Family Law

  • Adoption - domestic and international: I have a special place in my heart for adoption law. Back in 2006, my wife and I adopted our older daughter from Armenia. The process was not particularly easy, but amazingly satisfying in the end. As a result of this experience, and our creation of the Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR), Inc. (www.soar-us.org), a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian relief to the orphanages in Armenia, I have been immersed in adoption law for nearly five years. The thought of beginning an adoption process may be daunting, but steps are well-defined. Please contact me if you are considering either a domestic or international adoption. If you are considering adopting from Armenia, click here to review the answers to frequently asked questions about the adoption process in Armenia.

  • Advance health care directives: An "advance health care directive" lets your physician, family, and friends know your health care preferences, including the types of special treatment you want or don't want at the end of life and your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and organ donation. By considering your options early, you can ensure the quality of life that is important to you and avoid having your family "guess" your wishes or having to make critical medical care decisions for you while under stress or in emotional turmoil.

  • Alimony: The purpose of alimony is to avoid any unfair economic consequences of a divorce, even after property is divided and child support is awarded. Alimony can be modified or eliminated as the former spouses' needs change, if those needs are the result of decisions they made as a married unit. Awards and increases in alimony are meant to address only needs that are caused by the divorce itself, not unrelated needs.

  • Child custody, child support, and child visitation: A divorce is a difficult process. The dissolution of a marriage becomes even more complicated when children are involved. I can assist you in devising an equitable plan for child custody, child support, and child visitation. There are different types of child custody, and it is important to know the differences.

    • Physical Custody: Physical custody means that a parent has the right to have a child live with him or her.
    • Legal Custody: Legal custody of a child means having the right and the obligation to make decisions about a child's upbringing. A parent with legal custody can make decisions, for example, about schooling, religion, and medical care. If you share joint legal custody with the other parent and you exclude him/her her from the decisionmaking process, the custody agreement is being violated. If you think you have circumstances that make it impossible to share joint legal custody (for example, the other parent is abusive or won't communicate with you about important matters), contact me to pursue sole legal custody.
    • Sole Custody: One parent can have either sole legal custody or sole physical custody of a child. Courts generally won't hesitate to award sole physical custody to one parent if the other parent is deemed unfit (for example, because of alcohol or drug dependency). Even where courts do award sole physical custody, the parties often still share joint legal custody, and the noncustodial parent enjoys a generous visitation schedule. In that situation, the parents would make joint decisions about the child's upbringing, but one parent would be deemed the primary physical caretaker, while the other parent would have visitation rights.
    • Joint Custody: Parents who don't live together have shared custody when they share the decisionmaking responsibilities for, and/or physical control and custody of, their children. Joint custody can exist if the parents are divorced, separated, or no longer cohabitating, or even if they never lived together. Joint custody may be joint legal custody, joint physical custody (where the children spend a significant portion of time with each parent), or joint legal and physical custody.

  • Cohabitation and prenuptial agreements: Cohabitation and prenuptial agreements are legal agreements reached between a couple who have chosen to live together (whether they are heterosexual or homosexual). These agreements contain documentation for a couple who want to live together in order to protect themselves from unnecessary cost and litigation should their cohabitation break down. They can clearly regulate their property rights and what arrangements might be made, for example, with financial support, debt, and child rearing. The agreements allow the individuals concerned to determine in advance who will keep specific assets and what will happen to assets that have been purchased jointly if they separate. This agreement is intended to bind both parties.

  • Family mediation: Family mediation is a process where I assist you in reaching an agreement that is fair to both parties. Mediation works successfully for many divorcing families. Cooperative couples often choose this alternative. My mediation process includes an orientation session that gives us the opportunity to get to know each other. I spend our first meeting listening to your differing perspectives, gathering information, answering questions, and presenting an agenda for our following meetings. The most important goal for the first meeting is to create an atmosphere where both parties feel comfortable and secure. During the course of the mediation process you will need to make many serious decisions about assets and liabilities, parenting and child support, spousal support (if necessary), and living arrangements. I am a firm believer that when people participate in creating their own voluntary agreement it is more likely to be honored by both parties. Therefore, my goal is to facilitate communication, promote understanding, and assist you in reaching fully informed solutions that work for both of you.

  • Matrimonial (divorce): Ending a marriage is a difficult process, for everyone involved - the couple, children, family, and friends. Depending on the particular circumstances, the dissolution can be complicated. Whether you anticipate your divorce being amicable or adversarial, you need an attorney who understands your needs and will do his best to achieve the best possible result for you. There are many variables to consider, such as finances and child custody/support, and addressing these variables from the onset will make your life considerably easier down the line.

  • Power of attorney: A power of attorney is a document that allows you to appoint a person (your "Agent") or organization to handle your affairs while you're unavailable or unable to do so. The purpose of a power of attorney is to protect and take care of you should you become incapacitated to the point that you are unable to manage your own assets and take care of yourself. There are two main purposes for powers of attorney - healthcare and finances. There are several types of powers of attorney:

    • General Power of Attorney - Authorizes your Agent to act on your behalf in a variety of different situations.
    • Special Power of Attorney - Authorizes your Agent to act on your behalf in specific situations only.
    • Health Care Power of Attorney - Allows you to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you're incapacitated.
    • "Durable" Power of Attorney - The general, special, and health care powers of attorney can all be made "durable" by adding certain text to the document. This means that the document will remain in effect or take effect if you become mentally incompetent.

Law Offices of
George S. Yacoubian, Jr, LLC:

Pennsylvania:
1060 First Avenue, Suite 400
King of Prussia, PA 19406
(215) 701.4357 - Philadelphia Office
(610) 768.8988 - Suburban Office
(610) 213.3452 - Cell
(610) 229.5168 - Fax

New Jersey:
One Greentree Center, Suite 201
10,000 Lincoln Drive East
Marlton, NJ 08053
(856) 988.5871 - Office
(610) 213.3452 - Cell
(610) 229.5168 - Fax

george@yacoubian-law.com