Blog Posts

            With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing for over one year now, the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas has finally released a tentative plan for the resumption of jury trials and equitable distribution hearings.  Court officials believe they have developed a reasonable plan that will allow trials to take place back in the courtroom.  While no firm dates have been set, the plans for the resumption of trials and hearings are as follows:             The proposed start dates for jury trials are June 1, 2021 for criminal trials and July 12, 2021 for civil trials.  Procedures for scheduling these two different types of trials will be slightly different and will follow a specific protocol to keep things on track.  When it comes to criminal trials, the emphasis will first be placed on cases involving incarcerated defendants and cases will be selected by the court to the extent possible based on space and security.  There will also be priority placed on the scheduling of any cases that involve rule 600.  The criminal cases will be placed on a two-week trial term and there will be up to 20 trials within each term.  Notices will be sent out that set…

Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark is pleased to announce the hiring of James N. Rooney.James joined Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark to provide effective advocacy and support across all the firm’s diverse practice areas. James grew up in Lafayette Hill in Montgomery County and attended Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, graduating in 2012.  After graduation James attended Millersville University.  He studied History at Millersville, and while at school he was a member of the Millersville Men’s Soccer team.  James graduated from Millersville in spring of 2016 and began his legal education that same summer enrolling at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline school in the fall. While studying at Drexel, James interned with the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office.  While working there he would perform client intake interviews and legal research for the attorneys.  He also spent one summer working at a personal injury firm in Center City Philadelphia where he handled discovery issues and pre-trial motion practice.  During his final year at law school James worked in the Federal and Appellate Litigation Clinic at Drexel.  While working in the clinic James handled an affirmative asylum case and worked on two criminal appeals alongside attorneys from the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. …

Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark is pleased to announce that two of their partner/attorneys have been recognized as Delaware County Daily Times Reader’s Choice Best Lawyers for 2021.  Partner Thomas A. Musi Jr. has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in the fields of commercial, personal injury, and real estate law, and Partner Richard C. Daubenberger has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in criminal law.  The Delaware County Daily Times requests readers vote online to share and promote who they believe are the best available attorneys in their field.  The prompt requests voters to put forth which attorney they would turn to in their times of need.  This is what makes Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark so proud of this honor, as we are proud to be a firm that Delaware County trusts. Thousands of votes were sent in for these awards and it is an honor to have multiple partner/attorneys from our firm recognized.  This recognition signals that our firm is having the positive impact in our community that we strive for.  We want to be the firm that people tell their friends and family to call when faced with criminal, personal injury, real estate, commercial, or any…

The Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Code defines unreimbursed medical expenses as out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered by insurance companies or any third party, and these types of expenses are usually considered “extraordinary” expenses because they exceed the cost of basic health care that is normally included in one’s insurance plan.  While these expenses will include things such as co- payments, deductibles, dental services, vision care, and much more, they will usually not include psychiatric, cosmetic, chiropractic, and psychological services, unless the Court deems these expenses to be reasonable.  In order to comply with the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure, these unreimbursed medical expenses must be annual expenses in excess of $250 per person named as a dependent in the applicable support order.  Only medical expenses in excess of $250 per dependent are subject to allocation under the rules because expenses less than $250 per year per dependent are the responsibility of the party receiving support. How does it work after the initial $250 of unreimbursed medical expenses are paid by the person receiving support?  The additional expenses above that $250 threshold are divided in terms of each parties’ percentage of both parties’ combined total income.  Each party in this situation…

Trusts and How They Can Protect Your Family A common misconception about trusts and trust planning is that this is for the extremely wealthy segment of our population, but this could not be further from the truth.  A trust is a right in property, real or personal, held by one party for the benefit of another. The trustee holds the legal title or interest in the trust property while beneficiaries have the beneficial interest in the trust.  Using these instruments can assist a variety of individuals and families, regardless of wealth, and can be used to preserve wealth, avoid inheritance taxes, avoid the unnecessary expense of probate and in some circumstances to protect one’s assets from creditors.  There are many types of trusts available , but on a broad scale they can be broken down into two categories, inter vivos trusts and testamentary trusts.    Living Trusts Inter vivos, or living, trust agreements often serve as companion pieces to wills where an individual directs that some or all of a portion of their estate pour into an inter vivos trust agreement. On the death of the settlor, or creator of the trust, the trust is already in existence and easily…