Law Office of Katrina Luedtke LLC

Is an advanced health care directive right for you?

2022-02-22T16:22:52Z

Not everyone knows the importance of an advance health care directive, but they should. This document is protective of you and helps you decide how you want to be treated if you get very sick and can no longer make decisions on your own behalf. It also kicks in if you’re seriously hurt and cannot make your wishes known. The Pennsylvania Advance Health Care Directive lets you make decisions about your care. This form has three parts that you will need to fill out.

Choosing your medical advocate

The first step is to choose your advocate. Your health care agent or health care power of attorney should be a person who you trust to make decisions about your care if you can’t make them on your own. This could be your mother, father, sister, brother, spouse or another person entirely. The agent you choose should be over the age of 18 and able to understand the treatment options with which they’re being presented in a medical emergency.

Making your own decisions

One of the greatest benefits of an advance health care directive is that you get to make decisions about your care. You choose which care you want and the kinds of care you would like to bypass. It’s up to you to decide on your care, so your loved ones won’t have to guess. The last part of the Pennsylvania Advance Health Care Directive is where you’ll sign the form. To fill out that last section, you will need to have at least two witnesses.

Do you have to make medical decisions in advance?

No. You can allow your medical providers to make decisions without your influence. However, it’s a good idea to name someone as your medical decision-maker, so they can help the medical team understand your opinions and what you’d want. You do have the choice of only deciding on a decision-maker or only selecting your health care choices. This is something you can go over while you’re completing the document and before you have it added to your estate plan. Once it’s added, you can always update your preferences at any time.

What will happen to my retirement accounts in a divorce?

2022-02-22T16:23:01Z

Planning for retirement during a marriage usually means sharing the costs and household work with someone while simultaneously pooling your resources. The same couple that would have a very comfortable retirement together could struggle to maintain their households independently after a divorce. Concern about the financial consequences of divorce can sometimes leave people feeling trapped in unhealthy and unhappy marriages. Will you have to split your retirement account with your ex if you do get divorced?

Sharing retirement account is common in Pennsylvania divorces

If you and your spouse executed a prenuptial agreement before you got married or if you set terms in a postnuptial agreement, you may have already set rules in place regarding how you will handle your retirement asset in the event of a divorce. If you don't have an agreement with your spouse, that means you will have to think about how Pennsylvania state law requires that the courts handle your property. Like many other states, Pennsylvania requires the equitable distribution of marital assets when a couple divorces. Income you earn while married and assets you purchase or otherwise acquire are marital property in most cases. Inheritances are among the limited exceptions to this rule. Items you owned before marriage are usually separate property, although commingling your assets with marital resources might give your spouse to claim to them. When it comes to retirement accounts, it is typical for at least the portion of the balance accrued during the marriage to get split in the divorce. Whatever you deposited before you got married or after you separated from your spouse will typically remain separate property that you won't have to divide. Will you have to pay an early withdrawal penalty? If you aren't already at the age of retirement, pulling funds out of certain kinds of retirement accounts could have tax implications and even penalties. Thankfully, divorce is one of the situations in which you can take money from a retirement account without incurring those penalties. Using a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), you can effectively split a retirement account into two separate accounts without meeting to pay penalties or taxes when you divide the account. The better you understand the Pennsylvania rules about your property, the easier it will be to make beneficial decisions about your assets and any possible settlement in a pending Pennsylvania divorce.

What happens when a party hides money during a divorce?

2022-02-22T16:23:09Z

Pennsylvania's divorce laws are clear that spouses need to make honest and thorough disclosures of their assets and debts to one another or to the courts if a judge is setting the terms for a contested divorce.

Unfortunately, there are always those who want to manipulate the divorce process to their own benefit. Some people will try to keep more of the marital property than they should in divorce by hiding assets from their ex or the Pennsylvania family courts.

What happens during the contested divorce proceeding where one spouse tries to hide property from the other?

What happens when no one finds the property?

Hiding assets is a process that might involve making small cash withdrawals every week for months or moving physical property to a storage unit. There could be value hidden in a business or in personal property accumulated throughout the marriage but not reported as marital property.

Everything from someone's jewelry collection to their vehicle could represent major money that they don't want to share with their ex. Some people will go to extreme lengths, like opening up offshore bank accounts, just to hide property from their spouse.

If neither the court nor the other spouse discovers their misconduct, the outcome will be an unfair and biased ruling by the courts. If a judge doesn't know the true value of the property the couple has, the terms they set will unfairly benefit the spouse hiding property in many cases.

What happens when the other spouse finds the hidden property?

Sometimes, through careful analysis of an asset inventory or the assistance of professionals like forensic accountants, a divorcing spouse will locate substantial hidden assets that their ex wants to shield from the divorce process.

Once you locate and place a value on those assets, you can submit documentation to the courts regarding those assets and requesting that the judge include them during the property distribution process. At the very least, the divorce decree will be fairer because it includes all of the assets and not just what was initially disclosed.

