Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.Reading Family Law Attorney | Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.2024-03-13T01:21:40Zhttps://www.pandelaw.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1301426/2020/10/cropped-ID-32x32.jpgOn Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=479172024-03-13T01:21:40Z2024-03-13T01:21:40Ztelling children about a divorce.
Choose the right time and setting
Selecting an appropriate time and setting is crucial when telling children about their parents' divorce. Aim for a moment when the children are likely to feel secure and when there is enough time to discuss their feelings and answer questions.
A quiet, comfortable, and familiar place can help make this difficult conversation a little easier. If possible, ensure both parents are present to send a message of unity and support.
Be honest but keep it age-appropriate
Honesty is essential when discussing divorce with children, but the information shared should be appropriate for their age and maturity level. Explain the situation in clear, simple terms. Avoid unnecessary details that could cause confusion or distress. Children need reassurance that their parents' love for them remains unchanged, even if other aspects of their lives are evolving.
Address changes in living arrangements
Children will naturally be concerned about changing their daily lives, so it's important to discuss new living arrangements. Explain any immediate changes, such as who will be moving out and when, and reassure them about continuity in their routines regarding school and activities as much as possible. Emphasize that both parents will continue to be a part of their lives and that the love and care they receive won’t decrease.
Encourage questions and express emotions
Invite your children to ask questions and express their feelings about the divorce. They might need time to process the information before they know what to ask, so let them know it's okay to come back later with questions. Listen to their concerns and validate their feelings. It's also helpful for parents to express their emotions in a controlled way, as this can model healthy emotional expression and reassure children that it's okay to feel sad or upset.
Co-parents should set up their parenting plan as quickly and thoughtfully as possible. This can help to ensure the children’s needs are met and that there’s a plan for future stability.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=479122023-12-14T02:43:04Z2023-12-14T02:43:04ZWho is an ideal agent?
Every person may have a slightly different idea about what factors make another person the best candidate for serving as their agent or attorney-in-fact. Sometimes, people worry about selecting someone who has the exact same beliefs and values as they do. While some degree of overlap is valuable, the agent won't necessarily act of their own accord.
Instead, they should follow clear instructions provided by the testator. Therefore, someone's personal beliefs are less important than the terms the principal included and the agent's ability to fulfill them. The best agent is an adult who has adequate organizational skills, a deep sense of personal ethics and an ability to stay calm in the most stressful situations.
Depending on the type of power of attorney that someone drafts, their agent might handle their medical care during an emergency or take control of their financial resources. Therefore, the person needs to be someone who can follow instructions, manage complex resources and put their own interests after the best interests of the principal.
Powers of attorney typically only have authority when someone is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. The actions that they take can have a massive impact on someone's health and their financial stability. Some people choose to name different individuals for financial and medical matters. Others may choose to appoint co-agents who mutually hold authority as a way of preventing one person from having too much control.
The selection of the right agent is crucial to someone's piece of mind and protection. The integration of the right terms and instructions in power of attorney documents can also be invaluable. Taking the time to create necessary estate planning documents could have a major impact on someone's protection if they experience some kind of personal emergency.
]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478752023-11-06T16:19:15Z2023-11-06T16:19:15ZWhat’s your motive for making the introduction?
Before deciding whether to introduce your new partner to your ex-spouse, examining your motives is essential. Understanding why you want to do this can help you make a well-informed choice.
Suppose you already have children with your ex-spouse; introducing your new partner may be necessary. Effective co-parenting often requires all parties involved to be on the same page, and introducing your new partner to your ex-spouse can facilitate this process. It shows that you are committed to creating a harmonious environment for your children.
In addition, introducing your new partner may be a way to demonstrate that you are honest about your current romantic life. It can foster trust and open communication between you and your ex-spouse.
When is the best time for the introduction?
You can agree that the timing of the introduction is paramount. Rushing into it can lead to unnecessary tension and complications, and waiting too long can defeat some of the purpose of the introduction. Nevertheless, before introducing your new partner, allow ample time for your ex-spouse – and your children – to process the end of your previous relationship. Pushing for an introduction too soon can be overwhelming.
Determining whether or not to introduce your new romantic partner to your ex-spouse is a decision that should be made thoughtfully. Consider your motives and ensure that the timing is just right. All in all, remember that there is no one-size-fits-all answer, and each situation is unique, but also that if you share custody of minor children, putting off this task for too long could spell trouble.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478742023-10-27T21:05:31Z2023-10-27T21:05:31ZSinister strategies
To make matters worse, many parents use their children as pawns in a sinister game of “chess” to gain an advantage in their marital dissolution. Simply put, placing kids in the middle will inevitably do more harm than good. In addition, family law courts throughout the nation frown on the strategy. On a personal level, children can feel unimportant, affecting their self-esteem and security over the long term.
