As
I have mentioned before, one of the very common issues that comes up as part of
the uncoupling process is how to address custodial arrangements for any
children born of the parties’ relationship. To be honest, that statement doesn’t
actually cover all of the possible custody actions in Pennsylvania. Obviously, children don’t necessarily have to
arise out of relationships that would come with other uncoupling issues.
Further, there can be custody actions brought by “non-parents” like step-parents,
grandparents and anyone who stands “in loco parentis” (which basically means that
they discharge the duties of a parent regardless of their actual biological
relationship to the child).
In
any case, to the extent the parties are able to do so, it is considered
preferable to be able to work out a custody schedule between themselves. While they will need an attorney or the court
system to confirm the schedule by way of a written Agreement or Order that gets
filed with the court, working through it together not only saves on time,
expense and frustration, but also helps to start a healthy co-parenting
relationship from the very beginning.
However,
not everyone is so fortunate, and they must proceed through what in Allegheny
County is called the “Generations” process.
In
Allegheny County and across the state, the entire custody system is set up with
the fundamental goal of being able to reach settlement of the parties’
outstanding issues without the need for a trial. Your custody action may
go on for a very long time before you are entitled to a final hearing.
This is by intentional design in hopes that providing the parties with some
education and compelling them to attempt to work through their issues, there
will not be a need for a formal hearing.
Here
in Allegheny County, the process in place is called the Generations
Program. In Westmoreland County it is the CHILD Program. Different counties have different names, but
for the most part they all boil down to two components.
Once
you file a Complaint for Custody you will receive, from your respective
court, a “Scheduling Order.” This Scheduling Order directs that each
of the parties (and, in some cases, the children) must participate in the
court’s custody process. This process typically includes an education session
as the first step. It has always been
my strong belief that a little information can go a long way in forming the parties’
expectations and their ability to work through issues together. It seems that the
court system shares in this belief.
This
court-ordered education session lasts for several hours. In Allegheny
County, it includes the parents as well as children between the ages of 5 and
15. The requirement for children to be involved varies from county to
county. You should always consult your local rules before making
assumptions as to whether or not the children will be involved in this process.
However, across the board, the idea is that the education session
provides the parties with information regarding how physical and legal custody
work, the types of decisions that they need to make together, and that they
must share input and information with
regards to their child. In general, it reinforces the idea that while you may
no longer be an intact family, you must still function as an intact parenting
unit and work with each other for the betterment of your children.
It
is generally understood that it is in the best interest of children that their
parents be able to cooperate with one another and to share custody, both
physically and legally.
In
addition to being scheduled for the education session where they get some of
this co-parenting background, the parties will also be scheduled to appear for
a mediation session. In some counties, the first session includes the
attorneys, but here in Allegheny County, it is only the parties that appear for
the mediation session. They come unrepresented and meet with a mediator
who assists in trying to engage in dialogue to help them resolve their
outstanding custody issues. They will have the opportunity to present
what schedule they would like to see, why they are opposed to the other side’s
schedule, what issues can be worked through to try to resolve these
differences, etc.
If
the parties are able to reach an agreement through mediation, this agreement
can be memorialized and executed by both of the parties as a final agreement as
to custody. If they don’t reach an agreement, they will continue to move
through the custody process which I will discuss in my next post.
If
you found this post to be helpful or if you have any questions, please feel
free to comment, post, share, like, etc. and visit www.uncouplingpittsburgh.com
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