Thank you for inquiring into the services
of Pittsburgh divorce lawyer and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
family law attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire. Ms. Notaro
has divided this page into two sections, labeled “ About
My Services” and “ My Pennsylvania Law
Information.” Please
feel free to read and explore this page to answer your questions
about Pennsylvania Family Law as well as representation and/or
mediation by Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Please also feel free to review my firm website, which
can be found at www.PaLegalServices.com ,
as well as my
www.divorcenet.com sponsored
mediation site. After you have examined my site material,
I am sure that you will select my firm
for representation or mediation in you family law matter!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
me by phone or e-mail as listed above.
About My Services: Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire offers prompt, affordable Pennsylvania family
law representation to most Southwestern PA counties, including
Allegheny County, Westmoreland County, Fayette County,
Somerset County, Armstrong County, Lawrence County, Butler
County, Beaver
County, Washington County, and others.
Ms. Notaro provides affordable
hourly rates and some flat
rate legal services for matters such as one count,
no fault Pennsylvania divorces, support hearings, PFA hearings, Pennsylvania
Wills, and Pennsylvania Mediation services. Please call for
details regarding flat rate services.
Ms. Notaro
offers a FREE
INITIAL CONSULTATION to those clients
who mention www.divorcenet.com when
scheduling. Ms. Notaro also provides paid consultations, for
your convenience. Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire has
two offices in Pittsburgh: Downtown Pittsburgh and
the Historical
South Side of Pittsburgh, for your convenience.
Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire is a Pittsburgh divorce lawyer
and Pennsylvania family lawyer who limits her practice to family
law cases including divorce, child support, custody, spousal
support, alimony, wills and estate matters, and those cases
arising from these areas of the law. Although Ms. Notaro is
a Pittsburgh divorce attorney and has her primary practice
location in Pittsburgh, PA, she also proudly serves all of
Allegheny County and various other Pennsylvania counties.
Ms. Notaro
is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
PA (BA, cum laude, Psychology), and the University
of Pittsburgh School of Law (JD). She obtained her undergraduate
degree in the field of psychology, with a special concentration
in the counseling arts. Ms. Notaro received her Juris Doctor
from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. She trained
in Conflict Resolution and Professional Mediation at the Pittsburgh
Mediation Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ms. Notaro has
also received training in Mediation and Alternative Dispute
Resolution (“ADR”) as well as Family Law and
Professional Divorce Mediation at the University of Pittsburgh
School of
Law. Ms. Notaro is a member of the Family Law Sections of both
the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She
also serves on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Board
of Arbitrators. Ms. Notaro has authored several articles and
legal compilations on various Pennsylvania Family Law and Mediation
topics.
Because Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire and the small group of
Pennsylvania divorce lawyers who assist her in her practice
work primarily in family law, her firm is able to properly
and professionally advise you on key issues and steps to take
at every stage of your legal matter. Unlike other attorneys,
Ms. Notaro concentrates solely in family law matters. She has
represented numerous individuals in their family law issues.
She spends the vast majority of each work day in the family
division Court of Allegheny County. Ms. Notaro has been witness
to many different family law and divorce related cases and
situations. Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire is a courteous and professional
Pennsylvania divorce lawyer who would look forward to assisting
you in your Pennsylvania family law matter.
Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire is unique among Pittsburgh family
law attorneys for the additional reason that she makes it a
point to give each and every case her own undivided personal
attention. Barring unforeseen circumstances, when you hire
Bethany L. Notaro as your attorney, you know that it will be
Ms. Notaro that represents you at your hearings and throughout
your case. Ms. Notaro keeps her retainer and hourly
rates low and competitive so that each of her clients can benefit from
her services. In her experience, Ms. Notaro has learned that
most clients would prefer to speak and communicate their problems
and concerns to their actual family law attorney rather than
to a secretary or office employee. In the event that Ms. Notaro
is not able to speak with a client immediately regarding an
issue, she will most often return the call within 24 hours
or less.
Ms. Notaro has her primary practice location in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania (Allegheny County, PA) . She works primarily in
family law, which covers a broad range of family matters such
as divorce, child custody, child support, Protection
from Abuse ( PFA ), alimony, paternity, and other domestic matters. Ms.