Conversely, parents who have the best of intentions and focus on their kids can also find themselves employing that strategy. Naturally, if not inadvertently, they focus on their own well-being at the expense of their children and the needs they have.
Strategies to protect your kids
To avoid negatively impacting their children, parents should tread carefully when it comes to the following:
Children forced into the role of confidant for either spouse while taking on parental duties to care for siblings
Tension or conflict between parents that is witnessed, overheard, or expressed in family mediation
Placing the child in the role of messenger between parents or pawn in court proceedings
The child hearing criticism of one parent over their parenting ability or fault in the marital dissolution
Children are treated as spies to hold secrets or experience interrogation from the other parent
One parent providing insight on financial issues to their kids
The emotional impact on children more involved in divorce than just being kids can do potentially irreparable damage to children. The trauma accompanies them as they make decisions well into adulthood. The best route for parents who are in the midst of divorce is to let kids be kids and ensure their emotional health during difficult times.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478722023-03-21T11:51:36Z2023-03-21T11:51:36ZThey draft a will that mentions specific beneficiaries
When someone dies without a will, state law passes their property to their closest family members. That means that children will typically inherit in that scenario but grandchildren would not. While intestate succession laws keep the property in the family, they do little to protect grandchildren.
At the very least, a grandparent will need to have a will designating their grandchildren as beneficiaries if they want to leave assets for their grandchildren. Often, people will go so far as to create a trust. Trusts give an additional layer of control and can allow people to take special steps, like completely skipping their children's generation for tax purposes. Trusts also allow someone to set aside resources for a child that they can't access until they become an adult or reach other specific milestones.
They keep their families informed of their wishes
Children and other expectant beneficiaries might become angry and try to take legal action if they are unhappy with the terms included in an estate plan. Those who talk openly with their loved ones about their intentions and therefore give them time to adjust their expectations can reduce the risk of family members challenging their estate plans after they die.
Having adequate legal support while creating estate planning documents and choosing the right estate executor are also important considerations for those who want to leave resources for their grandchildren.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478582023-01-24T12:29:25Z2022-12-16T03:08:06Z
Choosing a guardian
Perhaps the most important reason for parents to create a will or update their existing one is so that they can name someone they trust to serve as the guardian of their children if anything were to happen to them. The guardian will have legal responsibility for the children, which means you have to balance the need for responsible behavior with the ability to compassionately care for your children.
Providing financial support
You likely want to ensure that your children have resources after losing you and can maintain a decent standard of living. Estate planning allows you to achieve that goal. You may want to update the beneficiaries for your life insurance policy or purchase life insurance if you have not done so already.
Additionally, you will want to allocate certain assets for your children's cost of living expenses. You need to determine what assets you want your children to receive and what, if any, property would go to other people.
Protecting your legacy
Simply naming your children as the beneficiaries of your estate won't be enough to ensure that they benefit from the proceeds of your life insurance policy or the property that you bequeath to them in your will. Technically, until your children turn 18, anything they inherit will be under the control of their guardian or their other parent.
By moving the main components of their inheritance to a trust or using your life insurance to find a trust, you can limit how the guardian accesses their inheritance and preserve as much as possible for when they come of age. Additionally, the trustee can be a secondary source of support for your children beyond the guardian who cares for them.
Adding to your estate plan or creating documents will help you better protect the child you just added to your family.
]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478552023-01-24T12:29:34Z2022-09-13T18:47:46Zconsidering adopting them so that you are their legal parent. What are the most common reasons that stepparents choose to adopt their stepchildren?
To protect their relationship
Maybe your spouse just received a diagnosis of cancer, and you worry about the children ending up in the custody of an uninvolved or negligent parent if treatment isn't successful. Perhaps you hope your marriage will last forever but worry about losing your relationship with the children if you ever divorce.
A stepparent adoption will give you the same legal rights as a biological parent, thus allowing you to take care of the children if your spouse dies or to ask for shared custody in the event of a divorce.
To give the children a sense of stability
Having an uninvolved parent can cause serious mental health issues in children. Their sense of abandonment can affect their self-esteem and even their school performance. When you step up into a parental role, you let your stepchildren know that they are loved and wanted. You can replace a parent who has failed to give the children the emotional connection and social support that they require.
