Susan J. Sacchetta's Answers

Can I expunge a felony charge that I got when I was 18 years old under PA criminal procedure

If you were convicted of a crime it cannot be expunged. You can only expunge records where you were not actually convicted. For example, if you had applied for and been placed on ARD, a program that allows you to not admit to guilt but places you on probation and gives you certain conditions to satisfy, then after you satisfied those conditions you could have the record of your arrest and charges expunged. An actual conviction cannot be expunged.

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Will my spousal support end?

No, it is not likely that the support will end. I assume that you are paying the support through a court order. Given that assumption, the support will continue to be your obligation until an Order is entered which terminates support or you are divorced. Divorce is not automatic after two years, there are pleadings that are required to be filed and if you have not resolved all of the outstanding issues (i.e. equitable distribution of property etc.) you will not be able to finalize the...

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PA child support laws

If the father has 18 out of 30 overnights he is considered to have primary physical custody of the children. Typically this would result in his spouse being responsible to him for some child support (with an adjustment for anything over 40% of the overnights). However, there are cases which would still require Father to pay child support and it is dependent upon the income and/or earning capacities of the parties.

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PA family law, termination of absent parent's parental rights

If your current husband is willing to adopt your son you will most likely succeed. A petition to terminate parental rights needs to be filed (along with an adoption petition) and you will need to get appropriate service on the father in order to proceed.

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Common interest in real estate. Common law marriage.

Common law marriage no longer exists in Pennsylvania as of January 2005. If you took some type of action prior to January 2005 to hold yourself out as actually married, represented yourselves as married to one another and said vows of some type you may still be able to assert that you are married by common law. However, as you seem to suggest in your inquiry that he is your fiancee as opposed to your common law husband, it may be a struggle. Without marriage, you own your house and he owns...

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Child Support

The question is what does he mean by "joint custody?" Is he talking about shared physical custody and threatening that he will seek to have your daughter 50% of the time or is he talking about periods of partial physical custody? Shared physical custody is not likely to result, but it probably just a threat to keep you from seeking support. Partial physical custody means he has her some of the time and unless he is not fit as a parent that is probably a good thing. If he does seek partial...

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Where do I get a copy of my divorce decree

You may go to the court house and look up your information by name and then you can get a copy. It will cost you per page. You can also contact an attorney who can, in most counties in Pennsylvania, look it up on line and get the docket number for you. The court house keeps a copy of the decree so someone, you or an attorney representing you, will have to actually request it from the court and pay for the copy.

Does the Obligee's unreimbursed medical expense deductible go away with 50/50 joint physical custody.

The master may deviate from the guidelines relative to this issue, but the support provisions and calculations relative to a 50/50 custody arrangement already take into account that the obligee is responsible for the first $250 in unreimbursed medical expenses. Based upon various factors, the Master may have chosen to deviate from this when she decided that you would share in all medical expenses based upon your proportionate income.

Can a visiter file for divorce in Georgia?

Each state is different regarding the residence requirement for filing for divorce. In Pennsylvania, one of the parties must have resided within the state for six months before they may file for divorce here.

My fiance pays court ordered child support to another woman. Can I sue him for child support also if he lives with me?

You cannot file for child support while living in the same house. However, he may file a modification petition alleging the birth of your new child as a change in circumstance. Under current law in PA a deviation from the guideline support order may be warranted when a second family is involved. There is a formula that is used to determine whether a modification would be warranted. He should contact a lawyer and provide him or her with the necessary information to determine whether he would...