Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Legal Blog

Divorce can be a stressful process for anyone, but it can be even more so for children. Kids oftentimes don't have any concept that their parents are even capable of breaking up, so the sudden shift in relationship and their own living environment can leave them emotionally and physically changed. Of course, most parents want to prevent this harm as much as possible. One way to do so is to make the process amicable while retaining as much routine as possible.

One way to do this is to engage in "bird nesting." This phrase refers to a process where parents retain the family home, share the expense of a second residence, and then rotate in and out of the familial home to stay with the children. Therefore, a father may stay with his kids in the familial home for two weeks while the mother stays in an apartment, then the mother will move into the home with the kids for two weeks while the father stays at the apartment.

Forgery is a serious criminal offense in Pennsylvania. Those who are convicted of this crime can face significant penalties, including jail time, fines, and damage to their reputation, and one of these convictions can also be used against an individual in future legal matters to show that he or she lacks truthfulness. So, there is often a lot at stake when an individual is charged with forgery, which is why they need to understand the law as fully as possible, how it applies to their situation, and how best to use it to their advantage.

Under Pennsylvania law, forgery occurs when an individual alters the writing of another without that individual's consent, creates a writing and presents it as if it were the writing of another, or uses a writing he or she knows to be forged. Before a conviction can be obtained, though, the prosecution must show that the defendant committed one of these acts with the intent to defraud or harm another. In many cases forgery is seen when individuals pass of checks that are purported to be payable to them, when in fact those checks are either fake or the signature was forged.

For decades, people have wondered whether living together before tying the knot increases or decreases the risk of divorce. Some say that living together first gives couples the opportunity to truly get to know each other, while others claim point to studies, including a recent one, that claim that cohabitation actually increases the chances of marriage dissolution. Yet, there still appear to be discrepancies with regard to how cohabitation affects marriage.

One reason cited by researchers is because the data doesn't always account for a couple's long-term intent when they move in together. For example, those couples who move in after getting engaged know that they are committing themselves to a long-term relationship. Other couples, though, may move in together only to argue about the future of their relationship when expectations clash.

Whether you are a Pennsylvania entrepreneur starting a new company or an established business owner seeking to expand, you likely will face the necessity of signing a commercial lease. As you know, few businesses operate out of premises they own, and instead lease property out of which to conduct business.

If you have previously dealt with commercial leases, you know that, unlike a typical residential lease, a commercial one affords you the opportunity to negotiate many of its terms with the property owner. But while you have more freedom to negotiate a commercial lease, you also have fewer protections than you do once you sign a residential lease. The reason for this is that when you negotiate and sign a commercial lease, the law presumes that both you and the property owner have fairly equal amounts of business savvy or will hire attorneys who do.