< Home Page [About Us] Why? Access to some research documents (those we license from independent legal research companies) are restricted to subscribers. To gain access to ALL of these documents, you must subscribe. If you are already a subscriber, you may sign in before you begin your research. (Why Subscribe?)

Cases of Interest: Pennsylvania
© National Legal Research Group, Inc.

Attorneys and Clients (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Bonds v. Bonds, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 689 A.2d 275 (1997).
The wife did not waive her attorney-client privilege with respect to all documents in her divorce attorney's file by calling the attorney to testify about communications between him and the husband's counsel.
Read More About This Case

Child Support (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Green v. Green, 2001 Pa. Super. 256 (Aug. 31, 2001).
The father appealed the trial court's award of $5,072 per week in child support. The trial court found that the father's earning capacity was $509,465 per month, including income from a trust.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: Miller v. Miller, 2001 Pa. Super. 274 (Sept. 13, 2001).
In this case, the court decided whether the proceeds from the sale of a marital asset awarded in the divorce constitutes "income" for purposes of child support.
Read More About This Case

Commingled Assets (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Verholek v. Verholek, 741 A.2d 792 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).
The husband, who originally asserted that certain shares of stock were jointly owned by him and his wife, was estopped from later claiming that they were nonmarital property. The husband was also estopped from claiming that a certain inheritance was nonmarital property, because it had been commingled with marital funds.
Read More About This Case

Classification of Assets (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Plitka v. Plitka, 714 A.2d 1067 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998).
When a marital asset is transferred between divorcing spouses to prepare for the ultimate distribution of property, the transferred asset retains its marital character.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: MacAleer v. MacAleer, 725 A.2d 829 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).
Where a stock option is granted to a spouse during the marriage as compensation for services also rendered during the marriage, such an option constitutes marital property even if the right to exercise the option does not mature until after separation.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: Drake v. Drake, ___ Pa. ___, 725 A.2d 717 (1999).
A workers' compensation commutation award that accrued during the marriage can be marital property even if it replaces future earnings, but it need not be distributed equally between the divorcing spouses.
Read More About This Case

Creditor's Rights (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Livingston v. Unis, ___ Pa. Commw. ___, 659 A.2d 606 (1995).
A judgment creditor's claim against marital property had priority over a later equitable distribution judgment in favor of the former wife.
Read More About This Case

Dissipation of Assets (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Twilla v. Twilla, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 664 A.2d 1020 (1995).
The wife should be compensated through an installment payment arrangement for her loss of equity in the marital home after the husband's failure to make the mortgage payments resulted in foreclosure.
Read More About This Case

Division of Property (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Twilla v. Twilla, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 664 A.2d 1020 (1995).
The wife should be compensated through an installment payment arrangement for her loss of equity in the marital home after the husband's failure to make the mortgage payments resulted in foreclosure.
Read More About This Case

Employee Benefits (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: MacAleer v. MacAleer, 725 A.2d 829 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).
Where a stock option is granted to a spouse during the marriage as compensation for services also rendered during the marriage, such an option constitutes marital property even if the right to exercise the option does not mature until after separation.
Read More About This Case

Estoppel (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Verholek v. Verholek, 741 A.2d 792 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).
The husband, who originally asserted that certain shares of stock were jointly owned by him and his wife, was estopped from later claiming that they were nonmarital property. The husband was also estopped from claiming that a certain inheritance was nonmarital property, because it had been commingled with marital funds.
Read More About This Case

Factors in Award (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Ressler v. Ressler, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 644 A.2d 753 (1994).
The trial court did not err by considering the husband's postseparation lump-sum severance pay when calculating the equitable distribution of the estate, even though the severance pay was nonmarital property.
Read More About This Case

Goodwill (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Gaydos v. Gaydos, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 693 A.2d 1368 (1997).
The professional goodwill in a solo practice must be valued and excluded from the marital estate, but the going-concern value of the business and its enterprise goodwill may be included as marital property.
Read More About This Case

Jurisdiction (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Russo v. Russo, 714 A.2d 467 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998).
The trial court had jurisdiction to order the parties to sell out-of-state real property and to divide the proceeds.
Read More About This Case

Marital Home (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Bolze v. Bolze, 427 Pa. Super. 599, 629 A.2d 1031 (1993).
Improvements that husband and wife made to marital home titled in name of husband's parents did not create a marital interest in the home.
Read More About This Case

Military Benefits (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Smith v. Smith, ___ Pa. ___, 749 A.2d 921 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000).
The husband's state police pension benefits accruing prior to the second marriage to the same wife were not marital property subject to equitable distribution at the second divorce. The property rights that the wife had in the pension that accrued during the couple's first marriage were terminated at the first divorce.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: Meyer v. Meyer, 749 A.2d 917 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2000).
An increase in retirement benefits occurring after the couple's separation is not considered marital property.
Read More About This Case

