Partner Lucas Clark Successful in String of Recent Chester County Custody Cases

Cases involving family issues can often become extremely complex and emotional for the parties involved.  At Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark, LLP, you can be sure that our attorneys will work on your behalf to deliver results that are in the best interests of you and your family.  The head of MMDC’s family law department, Lucas A. Clark, IV, Esquire, has been extremely successful in a recent string of custody cases in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

In a recent ongoing case, Mr. Clark successfully won intervention for the children’s maternal grandmother in the matter, which now gives her full standing to file for any form of custody of the children.  The mother and the father of the children had been operating under a Custody Order from 2018 that awarded the parties shared legal custody, with Mother having primary physical custody and Father having partial physical custody.  Mother, who is also Mr. Clark’s client’s daughter, was arrested for drug-related issues which caused Father to file for emergency custody of the children.  Due to the filing of this petition, Father was granted emergency custody of the children and subsequently moved the children to reside in Lancaster County with him. Prior to this incident, the children had resided with Maternal Grandmother for years and had treated her residence their home.  When the children began living with Father, Maternal Grandmother became concerned about the children’s safety and believed that they were in danger.  Accordingly, she filed a Petition to Intervene in the case, and after two days of trial she was permitted by the Court to intervene in the custody matter.  Through Mr. Clark, Maternal Grandmother is now filing for primary custody of the children and, due to the factors set forth in her petition, it is believed that she will be successful in securing primary physical custody.

In another Chester County case, Mr. Clark effectively argued his client’s case and won her primary physical custody back.  Chester County, unlike other counties, allows its Hearing Officers to change physical custody, however, any changes are subject to the local Littman procedure.  The father of the children had gained shared physical custody in late 2021 and the mother subsequently hired Mr. Clark to assist her in filing to regain primary custody due to Father’s failure to comply with the requirements of the custody order, such as the child having his own bedroom, and cooperating with co-parenting counseling.  After said filing, the parties attended a Custody Conference with a Hearing Officer that lasted for an entire afternoon.  During said Conference, the parties and their counsel had the opportunity to present their legal arguments, testimony, and submit any exhibits.  Mr. Clark presented a strong representation of Mother and successfully won her primary custody back of the child.

During a third recent case, Mr. Clark represented a mother who was opposing the father’s request for primary physical custody of the parties’ children.  Prior to Father requesting primary physical custody, the parties operated on a 50/50 shared physical custody schedule for years.  Father filed for primary physical custody of the children based on false allegations of abuse against Mother.  However, during a full morning conference, these allegations of abuse were disproven with the help of Mr. Clark through argument, testimony, and submission of exhibits. After said conference, Father’s request for primary physical custody of the children was ultimately denied. At this time, 50/50 custody remains between the parties and Mother’s request for family counseling was the only request that had been successfully awarded by the Hearing Officer.

At Musi, Merkins, Daubenberger & Clark, our attorneys are ready to fight for the most beneficial results for you and your family. Give our office a call at 610-891-8806 to schedule an appointment.