Family Law Information Center

Family Law - An Overview:

Allegheny & Butler County Divorce Attorney

Family law services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas

Most say there is nothing more important in life than family. If this is true, it must also mean nothing hurts more than family disputes. One reality, sad as it may be, is that families break up despite the best intentions of those involved in a marriage. Divorces, legal separations, custody arrangements, and support payments occur with increasing frequency. Selecting the right attorney or law firm could make a big difference in how the situation turns out for you and your family. With proper representation and counsel, it is possible to transform the end of one relationship into the beginning of a new chapter in your life. When you are feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed by your family's circumstances, what you need is an attorney with the sensitivity to help you turn over a new leaf and make a fresh start.

With the Sweeney Law Offices, you are guaranteed to get exactly that. We are committed to helping our clients resolve all types of family problems in the most amicable and satisfactory manner. Our law firm provides services to the residents of Pittsburgh, Cranberry Township, and other nearby communities in western Pennsylvania. Our attorneys have extensive experience assisting clients with all aspects of the law regarding family matters. [link to Practice Area Overview] We do this mainly by offering advice based on years of experience, by advocating on their behalf in negotiations or in court proceedings, and by representing them in mediation sessions. In addition to effective handling of divorce, child custody, and visitation matters, our Pennsylvania family law attorney is an experienced advocate for fathers' rights, grandparents' rights, and juvenile rights. To learn more about our law firm or to arrange a consultation, contact an Allegheny County family law lawyer.

Family Law - An Overview:

Family law is the term applied to the laws and rules developed regarding family relationships. Family law rules define not only the relationships between members of a family but also between a family and society as a whole. More than any other area of the law, family law reflects the values society shares regarding how people who are related should treat each other. When you are faced with an important life decision regarding a key family relationship, the advice and assistance of a family law attorney often proves crucial to your understanding of the issues involved and your satisfaction with the ultimate outcome of your family law matter.

Typically, family law attorneys assist people in making and breaking family relationships. Specific areas of representation include marriage and relationship planning, divorce, paternity, child custody, and child support. Some family law attorneys also provide assistance in the area of adoption.

Marriage

Marriage is a legal and business union as much as it is a romantic one. Because marriage is a legal and business arrangement, it may be wise to consult with an attorney about the advantages of premarital or prenuptial agreements. Many couples find it helpful to work through financial issues and the potential disagreements such issues can create before entering into a marriage.

For information on prenuptial agreements please click here.

Divorce

Divorce is a method of terminating a marriage contract between two individuals. From a legal standpoint, divorce restores an individual's right to marry someone else. The process also legally divides marital assets and debts and determines the care and custody of the children. Each state addresses these issues differently. However, most states follow the same basic principles and use relatively uniform standards.

In some states you need to prove fault, commonly referred to as grounds, to obtain a divorce. However, in Pennsylvania most divorce s are no-fault. This means the spouses are not required to prove that the other caused the breakdown of the marriage. Either you or your spouse may obtain a divorce, even if one of you does not consent to the divorce. Although most are no-fault in Pennsylvania, both fault and no-fault divorce are available.

In most divorces, the primary issues to be decided are alimony or spousal support, property division, and, if there are children, child custody, visitation, and child support. When spouses agree on how to resolve these issues, they can usually obtain a divorce quickly. However, in many cases, divorcing spouses have disputes regarding their post-marriage financial arrangements and the care and custody of their children. Property division and alimony are often hotly contested issues in divorce proceedings, but the early advice of a family law attorney may be able to impact the ultimate result favorably.

Pennsylvania Child Custody and Visitation

The care and upbringing of children following divorce is often an ongoing source of conflict for divorcing parents. Custody must address both physical custody and legal custody. Physical custody typically involves allocating parental rights and responsibilities regarding the day-to-day care and activities of the children. Legal custody typically involves allocating the legal rights and responsibilities associated with the child's upbringing.

Sometimes the parents agree to an arrangement; sometimes the court determines one for them. In the past, courts routinely gave mothers physical custody and gave fathers visitation rights. Today, the courts have begun to realize that sometimes it is in the best interests of the children to reside with the father and reverse the roles of the parents. In general, the courts favor joint ongoing child rearing responsibilities with the children residing where it is most practical and where they will flourish. The advice and assistance of a family law attorney can help parents to establish child custody and visitation agreements that focus on the interests of the children.

Child Support

In Pennsylvania, parents must financially support their children. That obligation usually lasts until the child reaches the age of majority or becomes self-supporting. An order for child support may be entered during or after a divorce, and either parent may be ordered to pay support depending upon how custody is arranged. In most states, an unmarried mother may also file a petition for child support in family court, and an order for support will be entered once paternity has been established.

A parent who fails to remain current on his or her child support obligations faces significant penalties. Every state has a child support enforcement office that works with the family court to suspend professional or business licenses, take away driver and recreational licenses, require payment of future owed sums in advance, or place non-paying parents in jail when child support obligations are overdue. Because of the state specific requirements involved in child support, parents can benefit from the advice and involvement of a family law attorney at our firm when child support issues arise.

We are committed to helping our clients resolve all types of family problems in the most amicable and satisfactory manner. Our law firm provides services to the residents of Pittsburgh and other nearby communities in Pennsylvania. Our attorneys have extensive experience assisting clients with all aspects of the law regarding family matters. We do this mainly by offering advice based on years of experience, by advocating on their behalf in negotiations or in court proceedings, and by representing them in mediation sessions.

We will always put your children's and your family's best interests first and will give you the best advice possible to enable you to make the most informed decision. To discuss your family's legal needs, contact an experienced Pittsburgh family law attorney.

Offices 20 minutes north of downtown Pittsburgh

Offices 20 minutes north of downtown Pittsburgh

Sweeney Law Offices
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania

Serving family law clients in the Pittsburgh metro area and the neighboring towns of Butler, Cranberry Township, Wexford, Sewickley, Beaver, Hopewell, Moon Township, Fox Chapel, Oakmont, North Hills, Evans City, McCandless, Kittanning, Greensburg, Indiana, New Castle, Findlay, Hopewell, including western Pennsylvania communities in Allegheny County, Butler County, Beaver County, Westmoreland County, Indiana County, and Armstrong County