Divorce & Family Law Attorney – Lancaster, PA

Lancaster, PA Divorce & Family Law Attorney Steven R. Blair counsels and represents clients in court when there is a marital breakdown.  He advises clients with respect to divorce, custody and support.  He prepares premarital and postmarital agreements.  When agreement cannot be reached with respect to dissolution of marriage, custody disputes and support matters he represents clients in court to aggressively achieve a client’s desired result.

Unfortunately, a burgeoning area of the law involves the breakdown of marital relationships.  Several decades ago divorce was the exception rather than the rule and only could be achieved after a court hearing in which fault on the part of one spouse was established.  For better or worse, legislatures across the county have made divorce an easier result to achieve by permitting no-fault divorce.  In Pennsylvania, a divorce can be granted on a no-fault basis if the parties agree to sign consents after 90 days of service of a divorce complaint or, if there is no agreement, after one year of physical separation, provided there is no dispute as to the length of separation and there are no claims being made requiring a court determination as to the claims.

DIVORCE

The Law Office of Steven R. Blair handles both contested and uncontested divorces.  Initial consultations are offered without charge.  If a divorce is uncontested, there is a reasonable, base fee for the preparation of the required documents to initiate and finalize the divorce and, if necessary, to develop a postmarital agreement.  Every effort is made to encourage dissolution of marriage on an uncontested basis, but if that is not possible then Attorney Blair will provide his many years of litigation experience to effectuate a favorable result in court.  He will thoroughly review all the options and their attendant risks and costs so that his client can make an informed decision as to the best way to proceed.

CUSTODY AND SUPPORT

The Law Office of Steven R. Blair represents clients in custody and support matters.  With respect to custody matters, effort is made to develop a custody stipulation agreement which sets forth the type of custody arrangement to be put in effect with respect to both legal custody and physical custody, which can then be enforced by the court.  If agreement is not possible, Attorney Blair will provide aggressive representation in the initial custody conference and in family business court.

Representation before the Domestic Relations Office and the Court of Common Please is available through Attorney Blair in both marital support and child support matters.  While there are basic guideline amounts that should make the amount of support fairly understandable there exist many variables that can affect the availability and amount of support to be given.  Attorney Blair is prepared to do all he can to help his clients achieve the best possible result.

PREMARITAL AGREEMENTS

In the case of second marriages or first marriages when there is exists significant differences in the assets of the prospective spouses it is imperative that consideration be given to having a premarital agreement prepared and executed by the parties to outline what happens in the event the marriage breaks down.  Without such an agreement, both spouses may end up spending wholly extravagant and unnecessary legal fees and not see the marriage dissolved until after many acrimonious years.  Attorney Blair regularly prepares these types of agreements on behalf of clients.