Document Actions
|
|
1220 Grant Building, 310 Grant Street
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
15219
Phone: 412-281-1988
Fax: 412-391-0668
|
Thank you for inquiring into the services of Pittsburgh divorce lawyer and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania family law attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire. Attorney Notaro has divided this page into two sections, labeled “About My Services” and “My Pennsylvania Law Information.” Please feel free to read and explore this page to answer your questions about Pennsylvania Family Law as well as representation and/or mediation by Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Please also feel free to review my firm websiwte, which can be found at www.PaLegalServices.com , as well as my www.divorcenet.com sponsored mediation site. After you have examined my site material, I am sure that you will select my firm for representation or mediation in you family law matter! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail as listed above.
Bethany L. Notaro is a Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania attorney and mediator who limits her practice to the following family law, divorce, mediation, and related areas including:
- Divorce THROUGHOUT the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including one count, no-fault divorce packages*
- Mediation in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- PFA issues (domestic violence) in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- Child Support, Spousal Support, and alimony cases, including enforcement in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- Representation of Defendant in child support cases, including paternity in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- The division of marital assets upon the dissolution of the marriage, including the drafting and Court execution of the related contract and documentation THROUGHOUT the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania*
- Counseling for marrying couples, as well as pre-nuptial agreements THROUGHOUT the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania*
- Grandparents visitation in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- Adoption, including step parent adoption in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
- Name changes in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) and surrounding Pennsylvania Counties
* Cases requiring Court appearances or litigation are limited to Pittsburgh (Allegheny County), Washington County, Armstrong County, Beaver County, Butler County, Lawrence County, Westmoreland County, and other local counties. Please refer to www.PaLegalServices.com for more details. For clients who desire and qualify for one count, no fault divorce packages (and other select services), no court appearances are necessary.
Our main office is conveniently located in downtown Pittsburgh at 310 Grant Street in the Grant Building, Suite 1220, directly beside the City County Building and Courthouses.
Our Associate Attorney, Susan A. Heinemann, is an experienced divorce attorney who practices all over Western Pennsylvania. She is a 1996 graduate from the University of Pittsburgh where she earned her B.A. in Business and Political Science with honors. After working in business for a number of years, Ms. Heinemann attended Duquesne University’s School of Law. Ms. Heinemann earned a spot on the Duquesne Law Review and published an article in 2003 on government regulation of the investment industry. Ms. Heinemann gained her first legal experience as a law clerk from 2003 to 2004. Ms. Heinemann earned her Juris Doctorate Degree in June 2004. Afterwards, she practiced in Family Law in the South Hills of Allegheny County. Ms. Heinemann is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Family Section. In addition, she has participated in the Matrimonial Inns of Court in Allegheny County. In late 2007, Ms. Heinemann joined Notaro and Associates as an Associate Attorney.
Please visit www.PaLegalServices.com for more detailed information about family law, mediation, and domestic relations laws in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (i.e., concerning prenuptial agreements, alimony, divorce and related agreements, separation and related agreements, annulment, child support, spousal support, alimony, APL (alimony pendente lite), paternity, custody, grandparent’s visitation rights, PFA and domestic violence, name changes, and other related areas). We feel that you will find our website to be an invaluable resource on current divorce laws, articles, and updates in the field of family law.
About Our Services:
Bethany L. Notaro & Associates, P.C. offers prompt, affordable Pennsylvania family law representation to most Southwestern PA counties, including Allegheny County, Westmoreland County, Fayette County, Somerset County, Armstrong County, Lawrence County, Butler County, Beaver County, Washington County, and others.
Attorney Notaro provides affordable hourly rates and some flat rate legal services for matters such as one count, no fault Pennsylvania divorces, support hearings, PFA hearings, Pennsylvania Wills, and Pennsylvania Mediation services. Please call for details regarding flat rate services.
Attorney Notaro offers a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to those clients who mention www.divorcenet.com when scheduling. Attorney Notaro also provides paid consultations, for your convenience.
Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire is a Pittsburgh divorce lawyer and Pennsylvania family lawyer who limits her practice to family law cases including divorce, child support, custody, spousal support, alimony, wills and estate matters, and those cases arising from these areas of the law. Although Attorney Notaro is a Pittsburgh divorce attorney and has her primary practice location in Pittsburgh, PA, she also proudly serves all of Allegheny County and various other Pennsylvania counties.
Attorney Notaro is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (BA, cum laude, Psychology), and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD). She obtained her undergraduate degree in the field of psychology, with a special concentration in the counseling arts. Attorney Notaro received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She trained in Conflict Resolution and Professional Mediation at the Pittsburgh Mediation Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Attorney Notaro has also received training in Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) as well as Family Law and Professional Divorce Mediation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Attorney Notaro is a member of the Family Law Sections of both the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She also serves on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Board of Arbitrators. Attorney Notaro has authored several articles and legal compilations on various Pennsylvania Family Law and Mediation topics.
