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For more than 40+ years, the attorneys at Gusty A.E. Sunseri & Associates, P.C., have produced trusted legal results for our clients.
The role of the husband … The husband is to be the provider. As provider, he is responsible to give leadership. The scripture calls it being the head of the family. It is more than just sitting at the head of the table and carving the turkey at Thanksgiving. Leadership...
This is what the Bible says concerning the role of the husband, Ephesians 5:23,25,28,31. “A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and Savior of the church, which is His own body. A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church...
As part of the job as a divorce attorney, I am responsible for delving into my clients financials in detail. When a client informs me that he or she has received or stands to receive an inheritance, the first question from him or her is always “can my soon to...
The next key to a strong and successful marriage that we want to look at understanding the role husband and the wife. One of the main problems in any relationship is misunderstanding. The way to dispel misunderstanding is to get the proper information or knowledge of the situation. It has...
Sometimes in child support cases, the payor ends up paying too much support over a period of time due to a clerical mistake or perhaps a garnishment of a Federal Income Tax return. As a result, there will be a surplus of support. However, the child support office will continue...
When parties are contemplating a divorceand ask me what the process will be like, I always tell clients that there are two distinct paths that a case can take. The first path is litigation. In this situation, one side files the complaint and then the parties engage in discovery wherein...
In my recent blogs regarding Marriage & Divorce, I have been dealing with the importance of communication to a successful marriage and pointed that in defining communication as an art. Therefore, there are a number of key points that must be observed for successful communication. In communicating, make sure that...
Today we will continue with our discussion dealing with some keys points on how to make marriage successful… in order to avoid divorce. We have been dealing with the very important key point – that men and women are different. It is crucial to understand and respect these differences in...
As a family law attorney, I occasionally encounter child custody cases in which paternity is a crucial issue. In Pennsylvania, paternity is defined as the state or quality of being a father. If a mother, potential father, or child wishes to have a paternity test conducted, he or she may...
On occasion, our Pittsburgh law firm is contacted by a potential client dealing with a child custody matter and that client wants “full” custody because, up until this point, the other parent has been absent from the child’s life. Now the former absentee parent is pursuing custody and the client...
When I ended last week’s writing, I was dealing with the point that men and women are different because they are created differently. As a result, they deal or respond to life’s challenges and situations differently. Therefore, those differences should be celebrated and used as a force for unity to...
Our office recently received a telephone call from an individual regarding a stepparent’s obligation to pay child support. The prospective client was asking how her new husband’s income would change her support order. The child’s natural father had filed for a support modification because the mother had gotten remarried and...
As we continue to look at some keys in working toward a successful marriage that will avoid a marriage ending in divorce, remember, it is important that God must be given first place in our marriage because He is the one who came up with the institution of marriage. Marriage...
Divorceis probably one of the most tumultuous experiences an individual can go through in their lives. Over the years I have seen it tear apart individual’s psyche as they fight internal conflicting feelings of love, despair, confusion and even hate. I have found that there is no better Individual Counselor...
As a Pittsburgh family law attorney, more often than not, you see the worst parts of a couple’s relationship. Helping clients cope with extramarital affairs and the aftermath can be a significant part of the job description depending on the circumstances surrounding a divorce. One of the most difficult points...
When counseling clients during a divorce where children are involved, I am often asked whether or not the parents should put together a custody order to file with the Court. The answer I give the client is that it depends. The chief consideration when determining whether or not a formal...
Each time you renew your driver’s license in Pennsylvania, you sign a form that permits the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to draw blood, breath or urine if you’re arrested by police for driving under the influence. This form of permission given by you to the Commonwealth is known as the Implied...
In any divorceone of the largest issues attorneys must resolve is determining how to divide the couple’s assets. This can obviously be a sticky issue and can be made even more complicated when gifts are involved. Generally, a gift by a third party to one spouse is considered non-marital property...
Divorcesare never easy and never “good” for either party. In fact, most divorces are just flat “bad”. So why make them worse? Of course, everyone wants the competitive advantage, whether fighting about splitting assets, child custody or child support; however, there are some things that you can do to lessen...
