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Family Law · Divorce, Custody and Support

Pittsburgh Family Law Attorneys

Divorce, custody, and support cases in Pennsylvania are driven by financial exposure, parenting time, and timing. Outcomes are often shaped early, before positions harden and before mistakes are locked in.

In a divorce involving a business, investment real estate, or significant assets, the financial structure of the case determines what each party walks away with. Support is calculated on income that can be disputed. Property is divided on values that can be contested. The way those numbers get defined, and who defines them first, shapes the outcome before the first court date. At Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A., serving Pittsburgh since 1933, clients work directly with their attorney from the first call through resolution. One attorney who knows the full financial picture, handles the analysis personally, and is there when the situation changes. Not after it already has.

How Family Law Cases Are Decided in Pennsylvania

Family law cases in Pennsylvania follow defined legal frameworks. Custody is decided under statutory best interest factors. Support is calculated using statewide guidelines. Property division is handled through equitable distribution. Relocation and modification each apply separate legal standards.

Understanding how these systems interact is critical. Custody, support, and property division are not isolated issues. A change in one area often affects the others, especially in cases involving children, business ownership, or real estate.

Family Law · Complex Financial Cases

Divorce cases rarely involve only divorce.

When a spouse owns a closely held company, professional practice, or partnership interest, the analysis becomes more complex. Business valuation, goodwill, ownership restrictions, and income attribution can all affect the financial outcome. These issues are addressed on our business interests in divorce page.

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Family law often intersects with business ownership and estate planning.

When a divorce involves a closely held business, professional practice, or significant assets, the legal analysis extends beyond custody and support. Ownership structure, valuation, and existing agreements can directly affect the outcome. See our Business Interests in Divorce page and our Estate Planning and Probate practice.

Child Custody and Parenting Issues

Custody cases are governed by statutory factors, practical scheduling constraints, and evolving circumstances over time. Allegheny County may also require parents to complete the Generations parenting program as part of the custody process. The pages below explain how Pennsylvania courts analyze custody, structure parenting time, and handle related conference and support issues.

Child Custody & Support
Custody disputes, parenting plans, enforcement, and Pennsylvania child support calculation and modification.

Includes imputed income situations where earnings are assigned based on earning capacity.

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Custody Factors
Statutory factors Pennsylvania judges weigh under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328, including safety, stability, and the child’s best interests.

Parental involvement, history of care, and each factor’s practical weight in contested custody cases.

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Custody Schedules
50/50 arrangements, primary custody with partial custody, holiday schedules, and what courts consider when setting a schedule.

How parenting time is structured and what courts prioritize when determining a custody schedule.

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Custody Modification
When an existing custody order can be changed and what qualifies as a material change in circumstances.

The process for modifying custody in Allegheny County under Pennsylvania’s material change standard.

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Custody Relocation
Pennsylvania’s relocation statute under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337, notice requirements, and consequences when a parent moves without permission.

Factors courts consider and enforcement options when one parent seeks to relocate with a child.

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Custody Enforcement
Violating a custody order in Pennsylvania can result in contempt, sanctions, attorney fee awards, and modification of custody under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5323(g).

When a parent refuses to follow a custody order, Pennsylvania courts can impose sanctions, award attorney fees, and modify the order to protect the child’s best interests.

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Emergency Custody
Pennsylvania courts can issue emergency custody orders when a child faces immediate risk of harm. A temporary order may be entered before a full hearing under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5324.

Emergency custody petitions require evidence of immediate danger. Courts can issue temporary orders ex parte, followed by a full hearing within days.

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Child Support Issues

Support disputes often involve calculation issues, custody adjustments, modification timing, conference procedure, and questions about when an obligation ends. A threshold question in many cases is which parent pays child support and how the formula allocates the obligation. One question that comes up frequently: does child support stop at 18 in Pennsylvania, and if so, how to formally terminate the order. The pages below address the most common child support questions in Pennsylvania.

Child Support in Pennsylvania
How support is determined, what income counts, and how Pennsylvania applies its statewide guidelines.

The guideline formula, both parents’ net income, custody schedule adjustments, and expense allocation.

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How Child Support Is Calculated
Pennsylvania’s guideline formula based on both parents’ net income, the custody schedule, and additional expenses.