Because Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire and the small group of Pennsylvania divorce lawyers who assist her in her practice work primarily in family law, her firm is able to properly and professionally advise you on key issues and steps to take at every stage of your legal matter. Unlike other attorneys, Attorney Notaro concentrates solely in family law matters. She has represented numerous individuals in their family law issues. She spends the vast majority of each work day in the family division Court of Allegheny County. Attorney Notaro has been witness to many different family law and divorce related cases and situations. Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire is a courteous and professional Pennsylvania divorce lawyer who would look forward to assisting you in your Pennsylvania family law matter.
Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire is unique among Pittsburgh family law attorneys for the additional reason that she makes it a point to give each and every case her own undivided personal attention. Barring unforeseen circumstances, when you hire Bethany L. Notaro as your attorney, you know that it will be Attorney Notaro that represents you at your hearings and throughout your case. Attorney Notaro keeps her retainer and hourly rates low and competitive so that each of her clients can benefit from her services. In her experience, Attorney Notaro has learned that most clients would prefer to speak and communicate their problems and concerns to their actual family law attorney rather than to a secretary or office employee. In the event that Attorney Notaro is not able to speak with a client immediately regarding an issue, she will most often return the call within 24 hours or less.
Attorney Notaro has her primary practice location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Allegheny County, PA) . She works primarily in family law, which covers a broad range of family matters such as divorce, child custody, child support, Protection from Abuse ( PFA ), alimony, paternity, and other domestic matters. Attorney Notaro is a divorce attorney who is unlike other family law attorneys in that she is also a trained mediator, and is well suited to handle both amicable and adversarial cases. Attorney Notaro is a lawyer who makes it her goal to cooperate with her clients and other lawyers in handling the cases to the best of her ability. Besides Pittsburgh, PA and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Attorney Notaro represents clients in other communities such as Bethel Park, Carnegie, Coraopolis, Cranberry Township, Fox Chapel, Greensburg, Mars, McCandless, Monroeville, Moon, Murrysville, New Castle, Pleasant Hills, Plum, Sewickley, South Park, and others.
Please also visit my firm site: http://www.PaLegalServices.com.
My Pennsylvania Law Information:
Currently the caselaw in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seems to say that an engagement ring is a “Conditional gift”. A conditional gift is one that a person gives with the expectation of receiving something in return. Although you really can’t sue an individual solely for breaking a promise to marry you, in the case of an engagement ring, if a marriage does not occur, in many situations, the giver of the ring is entitled to get his (or her) engagement ring back.
This is often, but not always the case. For more information on your rights concerning an engagement ring, please contact PA Family Lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Where one or both of the individuals entering into a marriage have significant funds prior to the marriage, a PA family lawyer might advise either or both of the individuals to enter into a Prenuptial agreement. If the couple later divorces, prenuptial agreements are generally upheld. In some cases, such as those where fraud or misrepresentation existed when the prenuptial agreement was being created, or there was a lack full and fair disclosure of financial assets when the parties entered into the agreement, a prenuptial agreement can be contested. Surprisingly, in many cases, the reasonableness of the agreement is not relevant.
For more information on your rights concerning a prenuptial agreement, please contact PA family law attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Getting married and Common Law Marriages
In Pennsylvania, there are generally two things required to get married: one is a license; the other is a ceremony. Generally, the ceremony must be conducted by clergy or civil officers empowered to administer oaths. Pennsylvania is one of the few states left that sometimes also recognizes the common law marriage. Caselaw seems to say that a male and a female must actually exchange vows to each other in the present tense, as well as hold themselves out to their community as married in order to have a common law marriage.
Contrary to many myths (i.e., the “seven year rule”) There is generally no minimum period of cohabitation to be considered married!
For more information on Prenuptial agreements and common law marriages, please contact Pittsburgh Family law attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
There are two ways to end a marriage in PA: annulment and divorce.
Two types of marriages can be ended by annulments- those that are “void” and those that are “voidable”. A void marriage is treated somewhat as if the marriage never existed. There are three general types of void marriages:
(1) A marriage where one or both of the spouses have insanity or serious mental illness;
(2) A bigamous marriage;
(3) An incestuous marriage.
Voidable marriages can only be annulled when a spouse successfully “attacks” it. The following are situations where a spouse may “attack” a voidable marriage:
- A spouse is under age.
- A spouse is intoxicated upon the marriage.
- Duress existed.
- Fraud existed.
- There is a lack of some physical capacity. For example, a spouse has an incurable physical or psychological inability to have normal sexual intercourse.
If you would like more information on proceeding with a divorce or an annulment, please contact PA divorce attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Divorces. There are generally two types of divorces in Pennsylvania: Fault and no fault.
