Kerri Lee Cappella was recently elected as President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Congratulations Kerri! Read More
Kerri Lee Cappella has been selected as a Pennsylvania Top 50: Women Super Lawyer and a Top 50: Attorney in Pittsburgh for 2023
Ms. Cappella’s practice focuses exclusively in the area of matrimonial law, where she has spent over 30 years concentrating on complex, high net worth marital estates. Ms. Cappella became a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2009 and will serve as the President of AAML Pennsylvania Chapter beginning July 2023. She has been active in the American, Pennsylvania, and Allegheny County Bar Association Family Law Sections. Additionally, Ms. Cappella was listed among the Best Lawyers in America Women of Influence in Family Law in 2017. She also co-authored Slicing up the Pie: Equitable Distribution in Pennsylvania, in its 2009, 2012, and 2016 editions. She was a charter member of the Allegheny County Chapter of the Matrimonial Inns of Court.
Ms. Cappella earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Penn State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The mission of Super Lawyers is to bring visibility to those attorneys who exhibit excellence in practice. Read More
Congratulations to Carla Schiff Donnelly, who was appointed Co-Chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
The Commission was established in 1993 to involve more women in PBA leadership roles and to explore issues affecting women in the law. Since that time, the Commission has grown from 60 members to well over 700, making it the largest committee within the PBA today.
Ms. Donnelly’s appointment began Friday May 5, 2023 at the Commission’s Annual Conference held during the Pennsylvania Bar Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. Read More
Attorney Robert D. Weinberg discusses being a good parent relating to custody cases in the Lawyers Journal. His article “What does it mean to be a good parent (in custody cases)?” was published in Volume 11, July 30th, 2023.
You can read the entire article on page 9 here. Read More
Attorney Robert Weinberg provides insight as to how experienced family law attorneys can guide clients through difficult aspects of custody cases, especially thinking about and working with the various mental health professionals that are typically involved in these cases, and ultimately how to maintain a focus on the best interests of clients’ children throughout any litigation process.
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Custody conflict does not have to ruin the fun of summer vacation. It would be impossible to decide which vacations dates you will want for every year until your children go to college. At the same time, you do not want to turn each summer into a fight over vacation dates. The key is to set parameters that allow both parents to enjoy a summer vacation with the kids.
Here are my tips:
1) FIRST, DECIDE HOW LONG THE VACATIONS SHOULD BE
How many vacation weeks or days should each parent should receive for vacation? That depends on the ages of your children and how long you think they should go on vacation away from the other parent. For example, with really young children, we may give each parent one week each summer. When they are a little older, that can expand to two nonconsecutive weeks each summer. With pre-teens and teens, consider allowing uninterrupted weeks for vacation. Another consideration is whether extended family live further away. Travel to Europe or Asia, for example, is difficult with only 7 days to travel.
2) ALTERNATE FIRST CHOICE
I usually alternate on an odd/even year basis which parent gets first pick of summer weeks. There should be a deadline for the parent with first choice so that the other parent can begin to book their plans.
3) CONSIDER RULES ABOUT DAYS
Choosing your week to begin on the Friday of the other parent’s weekend. It is the oldest trick in the book that turns a 7-day vacation into a 10-day one. This is why I like the “no tacking rule.” The rule is that your week must include your own weekend and not the other party’s.
4) PRESERVE FAMILY TRADITIONS
If the other parent’s family takes a vacation the last week in July each year, consider agreeing to let the tradition continue. Read More
Parenting is as rewarding as it is challenging. In this video attorney Kerri Cappella discusses co-parenting after separation, even under the best of circumstances, takes those challenges to another level. Effective, respectful communication between parties reduces tensions between them and helps children adapt to the changes in their lives.
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Many readers will recall the sagacious approach to life challenges postulated by Vanilla Ice in his seminal (only?) hit song, Ice Ice Baby: “If there was a problem, yo, I solve it (check out the hook while my DJ revolves it. Ice ice baby too cold, too cold).” (Citation omitted).
How on earth could this epistemological font be applicable to a custody case, you ask? Simple.
Our legislature, in its own bout of perspicacity, listed the following as the very first factor that our courts must consider in any custody action:
Which party is more likely to encourage and permit frequent and continuing contact between the child and another party.
Vanilla Ice could not have said it better himself: a client walks into your office with a problem in a custody case and, yo, you solve it—with Factor 1 at the forefront of your mind.
Start with this simple truism: children do best when they have healthy (safe) relationships with both of their parents. This may not mean 50/50 in every case, but it means that each parent should take every reasonable (safe) step to promote their child’s (safe) relationship with the other parent. Not only is this mindset beneficial to children; it is also good strategy, because it heeds Vanilla Ice’s wisdom and focuses on the consideration set forth in Custody Factor 1. It also informs attorneys how to prepare for a custody trial.
Unlike almost any other area of the law, custody cases will focus not only on evidence that occurred before the case but also on evidence that develops while the case is pending up to the date of trial. Keeping Factor 1 in mind, courts will expect that each parent has done whatever they have within their respective abilities to solve problems regarding custody, and evidence regarding these efforts will be critical in terms of the court’s determination. Read More
Devotees of the probate code are well aware that 20 Pa. C.S. Section 6111.2 provides that if a former spouse passes away and is either divorced or grounds for divorce[1] have been established, then any beneficiary designation by the deceased ex-spouse in favor of the surviving ex-spouse is deemed ineffective unless the deceased ex-spouse makes clear in an updated designation or in a court order or written contract that the designation was intended to remain effective.
Effective May2, 2023, the Pennsylvania Legislature updated the Divorce Code to require every divorce decree to reference the probate code as follows:
An order accompanying a decree of divorce or annulment of the marriage shall include a provision informing the parties to reaffirm or change the beneficiary status on an existing life insurance policy, annuity contract, pension, profit-sharing plan or other contractual arrangement providing for payment to the spouse if it is the intention of one of the parties to keep or change the other party as a beneficiary. The provision shall also warn the parties that failure to do so may result in revocation of the beneficiary designation pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2 (relating to effect of divorce or pending divorce on designation of beneficiaries). The provision shall be a form as may be prescribed by general rule.
This language is extremely important in any pending divorce action, especially now that the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas requires parties to obtain an order establishing grounds for divorce before the Court will hold a final hearing to determine the economic issues arising from the divorce.
In other words, there will now be a gap between the establishment of grounds for divorce—which would revoke beneficiary designations without a further writing—and when the Court issues a final determination as to how assets will be distributed. Read More
August 15, 2024
Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is pleased to announce that 27 lawyers have been named as 2025 The Best Lawyers in America® and Ones to Watch.Read More
May 17, 2024
Pietragallo is pleased to announce that 24 lawyers have been named to the 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars list. Read More