Paternity (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Tregoning v. Wiltschek et al., 2001 Pa. Super. 243 (Aug. 20, 2001).
In this case, the trial court ordered the husband to submit to blood tests when his wife, the mother, denied his paternity.
Read More About This Case

Pensions (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: McClain v. McClain, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 693 A.2d 1355 (1997).
Hypothetical Social Security contributions should not be deducted from the value of the husband's postal service pension where the wife had no appreciable Social Security benefits of her own.
Read More About This Case

Professional Practices (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Naddeo v. Naddeo, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 626 A.2d 608 (1993).
Where the husband's law firm was voluntarily dissolved after the parties' separation but before a decree of equitable distribution, his partnership interest should be valued before the voluntary dissolution, and the value of his interest should be determined by applying the partnership agreement.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: Perlberger v. Perlberger, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 626 A.2d 1186 (1993).
Where husband withdrew from a partnership after separation and established a sole proprietorship, the distribution he received from the partnership was marital property, but no part of his new practice was marital property even though he took a substantial inventory of contingent fee cases with him when he left the partnership and started his solo practice.
Read More About This Case

Separation (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Ressler v. Ressler, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 644 A.2d 753 (1994).
The trial court did not err by considering the husband's postseparation lump-sum severance pay when calculating the equitable distribution of the estate, even though the severance pay was nonmarital property.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: Oaks v. Cooper, ___ Pa. ___, 638 A.2d 208 (1994).
Husband did not transmute separate funds into marital property by depositing the separate funds after separation into accounts which contained marital funds.
Read More About This Case

Severance Pay (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Ressler v. Ressler, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 644 A.2d 753 (1994).
The trial court did not err by considering the husband's postseparation lump-sum severance pay when calculating the equitable distribution of the estate, even though the severance pay was nonmarital property.
Read More About This Case

Social Security Benefits (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: McClain v. McClain, ___ Pa. Super. ___, 693 A.2d 1355 (1997).
Hypothetical Social Security contributions should not be deducted from the value of the husband's postal service pension where the wife had no appreciable Social Security benefits of her own.
Read More About This Case

Stock Options (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Fisher v. Fisher, Nos. 170, 171 (Pa. Sup. Ct. Apr. 25, 2001).
Wife appealed the trial court's finding that unvested stock options do not constitute marital property and are not subject to distribution in a divorce proceeding.
Read More About This Case

PENNSYLVANIA: MacAleer v. MacAleer, 725 A.2d 829 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1999).
Where a stock option is granted to a spouse during the marriage as compensation for services also rendered during the marriage, such an option constitutes marital property even if the right to exercise the option does not mature until after separation.
Read More About This Case

Survivor Benefits (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Palladino v. Palladino, 713 A.2d 676 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1998).
The wife's survivor benefits under the husband's pension plan were properly classified as marital property, valued, and awarded to her in the parties' property distribution. During the parties' separation, the husband's defined benefit pension entered pay status and he began to receive monthly retirement benefits. At that time, he was ordered to elect a joint-life pension, which would insure that the wife would receive the same amount as the husband following his death. But for that election, the husband's monthly benefits would have been higher.
Read More About This Case

Third Parties (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Bolze v. Bolze, 427 Pa. Super. 599, 629 A.2d 1031 (1993).
Improvements that husband and wife made to marital home titled in name of husband's parents did not create a marital interest in the home.
Read More About This Case

Torts (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Atkinson v. Evans, 2001 Pa. Super. 344 (Dec. 5, 2001).
The plaintiff sought damages for the defendant's affair with the plaintiff's wife. The plaintiff's cause of action was styled as one for "intentional interference with a contractual relationship."
Read More About This Case

Transmutation of Property (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Oaks v. Cooper, ___ Pa. ___, 638 A.2d 208 (1994).
Husband did not transmute separate funds into marital property by depositing the separate funds after separation into accounts which contained marital funds.
Read More About This Case

Visitation (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Siliquini v. Kegel-Siliquini, 2001 Pa. Super. 312 (Pa. Super. Ct. Nov. 9, 2001).
The mother appealed a custody decision allowing the father to transport the four-year-old child for visitation by private airplane.
Read More About This Case

Worker's Compensation (full category)

PENNSYLVANIA: Drake v. Drake, ___ Pa. ___, 725 A.2d 717 (1999).
A workers' compensation commutation award that accrued during the marriage can be marital property even if it replaces future earnings, but it need not be distributed equally between the divorcing spouses.
Read More About This Case