To give your whole family access to more protection
From the right to benefit from a wrongful death lawsuit to eligibility for your health insurance coverage through your employer, there are numerous benefits and protections that stepchildren may struggle to access.
Adoptive children have the same rights as biological children when it comes to inheritance or pursuing civil claims in court. By officially adding your stepchildren to your family, you can better meet their needs now and offer them more protection if something happens to you in the future.
Talking with your spouse and the rest of the family about a stepparent adoption could lead to some positive growth for your entire family unit.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478522023-01-24T12:29:41Z2022-09-01T21:34:35ZKeeping the house
Maybe you have already agreed with your ex that you should have primary custody of the children. Asking to keep the family home so that they can remain enrolled at the same school district may be a reasonable request in your divorce.
Perhaps the home has been in your family for generations, or maybe you just like the neighborhood or the home's proximity to your job. As long as you have the income and credit score necessary to qualify for financing on your own, you may be able to negotiate an arrangement with your ex that involves you owning the home outright following the divorce.
Asking for your share of the equity
Maybe you are ready to move on with your life and want to leave Pennsylvania after the divorce. Perhaps you simply recognize that it would be too much work to take care of home maintenance without the support of a spouse.
If you don't want to remain living in the marital home, you can always ask for a portion of the equity by allowing your spouse to keep the property. Sometimes, you may negotiate for other assets by leveraging your share of the home equity, such as a retirement account or a family business.
Selling the home
Sometimes, former spouses agree that the best conclusion to their divorce would involve them selling the home where they lived together and splitting the money they earn from the sale. Those proceeds can provide a valuable nest egg that can help you find a place to live that doesn't have memories from your marriage attached to it.
In rare cases, some couples retain joint ownership, possibly to continue repairing the house, to allow their children to stay in the home that they know or to wait for the market to improve. Understanding how you can handle your home in your Pennsylvania property division proceedings can help you employ the most effective approach.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478372023-01-24T12:29:47Z2022-03-16T20:19:36ZWho owns the account isn't what matters
You feel like you have nothing because of your dependent financial status. However, your unpaid contributions around the home the willingness to put your career on the back burner are exactly why your spouse has succeeded so much in their career. Under the equitable division property division rule in Pennsylvania, you have the right to claim some of your spouse's retirement account or pension benefits when you divorce.
Even if the account is in their name and they started it before you got married, you still have a right to a portion of the account balance when you divorce. You do not need to receive funds directly from the retirement account or pension, as the judge dividing your property should consider your share of those resources when splitting your other assets.
You can claim Social Security, too
Even if you have not made enough contributions to Social Security to claim retirement benefits or can only claim a minimal amount, you can claim retirement benefits based on your spouse's Social Security contributions. As long as you stayed married for at least 10 years, their benefits can help support you until you remarry. That claim won't even diminish the benefits that they receive.
When you understand the resources available to you, you will feel less uncertain about your financial future if you do divorce. Learning more about the rules that govern property division when you divorce will lead to better plans and a better approach to negotiations or court.]]>On Behalf of Palange, Endres & Marks, P.C.https://www.pandelaw.com/?p=478342023-01-24T12:29:53Z2021-12-10T19:25:31ZThe division of parenting time
One of the most influential factors in how much child support someone pays is how much parenting time they spend with the kids or have responsibility for them.
When one parent has substantially more parental responsibility, the parent with less parenting time will typically have to make child support payments to them. However, the division of parenting time is not the only issue that factors into child support.
The income of both parents
Even when parents attempt to equally share parental responsibilities, the courts may still order one to pay child support to the other. If one parent makes more money than the other, the higher-earning parent will typically have to make some contributions to the other household in the form of child support.
The number of children and their needs
The more children you have, the more child support you will have to pay. Bigger families are much more expensive to house and feed than a single child. Each child also requires a different amount of support.
Many children just need a standard level of financial support to cover their school costs and child care expenses. However, some children, such as those with special needs, may cost much more to care for properly. Child care, health care and even schooling costs can be higher for some children than for others. If the courts see evidence that the children have exceptional financial needs, that can also factor into the amount of child support that the state ultimately orders.
When situations in the family change, the child support order may change as well. Otherwise, the state should review the support order every four years and update it according to new family circumstances. Understanding the rules that determine child support obligations makes preparing for divorce easier.]]>