Protection from Abuse Act claims in Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Lawyer for PFA, Beaver County Attorney for PFA

Your Options:
What Can You Lose?

Under the PFA Act, a
court has broad
discretion to prevent
"abuse" and to correct
financial hardships on
the allegedly "abused"
party.

The Act also allows the
court's to enter a
custody/visitation
order, make you pay
child support, take
away weapons, and a
host of other servere
penalties. It is therefore
advisable that you
meet with an attorney
and evaluate your
strategy in trying to
"beat" a PFA.

If you go to court and
lose, you risk the court
ordering all the above
penalties available
against you under the
Act, plus your risk
creating a transcript of
testimony about your
tendency to "abuse"
that can be used
against you in other
matters.

Be reluctant to consent
to any type of PFA
order unless your
attorney helps draft the
terms of the consent
order and advises you
that consent is the
most realistic option.

Pennsylvania PFA - Protection
From Abuse Act
Stay strong. If you are defending against a
PFA petition, this is not the time to agree to
a permanent Protection From Abuse Act
Order without questioning the "deal" offered
to you. Why? Too much is riding on this. A
permanent PFA Order goes on civil docket as
proof that you are an "abuser." It has the
appearance of a criminal conviction for the
world to see, free of charge. In other words,
those searching the civil dockets for
information about you might not care that
the PFA Order is only "civil" as opposed to
criminal. Plus, the deal offered to you may
include langauge about depriving your
important rights to custody, visitation, the
right to carry firearms, and other restrictions
on your freedom.

Get Prepared.
You will get a hearing on whether the
temporary PFA Order becomes permanent.
This is a critical time. Your lawyer will tell
you how to prepare for the hearing. Keep in
mind that everything you say can be used
against you in other future disputes over
custody, support, and other matters that
you might not envision. Plus, at your PFA
hearing, the court can enter an order that
restricts your important rights to custody,
visitation, the right to carry firearms, and
other basic rights.

Try to Win This.
Your lawyer can propose to the other side a
settlement agreement that stop far short of
all the remedies that might be available to
the othre side under the PFA Act. If petition
refuses to settle and the case must go to a
hearing, your lawyer can find points to use
for cross examination of every witness who
plans to testify against you. The opposing
party and her attorney will know right away
that you are prepared. This will set the
stage for possible victory in court or an
agreement for the outright dismissal of the
PFA.

Know When To Settle.
Taking your case to a hearing involves risk.
The courts have broad powers to enter up
to a three year PFA, precluding you from
having contact with a significant other (and
even your children), order child support, take
away weapons, and enter other stringent
restrictions of your rights. You should know
when to accept a deal and what should be
included in the language of the settlement
agreement.

Our Experience.
We have considerable experience getting
PFAs disimssed short of a hearing. We take
every PFA (protection from abuse) case
seriously because we know the
consequences for you. Part of our practice
involves getting criminal records expunged
and we see first hand the problems people
face once a permanent PFA goes on their
record. For this reason, we fight hard.

Facing Complexities.
Rarely is a PFA about one instance of
"abuse." The PFA is usually part of a broader
issue: a break up, or a couple who dates
each other for too long, or may there's a
child custody dispute, a divorce, one party
trying to get the other party out of the
house, etc, etc. Our firm also handles family
law so we can skillfully advise you about all
matters in your case, not just the PFA.

Give Us A Call.
Give our Pittsburgh attorneys a call for any
case in Allegheny County, Beaver County, or
Washington County. We want to help.