Why You Need a Child Custody Attorney if You Have a PFA Against You

In Pennsylvania, a protection from abuse order (PFA) helps keep victims of domestic violence safe from their abusers. Being served with a PFA can affect your reputation and livelihood, and prevent you from seeing your children. If you are the subject of a PFA, it is critical to seek the counsel of the best child custody lawyer in your area.  They can evaluate your case and assist you with any legal processes that may be necessary to preserve or regain custody rights.

How Does a PFA Work?

A PFA prohibits an alleged abuser from contacting or seeing the plaintiff.  When filing for a protection from abuse order, a plaintiff can ask for specific restrictions on contacting or visiting his or her children. This means that if the court restricts contact with your children, attempting to see them or contacting them would be a violation of the PFA.

PFAs and Existing Custody Orders

In some circumstances, a PFA can supersede an existing custody order. For example, if a judge finds that a defendant is likely to abuse the children or remove them from the jurisdiction before a final PFA hearing, custody may be revoked. However, if your children are not named in the restraining order and the judge finds that they are not at risk of being abused by you, your custody rights will not be taken away. If there is no custody order in place, a judge can set forth custody arrangements in a PFA, including prohibiting custody or requiring supervised visitation.

What Happens if I Violate a PFA to See My Children?

Although it’s painful to be unable to see your kids, violating a PFA will not work in your favor. Violation of a PFA may result in criminal contempt of court charges, which can carry penalties of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. A violation could also have an impact on custody and visitation arrangements in the future, and be used against you in other pending court cases. A domestic violence lawyer can help you understand your legal options and advise you on a course of action that may be effective for retaining or regaining your custody rights.

Challenging a PFA

Although you can challenge a protection from abuse order, you will not be able to defend yourself until the final PFA hearing. A temporary PFA lasts for 10 days, so if the order bars you from seeing your kids, it is best to follow that order until your hearing. Having a family law attorney by your side greatly increases your chances of a favorable outcome in your final PFA hearing.  If a final PFA bars you from custody, your lawyer can help you fight it.

PFAs and Child Support

It is important to keep in mind that even if there is a protective order against you, you are still required to provide financial support to your children if it has been ordered by the court. Each circumstance is unique. A Pennsylvania child support lawyer can evaluate your case and provide advice about which types of support you are obligated to pay.

Protection from abuse orders can have a serious impact on child custody rights. Seeking the counsel of our custody lawyers in Chester County, PA can give you the best chance of preserving your rights so you can be there for your children.

This blog was originally posted on https://pa4law.com/why-you-need-a-child-custody-attorney-if-you-have-a-pfa-against-you/

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What to Know Before You File for Divorce

A divorce is a complex legal proceeding, sometimes taking years to complete. There are actions you can take that are likely to assist a divorce lawyer in achieving your best possible outcome:

Minimize Emotion

This likely is a difficult time for you emotionally, yet your best decisions and plans are not made when you are feeling emotional. Rationally analyze your decision to pursue the divorce. Is this what you truly want? Have you tried every possible avenue to achieve a reconciliation? Ask yourself these questions at a time when you are feeling calm and in control of your emotions.

Your Rapport with Your Divorce Attorney

Because divorce is complex and may take longer than you expected to complete, you should select an attorney with whom you feel a strong rapport. There is no substitute for the years of experience with divorce and custody cases that your law firm can bring to the table.

Documentation

As your divorce progresses, you will realize the importance of financial and other documents. However, you should be gathering all the documents before you file for divorce. It’s advisable to make copies of bank and investment account statements, phone records, credit card statements, mortgages, and car loans and bring them when you meet with your divorce attorney. After you have filed for divorce, it might be difficult to gather all the documents that will impact your marital settlement.

Child Custody

For many families, child custody is the most emotional issue in a divorce. It’s likely you will share custody of minor children. To assist you in achieving a custody arrangement that is agreeable to you, review your work schedule and your children’s schedule, and other commitments you have, and define a custody schedule that will work for you. This provides your child custody lawyer with a concrete goal to work toward.

