Attorney Rominger in the News

Woman gets probation in child's death
by DON AINES-->
CHAMBERSBURG, PA.

Bobbette's attorney, Karl Rominger, said that the police investigation showed that the stopper for the tub was found on a high shelf and that the 3-year-old apparently used a washcloth to plug the drain.

"This is a one-time tragedy for which she is truly contritious and sorry," Rominger said.

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A Chambersburg woman whose infant daughter drowned and twin son was permanently disabled last year in the bathtub of their home was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to six years on probation.

"Certainly, you carry the responsibility for the lack of supervision ... if indeed this is how it happened," Judge Douglas Herman told Jessica R. Bobbette as he sentenced her on three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

"There was evidence you were using alcohol, which may have contributed to what occurred," Herman told Bobbette. "If you had been properly supervising the children, it wouldn't have happened."

Bobbette, 21, of 300 A S. Second St. had originally been charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of a child, but pleaded guilty Nov. 10 to the misdemeanor charges, according to court records. She was charged in the Nov. 2, 2004, incident at her former home on Linden Avenue that resulted in the death of 11-month-old Jaliey Aviles and injury to Jahleel Aviles. - READ MORE

Pennsylvania Child Custody - The basics of PA law.

Few legal issues are as personal or as emotional as child custody matters. Adequate representation can ensure the parent has the most time possible with their child. Failure to aggressively seek custody or to oppose custody for an adverse party could cause the entry of a court order that is not in your best interest or your child's best interest.

In Pennsylvania, child custody is divided on a case by case basis. One often hears the term legal custody, which refers to the ability of a parent to make legal or life decisions about a child. If the parents have joint legal custody, regardless of who has physical custody, both parents have a say in major schooling decisions, religious decisions, medical decisions and all other life changing or life shaping decisions. So, for instance, if a child needed surgery, both parents should be consulted. On the other hand, if the child needs a Band-Aid, the parent with physical custody should be able to make that decision on his or her own.

Physical custody is the portion of the court order that awards a parent the actual physical custody of the child for a period of time. While a parent has physical custody, they have control over the child physically and legally, subject only to the requirements of joint legal custody, if it exists. This essentially means the parent may take the child with them, discipline the child as necessary, take care of emergencies involving the child and otherwise act as a parent in all normal fashions, but again, if joint legal custody exists, the parent must also honor those principles and requirements. A parent with physical custody is responsible for that child's actions while in their custody and is responsible for the health, welfare and safety of that child.
Another frequent term heard is visitation.

Visitation is not necessarily physical custody. An order to grant a parent visitation can be for visitation that is either supervised or unsupervised. The term visitation is often interchanged with the term physical custody and so it is frequently said that the parent who is going to exercise physical custody for a weekend has a "weekend visitation". The terms are often used interchangeably, even if incorrectly.

In Pennsylvania, custody can be initiated by filing a suit for custody in the Court of Common Pleas. Most courthouses have conciliation or mediation programs that the parties must then attend before there can be a court hearing. The purpose of these conciliation or mediation programs is to attempt to resolve the matter without submitting it to a trial judge. If an agreement cannot be reached in front of the conciliator and the parties' expectations are so different as to make any compromise impossible, a custody trial can be held.

A custody trial is similar to many other civil trials in that both sides can call witnesses and cross-examine them. It is a somewhat specialized trial as many special factors that go into determining what is in the best interests of the child. An experienced attorney can help the party produce the appropriate evidence and argue it in the appropriate way to help sway the trial judge to determine that the child's best interests is in staying primarily with one parent or the other, or in providing additional periods of custody to the parent seeking such.

No custody order is considered final, in so much as either party is free to modify it or attempt to modify it for any changed circumstance. One frequent reason to change a custody order occurs when the child comes of school age, and because of the physical location of the parents, a true split custody situation becomes impossible, and a school district must be chosen. Other reasons include one parent becoming more or less fit over time, the child's wishes or desires as they become older, or the health, welfare and safety of the child is threatened by one party or by a third party that one of the parties will not exclude from access to the child.

