Family Law

Harrisburg Family Law Attorneys

Adoption

We handle all types of adoption, including:

• Newborn adoption
• Stepparent adoption
• Foster parent adoption
• Private adoption
• Interstate adoption
• International adoption

No matter what your family circumstances, we can guide you through the complicated adoption process, from establishing biological and adoptive parental relationships, to terminating parental rights, name studies, and finalizing the adoption.  We will draft and review any paperwork involved, keeping you informed at every step. If you are the adoptive parents, we will check every detail to make certain that the biological parent cannot climb through a loophole and reclaim the child.

Surrogacy

We also assist clients who wish to establish surrogate agreements. We give the same attention and care to our surrogacy clients that we give to our adoption clients, from the pre-birth order to the time that the child arrives home with his or her new parents.

Protecting your Assets: Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

If you are getting married and want to protect your assets, no matter how large or small, you should consider a pre-nuptial agreement. A pre-nuptial agreement can set forth details as to what your future spouse may be entitled and what may be considered a marital asset in the event of a divorce. A pre-nuptial agreement may protect your home, business, retirement account, savings and investment account from property settlement in the event of a divorce. It is recommended that a pre-nuptial agreement be prepared and executed more than 30 days prior to the wedding date to avoid any claims of coercion or duress in the signing process. To allow for adequate time for full and fair disclosure, contact Scaringi & Scaringi, P.C.  at least two to three months prior to your wedding to complete your pre-nuptial agreement.

If you are already married, you may still be able to protect your assets from a property settlement in the event of a divorce. A post-nuptial agreement can also protect your assets. A family law attorney at our firm can advise you of your legal options.

Protection from Abuse

A petition for Protection From Abuse is filed by one person who has a certain relationship to another person in which the petitioning party requests an Order of Court be entered against the other party. The petitioning party can request several forms of court-ordered provisions, including:

• 1) Eviction of the other party
• 2) No Contact
• 3) Full custody of the children
• 4) Financial support paid by the other party

We assist both plaintiffs and defendants in actions involving restraining orders. As with all our clients, we zealously represent defendants in Protection From Abuse actions. Depending on the facts, a parent can lose custody of their children as a result of a protection order. A subject of a protection order is also not allowed to own or operate any firearms.

For plaintiffs, we guide them through the filing process. We can also refer them to various social service agencies for aid. Most importantly, we can represent them at the Protection From Abuse hearing. At this hearing, the judge will decide whether to grant or reject the PFA petition.  It is critical to have skilled representation at this hearing.

Contact a Harrisburg family law attorney for an initial consultation.

For more information on family law please read our family law information page and FAQ's.