Do I Need a Land Trust? I’m a lawyer, and even I think we are in a bit of a litigation happy society at the moment. Every time we read about a tragedy of some kind, following quickly on its heels is almost always a story about who hired which lawyer and in what district the lawsuit is going to
Why You Should Stay Off Social Media During Your Custody Case In part four of this series about the Do’s and Don’ts of Custody, I will discuss how using social media can harm your custody case. In part two of this series, which you can read about here, I discussed how emails and text messages can affect the outcome of
Philadelphia Transfer Tax Part II : The Family Exemptions This is a continuation of the blog post from June 22nd, which you can read about here. In that post, I highlighted how the Pennsylvania transfer tax system works generally, and how the taxes in certain counties (like Philadelphia) are substantially higher than those in other counties. I outlined the math
Speaking to Your Children About Your Custody Case Could Do More Harm Than Good In part three of this series about the do’s and don’ts of your custody case, I will examine how certain discussions with your children can do more harm than good to your case. As I mentioned in the prior articles, there are sixteen factors that the court
Philadelphia Transfer Tax: The Tax is Too High! A client of mine, a citizen hailing from a different English colony than these United States, commented to me recently that purchasing property in the United States is comparatively beyond complicated. He also said that he believed the amount of fees and taxes associated with property purchase and transfer felt borderline criminal.
My Spouse Cheated, I Get Everything in the Divorce Right? Getting divorced is always a highly emotional and stressful period for those involved, even when things end on relatively good terms. But any time adultery is involved, the emotions can sky rocket. The spouse who was cheated on is justifiably upset and are often times looking for some form of
Why Emails and Text Messages Have Become Essential Elements of the Custody Case As I discussed in part one of this series, which you can read about here, there are 16 factors that the court in Pennsylvania must consider when deciding custody cases. One of those custody factors is the level of conflict between the parties and their willingness to
The Philadelphia Probate Process and Selling Family Real Estate A major and very common issue that I come across as a probate and real estate attorney in Philadelphia (the Pennsylvania suburbs and New Jersey as well!), is the question of what to do with a piece of residential real estate after the owner, someone in a client’s family, dies. For
The Do’s and Don’ts of Your Custody Case Getting divorced or separated is one of the most emotionally draining experiences one can go through. That stress increases exponentially when children are involved. The hope is that most parents will be able to put their differences aside and come to an agreement on custody without getting the court involved. Unfortunately, in
Rent to Own Contracts in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, a question that comes across my desk quite often involves rent-to-own scenarios. This comes to me from either direction, either you are a Pennsylvania homeowner, and you have a tenant that wants to purchase your property, but doesn’t have the funds or the credit to do it outright, or I also get tenants
Will I Be Forced to Pay Alimony Forever? The payment of alimony is a major concern for many spouses thinking of getting divorced or already in the midst of it. In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a spouse can be required to pay alimony after the divorce is finalized. This means that you could be required to pay your ex-spouse
If you live or work in Pennsylvania you have, by now, no doubt heard about how our state legalized medical marijuana. If you haven’t, the key takeaway is that Governor Tom Wolf on April 17, 2016 signed SB 3 (The “Medical Marijuana Act”) into law, making Pennsylvania the 24th state (and only the second Commonwealth, after MA) to legalize medical
