Family Law

• Divorce
  We offer divorce litigation experience that can manage an uncontested divorce or can bring a contested divorce to a fair and timely finalization. Our Family Law attorneys will help you prepare for divorce and sort out your marital property. Abom & Kutulakis will fight any disputes with your well-being in mind.
• Child Support
• Child Custody and Visitation
  The Domestic Relations Section will also address medical insurance coverage, out-of-pocket medical expenses, daycare expenses, mortgage contributions, and other extraordinary expenses in certain situations. Further complicating matters, the court also considers child custody arrangements, tax dependency exemptions, and the use and possession of a marital residence.
• Adoption
  Abom & Kutulakis is prepared to handle newborn adoptions, stepparent adoptions, private adoptions, foster parent adoptions, interstate adoptions, international adoptions, and adult child adoptions. We will counsel you through the steps of the adoption process, including choosing an agency, arranging placement visits, and finalizing the adoption.
• Premarital Agreement
  Our attorneys are well equipped to provide legal counsel in a wide range of personal and family legal matters including adoption, premarital agreements, separation, divorce, paternity, custody and support, and others.
• Guardianship
  A need for Guardianship can arise in many different circumstances, such as when a loved one becomes physically ill and is not be able care for themselves or mentally ill and cannot manage their own financial affairs. Perhaps one has a child who has inherited a sum of money or has a disabled or otherwise recently incapacitated family member. This responsibility of selecting someone to care for another person or that other person’s affairs can be addressed by a Guardianship.
• Spousal Support
  A support obligation will not begin until a case is filed in the Domestic Relations Section (or in a divorce proceeding for alimony pendente lite and alimony), and you must be living separately.
• Child Abuse
  We focus on defending against reported child abuse. Our attorneys have experience with Child Protective Services investigations, indicated appeal hearings, termination of parental rights hearings, and dependency hearings. We can facilitate the return of your child from county custody. We handle the following areas...

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Stephanie L. Cesare focuses her practice on criminal law in the state and federal criminal courts. She is a death penalty-certified criminal defense attorney and has represented individuals in Grand Jury investigations. Stephanie also advises in family law and children and youth services matters.
• DUI/DWI
  As attorneys we understand the value of your professional license. You have invested a lot of money and years of hard work into becoming licensed in your field. If you are accused of a violation, your professional license may be in jeopardy of suspension or revocation. Whether it be a criminal charge such as DUI, struggles with addiction, or other life struggles that have led to action against your licensure, we are here to help.
• Traffic Violations
• Sex Crimes
  Megan’s Law is a chief concern when facing such sex crimes as rape and sexual assault. Megan’s Law and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) have been heavily litigated, and the requirement for registration has changed significantly. Our attorneys can help you determine whether the date of an alleged crime and a date of conviction will require registration and for how long.
• Fraud
  Federal criminal charges are often brought with little or no warning and are generally more serious than state charges. The kinds of charges brought in federal court span virtually all types of misconduct, including drug offenses, tax fraud, immigration, and corruption by public officials. Occasionally, relatively minor charges are brought in federal court due to the alleged offense occurring on a military base, national park, veterans’ hospital, or other federal property.
• Burglary
• White Collar Crimes
  When it comes to your career or the success of your business, reputation is everything. A call or subpoena from an FBI agent, an agent with the Attorney General’s Office, or any other investigating agency can cause feelings of anxiety, fear, and despair. Abom & Kutulakis understands that a white-collar crime investigation or criminal charges can be devastating.
• Theft
• Misdemeanors
  Craig E. Kauzlarich represents clients charged with state and federal criminal charges and is a skilled legal researcher and advocate. In practice since 2008, he focuses on felony and misdemeanor charges, traffic law violations and CDL citations. Craig leads the firm’s appellate practice, authoring appeals to Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, and Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal. Craig also represents clients in post-conviction motions, pardon applications and expungements.
• Embezzlement
  Our attorneys have decades of experience defending white collar crimes such as Fraud, Tax Crimes, Embezzlement, and Public Corruption, in both state and federal courts. Many white-collar crime investigations involve grand jury proceedings. We have extensive experience representing individuals subpoenaed to testify before grand juries.
• Drug Crimes
  The Presidential Pardon applies to more than 6,500 federal convictions on simple marijuana possession. Officials said no one is currently serving a federal prison term for simple marijuana possession charges alone.
• Assault
  We are experienced in representing clients charged with homicide, aggravated assault, rape, and drug delivery resulting in death, among other violent crimes. Our attorneys are prepared to argue your case in plea negotiations and in jury trials. We also can help you navigate the collateral consequences of a violent crime conviction, such as changes in custody, spousal support and the right to own a weapon. We will assess all possible collateral consequences and can review any potential defenses for a violent crime.
• Murder
• Homicide

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  As a founding partner of Abom & Kutulakis in 2001, the late Jason P. Kutulakis focused his practice on child advocacy, civil litigation, workers compensation, and business counseling. Jason loved being a lawyer and his greatest passion was the protection of child-abuse victims. From 1999 to 2010 he served as the Solicitor for Dauphin County Children and Youth Services. In 2004, he formed The Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors’ Association. In 2006, The Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Committee awarded Jason The Child Advocate of the Year Award.
• Employment Discrimination
  The Court heard arguments in “Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia” in October, 2019. Gerald Bostock and other individuals claimed they experienced unlawful sex discrimination because they had been fired for being gay or transgender.

Property Law

• Landlord-Tenant Disputes
  The third-generation attorney is also a former Franklin County Magisterial District Judge, a position he held for more than 13 years while presiding over criminal preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, summary criminal and traffic trials, civil trials, landlord tenant cases and local ordinance violation cases.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Jeffrey A. Ernico is a longtime leader in the Pennsylvania legal community with more than 40 years’ experience in estate planning, business, real estate and taxation law, and nonprofit organizations. He has practiced since 1970, held principal positions in multiple corporations and served as solicitor for Pennsylvania municipalities. Jeff advises private, corporate and commercial clients.
• Wills
  Todd “T.R.” Williams, Jr., is a legal veteran with nearly 30 years’ experience in defending, prosecuting and adjudicating criminal and civil cases in the region. He represents clients facing criminal charges, traffic citations, and protection from abuse petitions and violations; and handles family law cases as well as wills and estate administration matters.
• Trusts
  Our team provides careful and compassionate planning that allows you to pass on the legacy you have built during your lifetime of hard work.
• Power of Attorney
  As a legal document, the Power of Attorney will be an important element of your estate plan. The document authorizes a person whom you select to make financial and, if desired, medical, decisions on your behalf. This authority may be temporary or permanent, it may apply in one area or several areas of your affairs, and decision-making power may pertain to actions made while you are living and/or if you become incapacitated.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  Jeffrey A. Ernico has more than 25 years’ experience in estate planning, real estate and tax law. READ PROFILE