Buying or Selling

Once you have filed for divorce, the judge will prohibit you and your spouse from buying, selling or disposing of marital property. Let’s say you need a new car or have been planning to sell a rental property. It’s best to do this now before your file for divorce.

Your Living Situation

It’s important to define your desired living situation during and after the divorce. Then discuss this with your child support lawyer who will advise you about how to behave in order to achieve your goals. For instance, moving out of your home, even on a temporary basis, prior to your divorce may have an impact on when or if you will be able to return to your residence.

Joint Accounts

Talk to your attorney about joint bank accounts and credit cards. He or she will advise you about the best way to handle these accounts. The concern is that a joint account can be drained or burdened with inflated spending once your spouse becomes aware of your intent to divorce.

No Time for Romance

Prior to and during a divorce, it is not a good idea to start a new romantic relationship. Keep your focus on your home life and making sure your children are secure and well-cared-for. A romance is a distraction that could also compromise your position in the eyes of the court.

If you have are contemplating divorce, you need experienced lawyers who have handled these cases before such as the team at Perna & Abracht. If you have a specific question about your situation, and want an answer without any obligation, you can ask the attorneys at Perna & Abracht here.

This blog was originally posted on  https://www.pa4law.com/what-to-know-before-you-file-for-divorce/

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5 Things You Can Do to Help Your Divorce Custody Case

Divorce is not easy, and sometimes emotions exaggerate the challenges. If you are considering a divorce, try to keep as calm as you can, and use common sense to take these actions that may help your good divorce lawyer achieve a better outcome for your case:

1.    It Starts at Home

Divorce can be very distracting, even from your most important job which is being an attentive parent. Your children need a safe and stable home environment, and to feel you are attending to their needs. Make sure to maintain the children’s usual activities and be the same parent who always took an interest in these activities. Stay in touch with their teachers, and if it seems needed, obtain counseling for the children. Stay in the home with the children; in certain cases, if you were to move-out and leave them with your spouse, a judge could interpret that unfavorably for you in the child custody arrangement.

2.    Daily Record

Your child custody lawyer needs you to keep a diary of all your activities with your children. Record the time you spend with them, and also record the time they spend with the other parent. You should record anything that will affect the children, such as arguments or ridiculing comments made in front of the children. Record when the spouse is expected to pick-up the children, and when the spouse actually does pick-up the children – and the same on their return to you.

3.    Documentation

It’s important to document the activities and events you record. This could include school records or witnesses who can verify when a child is picked-up from school or activities, or someone who could testify about parenting behavior. Of course, police reports are needed if anything escalates to that level.

Make sure you strictly abide by any pick-up/drop-off agreements and behave as an exemplary parent, as your spouse may be keeping a diary as well.

You will need to make copies of documents pertaining to finances, including pay stubs, records of any loans, credit card statements, bank records, and retirement savings records. Your child support lawyer will need these to help protect you financially. Your attorney will want to see all the documentation you have collected and will guide you on any further documentation needed for your case. To facilitate confidential communication with your attorney, it may be helpful to get a cell phone of your own (not on your family’s plan) and establish an email account that your spouse cannot access.

4.    Reduce Use of Social Media

Social media is an area where it’s easy to make a mistake that can negatively affect your divorce or custody case. It is best to curtail your use of social media during this time. Do not ever use social media to mention your divorce or custody case, or to criticize your spouse in any way. Think about how your social media posts reflect you as a parent. In general, the less said on social media the better while you are going through divorce or child custody litigation,

5.    Contact Perna & Abracht

If you have are thinking of divorce and have children, you need divorce attorneys who have handled these cases before, such as our team at Perna & Abracht. If you have just started considering divorce, we can guide you through steps to take when considering divorce and through this difficult time.

This blog was originally posted on https://www.pa4law.com/5-things-you-can-do-to-help-your-divorce-custody-case/

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