Pittsburgh Divorce Law Blog

Ask a Pennsylvania Attorney what to do...Simply stated, Pennsylvania property law allows a landowner to cut off over-hanging branches of a tree belonging to an adjacent landowner, without regard to the degree of physical harm done to his property. The courts feel that cutting the protruding limbs is an adequate remedy when the branches are "intruding into the landowner's air space" and, therefore, the landowner who cuts the branches will not be subject to liability in the absence of special damages. The caveat here is that this self-help approach applies only to the protruding (offending) branches. In essence, the landowner cannot trespass on a neighbor's property and cut down the tree or cut branches that do not protrude on the landowner's airspace. The landowner may also seek reimbursement of reasonable expense incurred in exercising the self-help remedy. Irrespective of the above law, I highly suggest that you consult a lawyer before resorting to any self-help remedy.

When the landowner whose airspace is being offended has sustained actual substantial damages, he may (1) resort to cutting the branches or (2) bring suit for damages or (3) maintain an action for abatement of the nuisance (i.e. the hanging branches) and file for injunctive relief which would require removal of the branches.

I have been asked so many times- "Do I really need a will?" The answer is, regardless of your age, yes you do!

If you are older and you want to make sure that you determine who gets your assets after death, you must contact an attorney that does wills & estates to prepare a will or the state will allocate your assets after you die pursuant to a statute, regardless of your verbal wishes before death.

Dying without a will is known as dying "intestate". Pennsylvania has its own intestate statute which determines the after death distribution of assets.

It is really important that you have a will if you are a young parent because the will is generally used to determine the subsequent guardianship of your children. Without a will, the courts will decide who will be the guardians and it may not be what you would have chosen if you had a will.

Another important aspect of a will for young or older parents is the use of a trust. If you have young children, you certainly do not want them to have unfettered control over your estate, so you would form a trust within the will. In the trust, you get to describe who manages the trust (i.e., the "trustee") and, most importantly, how the assets will be distributed. For example, you might not want a child to receive a significant portion of the trust until they are thirty (30) years old or older. This can be outlined in the trust.

Even if you have older children, a trust might be helpful. Let's face it, with a 50% divorce rate, sometimes you might want to keep the assets away from your children's spouses. A trust is one way of accomplishing that goal as funds in trust are not part of the marital estate.

Believe me, there are numerous reasons to have a will and it does not take much time with the attorney to draft one. Feel free to call me, a Pittsburgh attorney, for a free initial consultation. It will be worth the peace of mind you will gain.

What is a Durable Power of Attorney?

A durable power of attorney (DPA) is a document, in the form of a power of attorney, by which an individual (the "principal") designates another person (the" agent") to exercise certain powers for the principal in the case the principal is disabled or incapacitated and cannot act on their own. The document generally states that said power given to the agent becomes effective at a specific future time or occurrence of a specific event. If should be noted that all acts performed by the agent under the DPA have the exact same affect as if performed by the principal.

Durable powers of attorney are generally used by elder children whose parents are in their golden ages. It is a great management tool for the family in case of illness.

Feel free to call for further discussion or for the need and uses of a durable power of attorney.

Living Will

A living will is a legal document by which individuals, who are patients of a health care provider, give advance medical directives to the health care providers as to medical procedures in case certain conditions occur (i.e., debilitating illness or incapacity) that would not allow the patient to make immediate decisions regarding his or her own care. The advance directive can be very general or very narrow. Many of the directives relate to whether or not you would want your family to continue life support machines or the administration of certain drugs.

The living will is a great planning tool for adults of any age. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

At some point during Divorce proceedings, the parties and their Counsels must deal with the division of the marital estate or equitable distribution. Pennsylvania lawyers know that the marital estate is generally defined as that property that the parties obtain during the marriage and before separation. There are certain exclusions such as inheritances or gifts, but generally it is the property obtained plus any increase in value of property brought into the marriage.

The divorce lawyer must also look at the other side of the balance sheet to determine the marital liabilities. These are liabilities that the parties incur during the marriage and increases in liabilities for those debts brought into the marriage, but before separation.

The first task a Pennsylvania divorcee faces is to determine what assets make up the estate. This is done by interviewing the potential client to determine some very important dates and other information. First, what date were the couples married and what assets and their respective values did each individual bring into the marriage and what assets and respective values were acquired during the marriage? The divorce attorney must then answer the same questions regarding the divorcing couple's liabilities.

Once the marital assets and liabilities are determined the, the attorney will look at the total net assets and determine how the marital estate should be allocated. The problem with Pennsylvania divorce law is that there is no set formula as to how to divide the assets. Instead, Pennsylvania family law allows the Court in its discretion to divide the assets as it sees "equitable". The following factors are looked at by the Court in making their decision.

· The length of the marriage.

· Any prior marriage of either party.

· The age, health, station, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties.

· The contribution by one party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other party.

· The opportunity of each party for future acquisitions of capital assets and income.

· The sources of income of both parties, including, but not limited to, medical, retirement, insurance or other benefits.

· The contribution or dissipation of each party in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation or appreciation of the marital property, including the contribution of a party as homemaker.

· The value of the property set apart to each party.

· The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage.

· The economic circumstances of each party, including Federal, State and local tax ramifications, at the time the division of property is to become effective.

· Whether the party will be serving as the custodian of any dependent minor children.

The Court's truly evaluate these factors in each individual case.

A recent DUI article in the Trib Live News, reported that a gentleman from Herminie Pennsylvania, slammed into a church will under the influence of alcohol. How far under? Try nearly 4 times. That's right. Mark D. Stevens 44 had a blood alcohol limit of .3 when his car hit the church. Of course the legal limit for driving under the influence of alcohol in Pennsylvania is .08.

So the question is-although we might not keep the man out of hell-can I keep him out of jail? Can a Pennsylvania Driver with a high blood alcohol level avoid being put behind bars? The answer is -possibly yes. If Mr. Stevens has not yet used his ability to obtain Advanced Rehabilitative Disposition , otherwise known as ARD, he might not have to go to jail.

The Pennsylvania Code relating to drunk driving specifically outlines the procedural framework for utilization of the ARD program. As the Code states:

"The program is intended to encourage offenders to make a fresh start after participation in a rehabilitative

program and offers them the possibility of a clean record if they successfully complete the program"

That's right! Not only can you stay out of Jail, but you can avoid the one year suspension of license, avoid a criminal conviction and expunge your record after successfully completing the ARD program.

First, you must qualify. Although there are various criteria that are readily attainable by most people, the foremost criterion is that you have not utilized the ARD program in the last ten years. You must take certain classes, pay a fine and have your license suspended for a period of time. The length of suspension is dependent upon your blood alcohol reading. By the way, Mr. Stevens is in for a long one. I am sure it will feel like hell.

Source:TribLive Article dated 2/4/2012 by Paul Pierce "Herminie Man who Hit Church was DUI"