Notaro is a divorce attorney who is unlike other family law
attorneys in that she is also a trained mediator, and is well
suited to handle both amicable and adversarial cases. Ms. Notaro
is a lawyer who makes it her goal to cooperate with her clients
and other lawyers in handling the cases to the best of her
ability. Besides Pittsburgh, PA and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,
Ms. Notaro represents clients in other communities such as
Bethel Park, Carnegie, Coraopolis, Cranberry Township, Fox
Chapel, Greensburg, Mars, McCandless, Monroeville, Moon, Murrysville,
New Castle, Pleasant Hills, Plum, Sewickley, South Park, and
others. Please also visit my firm site: http://www.PaLegalServices.com. My Pennsylvania Law Information:
Engagements and engagement rings
Currently the caselaw in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania seems to say that an engagement ring is a “Conditional
gift”. A conditional gift is one that a person gives with
the expectation of receiving something in return. Although you
really can’t sue an individual solely for breaking a promise
to marry you, in the case of an engagement ring, if a marriage
does not occur, in many situations, the giver of the ring is
entitled to get his (or her) engagement ring back.
This is often, but not always the case. For
more information on your rights concerning an engagement ring,
please contact PA Family Lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Prenuptial agreements
Where one or both of the individuals entering
into a marriage have significant funds prior to the marriage,
a PA family lawyer might advise either or both of the individuals
to enter into a Prenuptial agreement. If the couple later divorces,
prenuptial agreements are generally upheld. In some cases, such
as those where fraud or misrepresentation existed when the prenuptial
agreement was being created, or there was a lack full and fair
disclosure of financial assets when the parties entered into
the agreement, a prenuptial agreement can be contested. Surprisingly,
in many cases, the reasonableness of the agreement is not relevant.
For more information on your rights concerning
a prenuptial agreement, please contact PA family law attorney
Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Getting married and
Common Law Marriages
In Pennsylvania, there are generally two things
required to get married: one is a license; the other is a ceremony.
Generally, the ceremony must be conducted by clergy or civil
officers empowered to administer oaths. Pennsylvania is one of
the few states left that sometimes also recognizes the common
law marriage. Caselaw seems to say that a male and a female must
actually exchange vows to each other in the present tense, as
well as hold themselves out to their community as married in
order to have a common law marriage.
Contrary to many myths (i.e., the “seven
year rule”) There is generally no minimum period of cohabitation
to be considered married!
For more information on Prenuptial agreements
and common law marriages, please contact Pittsburgh Family law
attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Ending the Marriage
There are two ways to end a marriage in PA:
annulment and divorce.
Annulments
Two types of marriages can be ended by annulments-
those that are “void” and those that are “voidable”.
A void marriage is treated somewhat as if the marriage never
existed. There are three general types of void marriages:
(1)
A marriage where one or both of the spouses have insanity
or serious mental illness;
(2)
A bigamous marriage;
(3)
An incestuous marriage.
Voidable
marriages can only be annulled when a spouse successfully “attacks” it.
The following are situations where a spouse may “attack” a
voidable marriage:
- A
spouse is under age.
- A
spouse is intoxicated upon the marriage.
- Duress
existed.
- Fraud
existed.
- There
is a lack of some physical capacity. For example, a spouse
has an incurable physical or psychological inability
to have normal sexual intercourse.
If
you would like more information on proceeding with a divorce
or an annulment, please contact PA divorce attorney Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire.
Divorces. There are generally
two types of divorces in Pennsylvania: Fault and no fault.
Imprisonment
for 2 or more years; Bigamy; Indignities, or a course of conduct
that makes a spouse’s life burdensome or conditions intolerable;
Adultery, or voluntary sex with a non-spouse; Cruel & Barbarous
Treatment, or physical abuse; Desertion, or willful and malicious
absence from home without justification for a year or longer;
Insanity, or a situation where a spouse is institutionalized,
are all grounds for a fault based divorce.
Sometimes,
even though a spouse is at fault, he or she may have “defenses” to
the behavior. Common defenses are Provocation, Condonation
OR Insanity.
If
you think you may be proceeding with a fault based divorce,
please contact PA divorce attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire
for assistance.
Filing
for divorce in PA
The “standard” for
a No-Fault Divorce is one where the Marriage is “irretrievably
broken”. Where both parties agree that they want a divorce,
and both parties consent to a divorce, the parties may sign
an affidavit, wait 90 days, and assuming the paperwork is in
order, a divorce may be granted.