Sometimes, one parent in a shared or split custody situation, who is the primary custodian of the child decides to move a great distance to take a job or for other reasons important to that adult. The courts in Pennsylvania require permission to be granted for the parent to make that move, if a custody order is in place. If the non-custodial parent requests a hearing, one will be held on an emergency basis, in rapid fashion. This is called a Plowman hearing, named after a case called Plowman v. Plowman.

At a Plowman hearing, the court uses something called a Gruber Analysis, also named after a case, which requires the court to determine whether or not the move will incur substantial benefit to the parent and / or to child. Other factors including whether or not the move is being done in good faith and not to frustrate the custody process. Because of the specialized standards that this hearing entails, an experienced attorney can also make a difference in preventing such a move or facilitating such a move, depending on which party the attorney represents.

The above information on child custody is not decided to be all-inclusive, you should not rely upon it in representing yourself or others. All custody matters should be brought to the attention of an experienced attorney for consultation, and if necessary litigation.

Why wills are important.

Writing a will is something that many of us choose to avoid. Often this is because even sitting down and thinking about how to dispose of our property after we have passed forces us to recognize that we are mortal. Few people savor the idea of that, and as a result, many people do not have a will or one that has been updated in a meaningful way.

A will is important because it is the document that tells your family, your survivors, and the government what you want done with your property. It can also make provisions for children or for other special issues you would like to speak about. Without a will, no one knows exactly what your intentions were, and often cannot discover what they were.

The simple will is the most common will used. A simple will usually tells what property you have and how you would like it divided. It could also contain provisions to tell who should execute your will or be the "executor or executrix". It also allows you to make provisions for special things such as who should care for a minor child in the event you die before they reach the age of 18.

A simple will is not expensive to prepare and can often be prepared in less than an hour of an attorney's time. Usually it takes two visits to the office, one to tell the attorney what you desire, and a second to sign and notarize the appropriate documents.

Sometimes, if you have a large amount of money or property or if you have special provisions put in the will, a simple will is inadequate. For instance, parents who have a child with special needs, who requires lifetime care, can provide trust provisions in their will which would provide for the lifetime care of that child or create a fund to be managed for the benefit of that child in the future. One doesn't have to be rich to create such a trust fund, and even the value of a family home is enough to make this option worthwhile.

In addition, there are serious federal tax consequences if you have a large estate. An attorney would then work with you and/or your spouse to develop a program that takes care of your heirs, while minimizing the tax burdens applicable. That is to say, you and your attorney develop a strategy that allows you to live comfortably while minimizing the amount of money the government will take when you pass.

Aside from planning for the will, many people are now beginning to now do something called estate planning. Estate planning involves many different aspects of the law, and includes a solid will. However, it also includes other things like various tax strategies, life insurance policies, and investment trust strategies to minimize tax and other consequences to your wealth.

Persons with substantial estates should consider these options. For instance, nursing home care or other assisted living care can also eat up or exhaust even a substantial estate. However, by planning early, people are often successful in preserving at least a portion or more of their estate for their children and grandchildren. Further, the surviving spouse may be left with little or no assets, if prolonged illness or care exhausts the estate prior to the death of their spouse. Proper estate planning is designed to prevent these things from happening.

One question often asked is how often should one update a will. One should update a will whenever anything that went into creating it changes. That is to say, if you decide you'd rather have your children cared for by someone else, you should indicate that in a new will. If you wish to change who is to receive what in your will, you should write a new will. If nothing important has changed, you might want to look at your will every several years just to make sure that it still provides in a meaningful way for you. Further, if you have a complex will or an estate plan, regularly consulting with your attorney is important, as changing laws and tax consequences make reevaluating estate plans essential.

While wills are often difficult topics to deal with, they are important. It is your chance to let everyone know how you want your affairs settled. It's quick, easy and inexpensive, and well worth the time invested.

Contact Rominger, Bayley & Whare