Health insurance, childcare, and how the custody schedule affects the base support obligation.

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What Child Support Covers
What the base obligation includes and how courts allocate additional expenses for medical costs, daycare, and activities.

The base payment, extraordinary expenses, and the cost-sharing framework courts apply in Pennsylvania.

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Self-Employed Child Support
How courts calculate income for self-employed parents, including deduction add-backs, imputed income, and cash business scrutiny.

Strategies and risks for self-employed parents in Pennsylvania support proceedings.

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Modifying Child Support
When a support order can be changed, what qualifies as a material change, and why the filing date matters.

How to petition for modification and the timeline considerations that affect retroactivity.

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Reducing Child Support
How to petition for a reduction, the material change standard, voluntary underemployment, and why filing date controls.

When courts will reduce support and what arguments courts reject in reduction proceedings.

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Child Support Enforcement
What happens when support goes unpaid: wage garnishment, license suspension, tax interception, and contempt proceedings.

Tools available to enforce a support order when the obligor fails to pay in Pennsylvania.

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Child Support Hearing
When exceptions are filed after the conference, the case proceeds to a de novo hearing before a judge under Pa.R.C.P. 1910.12. Both parties present evidence and testimony.

A support hearing is a fresh proceeding before a judge. The conference recommendation is set aside and both parties present income evidence, witnesses, and argument.

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When Child Support Ends
When a support obligation ends in Pennsylvania, including emancipation, graduation, and related exceptions.

The default termination rules and circumstances that extend or accelerate the end of support.

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Divorce, Support, and Financial Issues

Pennsylvania divorce cases often turn on support exposure, business valuation, the marital home, retirement assets, and how property is classified and divided. For a closer look at how courts handle the marital home in divorce, see our detailed analysis. The pages below address the financial and procedural issues that most often shape outcomes.

Divorce
Contested and uncontested divorce, settlement agreements, support exposure, and litigation from filing through final decree.

The full divorce process in Pennsylvania, from separation through final decree and equitable distribution.

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How Long Does a Divorce Take
A 90-day minimum, but most Pennsylvania divorces take longer depending on custody, support, and contested property issues.

What drives timelines and how to manage the duration of a Pennsylvania divorce.

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Equitable Distribution
Division of marital property including real estate, retirement accounts, investments, and deferred compensation under Pennsylvania law.

How Pennsylvania courts classify, value, and divide marital assets under the equitable distribution statute.

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The Marital Home in Divorce
How Pennsylvania courts handle the marital home: buyouts, forced sales, deferred distribution, and the deciding factors.

What drives the outcome when the marital home is the central asset in an equitable distribution dispute.

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Business Interests in Divorce
Valuation disputes, goodwill analysis, and ownership restrictions affecting closely held companies and professional practices.

What makes business interests complex in divorce and how courts assess marital versus separate value.

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Hidden Assets in Divorce
Identifying undisclosed income, incomplete financial production, tracing issues, and strategies used in complex financial cases.

Discovery tools and legal remedies when a spouse conceals assets or understates income in divorce proceedings.

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Alimony & Spousal Support
Spousal support, alimony pendente lite, and post-divorce alimony: each applies at a different stage under different legal standards.

The three types of support in Pennsylvania divorce and the legal standards governing each.

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Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
Enforceable agreements designed to protect premarital assets, businesses, real estate, and complex financial interests.

Drafting, disclosure requirements, and enforceability standards for prenuptial and postnuptial agreements in Pennsylvania.

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Protection From Abuse Orders
Emergency orders affecting housing, custody, contact restrictions, and firearm possession, with fast deadlines and serious consequences.

How PFA proceedings work in Allegheny County and what both petitioners and respondents should know.

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Family Law · Pittsburgh

If the financial position is not defined early, it will be defined for you.

Most mistakes in divorce, custody, and support cases happen at the beginning, before the structure is clear and before positions are locked in. If you are dealing with business interests, real estate, or support exposure, the timing and framing matter.

If you want a clear understanding of where you stand and what the next move should be, we can review the situation with you.

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Equitable Distribution

Custody, support, and property division are not isolated issues. A change in one area often affects the others.