A
party can also request a decree in divorce (No-Fault) where
the party alleges that the marriage is “irretrievably
broken”, and the parties are separated and apart for
at least two years.
To
proceed with a divorce in Pennsylvania, a spouse must reside
in PA for at least 6 months before the divorce. The court of
common pleas in the county where one or the other of the parties
resides will generally have jurisdiction of the divorce case.
For
more information about proceeding with a divorce in Pennsylvania,
please contact Allegheny County divorce lawyer Bethany L. Notaro,
Esquire.
Equitable
distribution
Parties
sometimes settle their economic issues out of court using Separation
Agreements. A Pennsylvania divorce attorney would define a
Separation Agreement as a Contract between the parties that
determines post-marriage rights and liabilities.
Property
Division in Courts in Pennsylvania is determined by Equitable
distribution. The Court uses statutory factors to determine
equitable distribution.
A
Court will generally not divide the Separate Property of the
spouses. Separate property is property acquired before marriage
or acquired during marriage by one spouse as a gift, bequest,
or inheritance. However, a court can take into consideration
the amount of separate property a spouse has as a factor in
distributing marital property.
Marital
Property is any property of the spouses acquired during the
marriage, as well as gifts between spouses during marriage,
and the increase in value of separate property during marriage.
Courts
in PA have the discretion to place a value on the parties’ property
and to distribute the assets equitably.
For
more information on equitable distribution, please contact
Pennsylvania divorce lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Alimony
and Alimony Pendente Lite
Alimony
in Pennsylvania is the periodic payment of money for maintenance
of a former spouse. Alimony is available if necessary to ensure
the ability of the economically weaker party to support him
or herself.
For
more information on alimony, please contact Pennsylvania support
lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
In
Pennsylvania, there is another “type” of alimony
which the court calls Alimony pendente lite. Alimony Pendente
lite ( commonly APL ) is Alimony given during the pending litigation.
APL is meant to be used for immediate support.
For
more information on alimony pendente lite, please contact Pennsylvania
support attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Paternity
In
Pennsylvania, there is a strong presumption that the husband
of a mother is to be considered the father of his wife’s
baby. Where paternity of the child is in question, the parties
can proceed through the court with a Paternity suit to determine
the paternity of a non-marital child. Once paternity is established,
the father has a duty to support his child.
For
more information on paternity, please contact Pittsburgh custody
lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Child Support
In
Pennsylvania, a parent has an obligation to pay a sum of money
for the maintenance of his or her child. The duty to support
continues until the child is 18 or emancipated, regardless
of the relationship between the parents. The amount of child
support is determined by statutory guidelines.
A
parent may request a modification of child support based on “Material
and substantial change(s) in circumstances,” which are
generally conditions relating to an increase or decrease in
wealth or income, change in employment, retirement, or disability.
For
more information on Child support, please contact Pittsburgh
child support lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire
Custody
Sometimes
when parents end their marriage, it is difficult for them to
agree upon who should have custody of the children. The court
uses a “Best interests” and welfare of the child
standard to decide which custody arrangement will be best for
the children. The court also takes into account various other
factors, which include the desires of all parties involved;
the age and health of the parties; the history of domestic
violence, if any; and the relationships with siblings and other
extended family members.
In
some situations, Joint Custody can work. Joint custody works
best when parents are non-hostile and very cooperative. It
also works best when the parents live close enough to each
other.
There
are two different types of custody: Physical custody and legal
custody. Physical custody is determined by which parent has
the children in their “possession”. Legal custody
is determined by which parent (or commonly both) has decision
making power in deciding on important aspects of the child
or children’s upbringing.
For
legal help with your Pennsylvania Custody matter, please contact
Pennsylvania Family Lawyer Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Adoption
Did
you know that anyone can be adopted, regardless of age?
If
a child is a minor, the Natural Parent’s rights must
be terminated voluntarily or involuntarily before the child
can be adopted by another person or persons. Parental rights
can be involuntarily terminated when they have abandoned or
neglected the child.
One
a child is adopted, the adoptive parent has all of the rights
and responsibilities of a natural parent. Just the same, the
adopted child acquires all of the rights and responsibilities
of a natural child of the adoptive parent.
For
legal help with your Pennsylvania adoption matter, please contact
Allegheny County Family Lawyer and Pittsburgh adoption lawyer
Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.
Please
also visit my firm site: http://www.PaLegalServices.com.
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