Knowing Your Parental Rights In Pennsylvania

Knowing the parental rights in Pennsylvania is an important step towards finding the right custody agreement during a divorce.

Mothers and Fathers are Considered Equal

Pennsylvania has made it very clear that it is illegal for one parent to have any kind of special treatment over the other,according to -. The law treats both parents as equal custodians.

Legal and Physical Custody

The two different types of custody can often cause some confusion. Having legal custody of a child does not mean that they get to live with you. In Pennsylvania law,both parents automatically have legal custody.

This means that whichever parent the child ends up living with does not have more legal custody than the other parent. In other words,physical custody does not give one parent more rights over the other parent when making legal decisions for the child.

If the parent with physical custody wants to leave the state with the child(ren) in question,they do not have the right to do so under Pennsylvania law without the approval of the other parent.

This also applies to any child support agreements. The parent who does not have physical custody will most likely have a child support order. This is not,however,tied to their legal custody and rights to see their child.

Modifying Your Child Support Agreement

Another factor that is vital for any parent paying child support is that the child support agreement can be modified anytime there is a change in circumstance.

This includes:

– A job change

– Unavoidable expenses like health care

– Rent or mortgage updates

– Children graduating from high school or turning 18

– Adding dependents like other children or dependent family members

– Paternity changes

Divorce or break up is hard enough,but when you add child custody and support arrangements to the mix,it can be traumatizing. Knowing the law and finding the right lawyer can empower you and help overcome a lot of the hurdles many people have to go through. Once you know your parental rights in Pennsylvania,you take a positive step in the right direction. Get the best- to help you that you can find.