If the judge believes the behavior to be intentional, they may give more to the ex in a final ruling. In some cases with significant hidden assets located after the divorce, the courts may even revisit the divorce decree due to the misrepresentation of material facts by one of the spouses. Careful financial analysis during the initial stages of divorce can help you avoid this kind of stress by ensuring you locate assets early in the process.

The benefits of drafting a parenting plan

2022-02-22T16:23:18Z

Determining how your divorce will go is just the first step when your marriage ends. If you’re a parent, you also have to plan for what life will look like after that divorce, as you share custody of your children. After all, shared custody is the preference of the courts and is far more common than sole custody. What this means is that the odds are very good that you’re going to have to work with your ex to co-parent your children, no matter how you and your ex feel about each other. And, when you do, it’s very beneficial to have a parenting plan.

Ensuring that you’re both on the same page

First of all, the parenting plan ensures that you and your ex are on the same page regarding the details: when you’ll have the children, how you’ll conduct the exchanges, what your goals are for raising the kids, etc. You can even use the parenting plan to get into types of discipline or set schedules, like when the kids go to bed. Consistency and routine are hugely beneficial for children who live in two homes.

Making big decisions up front

The parenting plan also allows you to make some big decisions in advance, rather than waiting until the moment they need to be made -- which can be more emotional. For instance, you can decide how you’ll handle holidays and birthdays. You can talk about extracurricular activities and milestone events. It’s easier to make these decisions while you’re getting divorced so you both know where you stand.

Avoiding disputes and misunderstandings

Finally, a parenting plan can just make co-parenting go more smoothly by addressing potential disputes in advance and helping you avoid them. You can come up with proper resolutions if there are areas you still disagree on, and you can simply find common ground -- given the benefit of time and a more neutral setting -- so you don’t have to argue about these details in the moment. If you want to draft a parenting plan, it’s important to know how the legal process works. This important document needs to be discussed, drafted and filed properly.

The benefits of creating an estate plan for young parents

2022-02-22T16:23:25Z

If you have small children at home or are currently expecting a new baby, you probably have a lot on your mind. From making sure your home is safe for a baby to covering the costs of child care and medical care, there are a lot of worries for new parents. Big-picture concerns can often take a backseat to the immediacy of issues like pregnancy health issues or a newborn with colic. Still, one of the best things that you can do as a new parent is to focus on the big picture when it comes to protecting your children. Creating an estate plan now while your children are still young can offer you numerous benefits.

Estate planning gives parents peace of mind

Bringing a new life into this world or adopting a child means accepting total responsibility for that child's needs as they grow and mature. If anything happens to you and your spouse, the children and your family can wind up dependent on the goodwill of others or even state services. An estate plan lets you name a guardian for your children and set aside assets for them. You can even create a trust so that you know there are still inheritance resources left when your children will turn 18. It can be a lot easier to cope with the stresses of parental responsibility when you know your child will have someone to provide for them if anything happens to you.

Estate planning can put you on a path for smart retirement planning

A big part of estate planning involves reviewing your assets and debts carefully. You may need to purchase or increase life insurance. You also may have to make decisions about how you hold your assets or investments. When you estate plan, the focus is on leaving enough behind to provide for your children if you die. However, getting a good idea about your current financial circumstances and likely future earning will make it easier to plan for retirement.

Estate planning gives you financial and medical support from others

In a comprehensive estate plan, you don't just put together a last will. You may also create medical or financial power of attorney documents, draft an advance medical directive and fund a trust. You may have to confer with people that you love and trust if you hope to include them in your power of attorney or trust documents. Tapping into those resources can help remind you of your most valuable relationships and provide you security and knowing that there are those willing to step up in the event that anything happens to you. While you can always change your estate plan as your circumstances and evolve, you cannot undo the harm of dying without one if you have minor children. Starting a plan sooner rather than later helps protect your most precious loved ones.

How Is Child Support Calculated?

2022-02-22T16:23:31Z

If you and your spouse decide to get divorced, what will happen to your children may be one of your top concerns. There are many considerations to make when figuring out child custody, including determining child support. If necessary, the court may order the “non-custodial” parent to pay a certain amount in order to continue supporting your children to be used for various expenses involved in raising them such as medical care, entertainment and other necessities. However, figuring out the amount that should be paid is an important but sometimes confusing process. There are several factors involved in determining this.

Child Support Criteria

Child support payments are determined state by state and can vary. However, there are a few guidelines that most states follow when determining payment amounts including:

Financial needs of the child/children (education, day care, insurance etc.)
Income of the custodial parent
Income/ability to pay of the paying parent
Standard of living of the child/children prior to divorce

The courts may require you to detail your financial situation in order to get a better idea of the expenses that will occur. The courts usually also consider “net income,” of the paying parent, which means they subtract out any mandatory deductions such as taxes or Social Security in order to determine their ability to pay support. Child support orders may also be modified should either parent’s financial situation change significantly. If you believe you qualify for child support payments from your ex-spouse, you may want to talk to your attorney. An experienced family law attorney can give you a better idea of your situation and help you ensure you are receiving a fair deal.

What does it mean to commingle assets?

