Protection from Abuse Act (PFA) - Representation in Pennsylvania

You Should Expect the Worst.

You are in a bind the moment a temporary
PFA order is entered against you. A hearing
will be scheduled to determine whether the
PFA will be become permanent and the PFA
can last up to three years. At the hearing,
you will give testimony, which can be used
against you in the future in any capacity: a
custody dispute, divorce, criminal matter, or
even a civil case where you are suing for
money in a totally unrelated matter.

Get Help, Now.

We have seen too many people go into a PFA
hearing without counsel of their own present,
only to seriously regret their decisionto go
alone for several years into the future. An
adverse ruling in a PFA case can haunt you
for manyl years. First of all, the PFA can last
as long as three years. Plus, you will have a
criminal record, of sorts. This is not the time
to be your own lawyer, especially if the other
side is using this as a custody grab on an
excuse to kick you out of the primary
residence.

We Give You Options.

In each case, our attorneys try to negotiate
with the litigant or lawyer on the other side
of the case to bring about the most
reasonable resolution of every case. If that
does not work, we will prepare your case for
a hearing and make sure that you are
prepared to give testimony that will have the
best change of your succeeding on the PFA
and also do the least harm to you and your
interests long afer the PFA hearing takes
place.

Our Experience.

Attorney Todd W. Elliott obtained experience
with PFA orders right out of law school. He
worked for the courts and made the threshold
determination whether the court should grant
a temporary PFA (Protection from Abuse Act)
order pending a hearing. Since then, Attorney
Elliott has practiced law for over ten years,
handling dozens of PFA cases in Beaver and
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh). He has had
great success getting PFA issues resolve
through no contact orders or other
agreemetns that spare a hearing and
preserve the client's ability to fight custody
and other issues in the future.

Call us.

412.400.5476

Our family law practice handles divorce (fault and no fault). Each attorney at our firm handles claims for child custody
(grandparent, parent, father, mother, step parent, interstate), dependency hearings, PFA (protection from abuse), support (spousal
support, alimony pendente lite, child support), prenuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, and adoption. Our Pittsburgh family
law attorneys always work with opposing counsel to bring your divorce, support, or custody matter to an efficient and reasonable
resolution. We'll look at the relative income of each party involved in your case get a fair sense of the support obligation. Emotions
often run high during a family law dispute, so why prolong the situation or make it more difficult (or expensive) than it needs to be?
Why spend more on legal fees for divorce, alimony, spousal support, or child custody than necessary? We suggest that you rely on an
experienced family law attorney who will seek an agreement and early resolution of all support (APL and spousal), child custody and
divorce matters when possible.

Legal Links:
Law libraries
Beaver County
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/lawlibrary/
http://library.lawschool.cornell.edu/
Local rules:
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/Courts/local%20rules/localrules.htm
Pennsylvania,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania
for "lawyers": lawyer referral: http://www.bcba-pa.org/lrs.asp
Lawyer and attorney
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer
"attorneys" and bar members:
http://www.bcba-pa.org/members_bar.asp

Locations:
Beaver County
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_County,_Pennsylvania
Beaver County Area
http://www.beavercountychamber.com/
Beaver County Courty System
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/Courts/JurorsInstructions.htm
Pittsburgh sites,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh area
http://www.pittsburgkschamber.com/
http://www.lawlib.duq.edu/,
City of Pittsburgh http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/
Pittsburgh Law Department
http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/law/
Allegheny County
http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/
Pennsylvania court system
http://www.courts.state.pa.us/
Greensburg, http://www.city.greensburg.pa.us/
Westmoreland County Bar Association
http://www.westbar.org/
Westmoreland County Court System
http://www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/
Uniontown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniontown,_Pennsylvania
Washington bar
Lawrence County Bar,
http://www.lawrencecountylawyers.com/images/localrules.pdf
Washington County Courts
http://www.co.washington.pa.us/index.aspx
Washington County Children and Youth
http://www.co.washington.pa.us/maindepartment.aspx?menuDept
=109
http://www.co.washington.pa.us/downloads/262.pdf

Family Law:
Family Law Court Beaver County
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/Juvenile/custody.htm

Divorce:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce
http://www.lawyers.com/Divorce/browse-by-location.html?site=731&
CMP=KAC-731A
http://www.panzerfamilylaw.com/
Divorce forms:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-forms/
Law governing families in Pennsylvania:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/23.html
Family law, divorce, support:
http://family.findlaw.com/
Divorce and property:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-property/divorce-commun
al-property.html
Seperate property, non-marital:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-property/divorce-separate
-property.html
Divorce assets:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-property/divorce-hidden-a
ssets.html
Divorce Laws in Pennsylvania:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/23.html

Equitable Distribution:
http://www.mbr-law.com/equitabledistribution.htm
http://family.findlaw.com/marriage/marriage-more/couples-ownersh
ip.html

Support Obligations:
http://www.pennglazier.com/support2006/support.html#Note_3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_support
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/231/chapter1910/s1910.16-4.ht
ml
http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/231/chapter1910/s1910.16-2.ht
ml

Support Law:
http://www.mbr-law.com/custodysupport.htm#child%20support
Support laws in Pennsylvania:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesP4/23.Cp.43B.html
Alimony claim:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-alimony/
Claim for spousal support:
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-alimony/alimony-definition
.html
Alimony pendente lite
http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-alimony/temporary-alimon
y.html

Child Custody:
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_custody
Popular sites:
http://www.srislawyer.com/PracticeAreas/CHILD-CUSTODY.asp
Child Custody in Beaver County
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/Juvenile/custody.htm
Beaver County Children and Youth Center
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/CYS/Direct.htm
Custody of Children Laws in Pennsylvania:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/23.Cp.53.html
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/lawlibrary/Child_custody.htm
http://www.co.beaver.pa.us/lawlibrary/forms/Custody_CertifOfReadi
ness.pdf
Adoption laws in Pennsylvania:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/23.Cp.25.html
Allegheny County Children Youth Services
http://www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/cyf.aspx