In my last blog entry, I provided an overview of the types of factors the court will consider when deciding on whether or not to deviate from a guideline child support order. In this and the next entry, I am going to further break down the reasons you may qualify...
I have previously written blog entries about how Pennsylvania courts calculate child support. The basic child support calculation is relatively straight forward and largely dependent on the parent’s relative incomes. However, after the court calculates a basic child support award, it is permitted to deviate from that amount (either increase...
When I recently wrote a post about the circumstances surrounding and consequences of possessing a fake ID as a minor, it got me thinking about the other side of the fake ID process, the provider. Under Pennsylvania law, making, altering, selling or attempting to sell identification that represents the identity,...
When a client comes to me with a child that was caught and cited with underage drinking, that child often possessed a fake ID when he or she was arrested or cited. Regardless of whether or not the minor used the ID to purchase alcohol, it is illegal in the...
Recently, a friend of mine asked what happens to an engagement ring if a wedding is called off. It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he was recently engaged (I chose to turn a blind eye to that fact and simply answered his...
Pennsylvania law provides a guideline spreadsheet that establishes a base amount of money that parents must contribute toward child support. It begins by taking the parties’ combined net income and then delineates a basic amount that the parties shall pay for one to six children. The guidelines address situations where...
Once a support order is entered by a Pennsylvania Court, the order is always modifiable. The Court recognizes that people change jobs, get raises, are laid off and experience fluctuation in income throughout their lives. Therefore, if you are paying child or spousal support and you begin making more money,...
I have previously written about the consequences associated with being charged with or convicted of a DUI. While those consequences are obviously less than ideal, the ramifications of being convicted of a DUI if you have a Commercial Driver’s License (“CDL”) are much more severe, especially if you use that...
It’s no surprise that parents going through a divorce are often not very good at communicating with one another. While there is no requirement that ex’s like one another or even be civil to one another, the ability to work together is important when children are involved. It is obviously...
Agreements are good – Whether we are talking about pre nuptial agreements, general partnership agreements or settlement agreements. Anything in writing, agreed to by the parties, detailing their relationship or the end of their relationship, is better than no agreement at all. Well written agreements are even better. Yes any...
In Pennsylvania, if you plead guilty to or are convicted of a second or subsequent DUI, one of the consequences of your conviction is that you will have to have an Ignition Interlock device installed in your vehicle. The Ignition Interlock is a piece of equipment that prohibits a person...
In a child custody case it is almost inevitable that at some point one or both parents will become involved with a new significant other. In my family law practice, I routinely encounter situations where a parent does not want to inform the other parent of who his or her...
The payment and collection of child support can be a contentious issue between parents following separation or divorce. The issue can be a sensitive one even when the obligor is making regular payments. However, if the party with the support obligation fails or refuses to make payments, the tension between...
In a number of my recent divorce cases, I encountered situations wherein one party decides to remove or destroy marital assets prior to anyone filing for divorce. Obviously, when my clients found out, it caused significant conflict and added even more stress to the divorce process. The first question from...
Occasionally, my law firm is contacted by a stepparent inquiring about his or her child custody rights after the break-up of a relationship. The child custody rights of a stepparent are quite similar to those of a biological parent in many ways. A stepparent in Pennsylvania has the right to...
In the last blog entry, I commented on some of the interplay between the Social Security system and divorce. Most notably, I discussed spousal and survivor benefits and what happens when a person divorces before or after the age of 60. However, there are a number of other novel situations...
As an equitable distribution in many of the divorce cases my firm handles one of the assets that needs to be addressed in equitable distribution is the parties’ Social Security benefits. In any marriage that has lasted 10 years or longer and at least one party was contributing to Social...
As an experienced Pittsburgh attorney, I now remember back to having a guest speaker in my first year of law school. He was a gentleman in his mid 40s that had graduated from our law school. He now had a thriving and successful practice in Washington, DC. The speaker, whose...