2022-02-22T16:23:37Z

Some assets are intended to remain separate, even with married couples. In a divorce, this means that only one person has a claim to that asset and they do not have to split it with the other while dividing up what they own. Perhaps the most common example is an inheritance. While the parents who leave money to their child may like the spouse and even consider them part of the family, they clearly intended to leave their savings to their own child. If that child and their spouse get divorced, an inheritance will typically be considered separate property. The ex-spouse cannot simply take half of the parents’ money. That said, it is important for the person who received this money to keep it separate. If they commingle it, that can change the status. It may then be looked at as a marital asset and need to get divided with the other joint assets. Commingling is essentially the process of mixing the assets together or combining them. For example, perhaps the couple has a joint bank account. They use that account to pay the bills. When they get the inheritance, they just put it in the bank account. It is now mixed with their monthly earnings and may need to get divided with the rest of that account in a divorce. If they had kept the inheritance in its own account, it could remain with the person whose parents left it for them. Part of the reason for this is that the lines become harder to define if the assets are mixed. Say the couple was paying their mortgage out of that bank account. If the inheritance money was in the account, who is to say if the actual money they sent to the mortgage lender was from the inheritance or from the monthly paychecks being deposited? It’s impossible to determine -- and both people would probably give opposite answers -- so this mixed account belongs in full to both people. A divorce can raise many complex financial questions. Those involved need to make sure they understand their rights, the legal options they have and what types of precedents have been set to determine how asset division will be conducted.

How does Pennsylvania determine child custody?

2022-02-22T16:23:43Z

You’re headed for divorce, and you and your spouse cannot agree on a custody solution for your children. This means that you can’t use mediation, so you’re going to have to go to court and let the judge decide. Since your children are the most important part of the case to you, you’re naturally wondering how the court is going to make that determination. To start with, the main thing that the court focuses on -- and this is true in many other states, as well -- is the child’s best interests. This is important to specify because parents tend to argue for their own best interests: when they want to see the child, what schedule works for them, how much involvement they want, etc. To the court, parental concerns like this come second. They will try to make a decision that is best for the child, even if neither parent agrees with it. For instance, you may both be arguing that you should get sole custody, but the court could decide that it’s best for the children to still see you and your ex, and they could award you shared custody on those grounds. Neither of you gets what you want, but the child gets what is best for them. What factors will the court use when looking into these best interests? Every case is different, but they include things like:

The child’s physical development and well-being
The child’s mental and emotional health
The family relationships the child has with both of you and/or with extended family members
The mental and physical condition of each parent, as it relates to their ability to care for the child
The location where the parents live
What the child actually wants

This last point is sometimes contentious, as the parents don’t want the child to make the decision on their own. Don’t worry; they cannot do so. But that doesn’t mean their wishes won’t be considered as part of the big picture. The older that the children are, the most seriously these wishes are taken. As you get closer to your divorce and the child custody portion of the case, be sure you know what factors the court considers, how the process works and what legal options you have.

How does Pennsylvania determine child custody?

2022-02-22T16:23:50Z

The child’s physical development and well-being
The child’s mental and emotional health
The family relationships the child has with both of you and/or with extended family members
The mental and physical condition of each parent, as it relates to their ability to care for the child
The location where the parents live
What the child actually wants

When is child custody modification after divorce a good idea?

2022-02-22T16:23:56Z

For many people who have experienced a protracted divorce, finally being done with court proceedings is often a relief. Once you have finished court proceedings and paid off your legal bills, you may have the desire to avoid family court for the rest of your life, if possible. While such an aversion is perfectly normal, don't let your feelings about the costs, time implications and frustrations of court prevent you from going back when it becomes necessary. There are situations in which your custody arrangement may no longer meet your family's needs. When that happens, it may be time to think about getting a custody modification to your divorce decree.

Modifications become necessary when a child's needs change

The kind of parental support a toddler needs is going to be substantially different than the parental support required for a middle-school student. When the terms set in your custody order don't address your child's social or educational needs, or when the current custody order arrangements prevent one parent from being as present as they could be, it may be time to consider a modification.

Changes in a health or relationship status can affect custody

If you experience a medical event, like a heart attack, you may not be able to fulfill parental duties for several weeks. If you or your ex have a much more long-lasting condition, like muscular dystrophy or cancer, your custody order may need to change to reflect the current abilities and needs of the parents. It's also possible that your availability for parenting may change as you enter a new relationship. The same could be true for your ex. Additionally, if your ex has a new partner with a history of violence or child abuse, you may need to ask the courts to change the custody order to protect your children from that volatile element.

Stabilized living circumstances can lead to modifications

Some people have a hard time regaining control over their lives in the aftermath of a divorce. Everything from job prospects to their living arrangements may be up in the air during the divorce. A parent with unstable circumstances may not receive as much parenting time or parental authority as one who has had time to settle into their new situation. Additionally, if the courts limited your parenting time because of addiction or other issues, demonstrating that you have made necessary changes in your life may be enough to justify asking for a modification and more time with your kids.