The last-reported U.S. divorce rate for a calendar year (2005) is .38% Divorces per capita per year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. About 50% of first marriages for men under age 45 may end in divorce, and between 44 and 52% of women's first marriages
may end in divorce for the same age group. Startling statistics, I think most of you would agree. If you are one of those unfortunate people (or fortunate as the case may be) who are going through a divorce, you must consider hiring an experienced Family Law Attorney to assist you during this time. There are numerous legal issues that require the assistance of an experienced legal practitioner. Spousal Support, Alimony Pendent Lite and final Alimony are a few of the issues that could arise in a Divorce situation. Spousal Support can be ordered where the spouses are separated, but no formal Divorce action has commenced. Alimony Pendent Lite can be ordered where the Divorce action has commenced, but not completed. Final Alimony can be ordered after the Divorce action is completed. Each of those types of support are based on the wage earning capacity of each spouse.
If children were born of the marriage, then Custody and Child Support are two other very serious issues. Custody is established either by agreement of the parties or by using the “Best Interests of the Child” approach. That approach is exactly as it sounds, wherein the Court attempts to determine custody based solely on what is best for the child(ren). Which parent will nurture them, protect and provide for them, allow them to grow emotionally and spiritually, and so forth are some of the factors that the Court will use to determine Custody. In regards to Child Support, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sets forth earnings guidelines that are used to assist the determination of that support.
Finally, Distribution of Assets (Equitable Distribution in Pennsylvania) is another issue that arises in even the simplest of Divorce cases. Pennsylvania follows the Equitable Distribution rule which seeks to provide economic justice between the parties. This process is a three step process, where the court attempts to identify the composition of the marital estate, the valuation of those assets, and then the application of the legal economic factors to determine distribution of the marital estate.
Even with this brief overview of the Divorce related issues, one can see that an experienced Family Law Attorney is essential to protecting one’s interests in a Divorce related dispute.
Greg Artim is an Attorney with offices located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more answers to your Family Law legal questions, please visit his website at www.gregartim.com/divorce
