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Office Location

  • Pittsburgh Office

    Address

    The Grant Building, 310 Grant Street
    Suite 1515
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219

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Adamczyk Law Offices L.L.P. locations:

Ratings & Reviews

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  • 5.0/5.0

    It was a great pleasure working with this farm, its owners and its staff. I really appreciated the professionalism and passion in the personal relationships that were established. Anthony

    — Client

  • 5.0/5.0

    Mary Adamcyzk was terrific with my divorce case. She provide guidance and advice every step of the way and was partner in securing a positive outcome for me. I highly recommend Mary to anyone who has to go through divorce proceedings. I c...
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    — Client

  • 5.0/5.0

    I hired Attorney Tara Sease to assist me with enforcing a marriage settlement agreement. Attorney Sease was extremely responsive to my questions and ensured that the agreement was adhered to. I am extremely please with her representation ...
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    — Client

  • 5.0/5.0

    A great group of lawyers that were always accessible. The staff was wonderful and everything was explained. Would definitely recommend.

    — Client

  • 5.0/5.0

    Divorce is a difficult, complicated and emotional experience. I interviewed several firms when I found myself faced with divorce. Mary Adamczyk was a clear standout from the group. She always took the time to truly listen to me and understa...
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    — Client

Strategy-Differences Between Legal Custody and Physical Custody Cases

Physical custody is the physical contact each parent has with the child. Shared custody contemplates frequent and continuing contact with the child and access to both parents on the part of the child.

Legal custody is the legal right to make major decisions affecting the best interest of the child including but not limited to medical, religious, and educational decisions. Shared legal custody provides both parents with the ability to make such decisions regardless of the physical custody or the distance the parents live apart.

To have shared legal custody, it is necessary that the parents have an amicable relationship only in that they can sufficiently isolate their personal conflicts from issues involving the children.

A court will not provide legal custody to one parent lightly at the exclusion of the other as the benefits of shared parental decision-making are presumed to a great extent. Indeed, the perceived benefits of shared legal custody often outweighs judicial expediency meaning that a court will often require the parties to continue to battle in court, litigating one legal decision after another even if the parties are tired of the same and even if that raises the hostility of the parties toward one another.

The key focus therefore, is how the children would be harmed or benefited by keeping the status quo of shared legal custody. This can break the deadlock. It requires however, a keen focus on the issue over a significant period of time, providing example after example of how the other parent’s legal decision making is harming the child in addition to repeatedly being unable to come to joint legal decisions.

In that vein, testimony from disinterested, extra familial sources is most desired if not required to carry the day when such a tough standard needs to be met. In other words, the Father says this, Mother says that approach rarely leads to the clarity required for any judge to decide to override the presumption that shared legal custody is more beneficial.