Teenagers love to believe that they are old enough to know better for whatever reason, and I was as guilty as any. At about the age of 15, teenagers start believing that they are much smarter than their parents. This transition is painstaking and trying for married parents, but it...
Each year, my firm handles a number of underage drinking cases. Most cases are fairly straightforward and a minor simply got caught at a party or had too much to drink. However, the case gets significantly more complicated if the minor possesses a fake ID. The consequences for possessing false...
It seems as though it has become increasingly common to hear about college students getting busted for marijuana possession. Each year, there seem to be more and more college athletes being suspended by their university or questioned by professional teams when entering the draft regarding “character issues” following a failed...
One of the biggest sticking points I run into as a Pittsburgh family law attorney is alimony in divorce cases. Prospective obligors typically recoil at the thought of providing for their soon to be ex-spouse for the foreseeable future while prospective recipients are often looking to guarantee themselves a certain...
One of the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol (“DUI”) is that your driver’s license is typically suspended. Depending on how intoxicated you were at the time of your arrest and how many previous DUI’s you have had, the length of the license suspension varies widely. However, regardless...
As an experienced Pittsburgh family law attorney, I know that child custody is a very ‘touchy’ subject. The issue of school districts often becomes a contentious issue in child custody disputes where both parents do not live in close proximity. The parent living in the “better” school district often uses...
If you have not heard about it, you will! Recently, a Daughin County Common Pleas Court Judge ruled that certain breathalyzer machines used by the police when stopping an individual suspected of driving while intoxicated are flawed and not reliable for readings above .15 and below .05. Accordingly, the Police...
Dating can be a very touchy subject while a party is going through a divorce. As a divorce, I often have clients ask me about when it is ok for them to begin dating again. While the answer is always case specific, there are certain pitfalls that an individual going...
As a family law attorney, I routinely encounter families that are going through some of their most difficult times. A divorce or custody battle is hard on the parents and can be even more trying to the child. Therefore, it is not uncommon for the child to act out, often...
This day in age, there seems to be an ever-increasing number of grandparents that are taking on parental duties for their grandchildren. It is one thing to take on the day-to-day duties of the parent, and quite another to have all the legal rights that a parent has. What steps...
So you’re starting a business and you want to know what the first step is. Number one, start the process by interviewing a knowledgeable business attorney. You see, not all attorneys are “knowledgeable” when it comes to business formation and practical day to day business issues. In the course of...
Recently, the national news picked up a story about a Colorado state senator that introduced a bill affectionately known as the “Drinking with Dad” bill. This piece of legislation would have permitted parents to purchase alcohol for their child in Colorado Bars and restaurants if the child was 18 and...
Even if a person is never involved in any form of litigation throughout his or her life, there are still a number of occasions where the assistance of a lawyer may be needed. One such instance occurs when a person wants to change his or her legal name. There are...
Most landlord/tenant issues arise out of a situation where the landlord or tenant engages in conduct that is in violation of one or more of the provisions of the operative lease. However, what happens if there is no formal lease between the landlord and tenant or if there was a...
One of the greatest hurdles for parents following a child custody battle is being able to communicate with one another regarding the child. Often, the parties harbor significant bad blood toward one another and have no interest in speaking with or seeing each other. This animosity is understandable considering the...
Although it is a somewhat rare occurrence, an interesting family law question I occasionally encounter is that of annulment in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, the law establishes a very specific set of circumstances under which one can have a marriage annulled. Unlike in Nevada, where you can obtain an annulment from...
Our Pittsburgh law office regularly fields inquiries from both landlords and tenants regarding evictions. Usually, if the call is from a landlord, he or she wants to find out the steps he or she should take to effectuate the eviction legally. If the call is from a tenant, he or...
Our Pittsburgh law office recently received an inquiry as to whether common law marriage is still recognized in Pennsylvania. While the short answer is no, the truth is slightly more complicated. The purpose of a common law marriage was to solemnize marriage for people who were not formally churched or...