraiges of especially short duration there would be no alimony awarded. Alimony is calculated pursuant to a formula ("guidelines"-see "Support") and one's expenses are generally not a factor. "Fault" issues such as abandonment, adultery, etc. can affect both the entitlement to support as well as the amount one might receive.

MEDIATION: Not all divorces are litigated through the Courts. Certain parties are candidates for mediation. Mediation is a situation where the husband and wife meet with a third party, called a "mediator". Mediators are specially trained to hear these types of disputes and help parties reach their own settlement of the economic and custody aspects of the case. Thereafter, the agreement is reduced to writing, signed and the parties get divorced. Generally, mediation is a faster, less expensive and "friendlier" way to get divorced than is litigation.

PRE-MARITAL AGREEMENTS: In situations where a party or parties have accumulated assets before the marraige which they wish to keep separate, the parties can enter into an agreement, before marraige, which can accomplish this. This is known as a Pre-Marital or Pre-Nuptial Agreement. Each party has the opportunity to secure his/her own attorney (although each party retaining an attorney is not required by law in order to make the agreement valid), the terms of the agreement are agreed to and then reduced to writing. This is a binding contract which will dictate the terms of a divorce settlement in the event of a subsequent divorce.

PROTECTION FROM ABUSE: Pennsylvania has a Protection From Abuse statute. This statute protects any persons in a loving relationship (married or not, heterosexual or not---any loving relationship between two persons) from harassing, abusing, hitting and/or stalking the other. In emergency cases, it provides for immediate eviction from the home. After a hearing, the Protection From Abuse order can continue for a period of one year from the date it is entered. The order can provide either that the parties will not bother or harass each other or it can provide for eviction from the home.

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Lee Schwartz

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Location : Philadelphia, PA

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