Imprisonment for 2 or more years; Bigamy; Indignities, or a course of conduct that makes a spouse’s life burdensome or conditions intolerable; Adultery, or voluntary sex with a non-spouse; Cruel & Barbarous Treatment, or physical abuse; Desertion, or willful and malicious absence from home without justification for a year or longer; Insanity, or a situation where a spouse is institutionalized, are all grounds for a fault based divorce.
Sometimes, even though a spouse is at fault, he or she may have “defenses” to the behavior. Common defenses are Provocation, Condonation OR Insanity.
If you think you may be proceeding with a fault based divorce, please contact PA divorce attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire for assistance.
The “standard” for a No-Fault Divorce is one where the Marriage is “irretrievably broken”. Where both parties agree that they want a divorce, and both parties consent to a divorce, the parties may sign an affidavit, wait 90 days, and assuming the paperwork is in order, a divorce may be granted.
A party can also request a decree in divorce (No-Fault) where the party alleges that the marriage is “irretrievably broken”, and the parties are separated and apart for at least two years.
To proceed with a divorce in Pennsylvania, a spouse must reside in PA for at least 6 months before the divorce. The court of common pleas in the county where one or the other of the parties resides will generally have jurisdiction of the divorce case.
For more information about proceeding with a divorce in Pennsylvania, please contact Allegheny County divorce lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Parties sometimes settle their economic issues out of court using Separation Agreements. A Pennsylvania divorce attorney would define a Separation Agreement as a Contract between the parties that determines post-marriage rights and liabilities.
Property Division in Courts in Pennsylvania is determined by Equitable distribution. The Court uses statutory factors to determine equitable distribution.
A Court will generally not divide the Separate Property of the spouses. Separate property is property acquired before marriage or acquired during marriage by one spouse as a gift, bequest, or inheritance. However, a court can take into consideration the amount of separate property a spouse has as a factor in distributing marital property.
Marital Property is any property of the spouses acquired during the marriage, as well as gifts between spouses during marriage, and the increase in value of separate property during marriage.
Courts in PA have the discretion to place a value on the parties’ property and to distribute the assets equitably.
For more information on equitable distribution, please contact Pennsylvania divorce lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Alimony and Alimony Pendente Lite
Alimony in Pennsylvania is the periodic payment of money for maintenance of a former spouse. Alimony is available if necessary to ensure the ability of the economically weaker party to support him or herself.
For more information on alimony, please contact Pennsylvania support lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
In Pennsylvania, there is another “type” of alimony which the court calls Alimony pendente lite. Alimony Pendente lite ( commonly APL ) is Alimony given during the pending litigation. APL is meant to be used for immediate support.
For more information on alimony pendente lite, please contact Pennsylvania support attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
In Pennsylvania, there is a strong presumption that the husband of a mother is to be considered the father of his wife’s baby. Where paternity of the child is in question, the parties can proceed through the court with a Paternity suit to determine the paternity of a non-marital child. Once paternity is established, the father has a duty to support his child.
For more information on paternity, please contact Pittsburgh custody lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
In Pennsylvania, a parent has an obligation to pay a sum of money for the maintenance of his or her child. The duty to support continues until the child is 18 or emancipated, regardless of the relationship between the parents. The amount of child support is determined by statutory guidelines.
A parent may request a modification of child support based on “Material and substantial change(s) in circumstances,” which are generally conditions relating to an increase or decrease in wealth or income, change in employment, retirement, or disability.
For more information on Child support, please contact Pittsburgh child support lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Sometimes when parents end their marriage, it is difficult for them to agree upon who should have custody of the children. The court uses a “Best interests” and welfare of the child standard to decide which custody arrangement will be best for the children. The court also takes into account various other factors, which include the desires of all parties involved; the age and health of the parties; the history of domestic violence, if any; and the relationships with siblings and other extended family members.
In some situations, Joint Custody can work. Joint custody works best when parents are non-hostile and very cooperative. It also works best when the parents live close enough to each other.
There are two different types of custody: Physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody is determined by which parent has the children in their “possession”. Legal custody is determined by which parent (or commonly both) has decision making power in deciding on important aspects of the child or children’s upbringing.
For legal help with your Pennsylvania Custody matter, please contact Pennsylvania Family Lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Did you know that anyone can be adopted, regardless of age?
If a child is a minor, the Natural Parent’s rights must be terminated voluntarily or involuntarily before the child can be adopted by another person or persons. Parental rights can be involuntarily terminated when they have abandoned or neglected the child.
One a child is adopted, the adoptive parent has all of the rights and responsibilities of a natural parent. Just the same, the adopted child acquires all of the rights and responsibilities of a natural child of the adoptive parent.
For legal help with your Pennsylvania adoption matter, please contact Allegheny County Family Lawyer and Pittsburgh adoption lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Please email us or visit our website for additional information.
