CONTACT US (412) 276-4200

CONTACT US (412) 276-4200

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Mission
The Law and Mediation Offices of Deborah L. Lesko, P.C.

Adoption Law | Estate Planning & Administration | Family Law & Divorce Law | Guardianship | Mediation Services

Icon of Your Interests Come First | The Law and Mediation offices of Deborah L. Lesko, P.C.
Your Interests Come First
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Personalized Consultations
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Relatable Representation
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Excellent
Client Reviews

Our mission is to provide our clients with excellent legal and mediation services; to promote an understanding of the law and the options available to our clients; to preserve client resources (emotional, physical and financial) through constructive and lasting conflict resolution and legal planning. We strive to provide clients with the legal guidance and strategies to overcome their challenges, plan for their future and to achieve their goals. Our practice focuses primarily on adoption, estate planning/estate administration, family and divorce law, guardianship law, and mediation.

We seek to fulfill our mission by recognizing that each client and case is unique and deserving of respect and individualized response; by aiming to provide servant leadership from an experienced, competent and caring team of attorneys and support staff; by living our values and drawing on the strength and wisdom of God; and by instilling confidence through our practice, while encouraging our clients’ courage to move forward in their lives. 

We desire to see that our clients move forward in their lives with renewed hope, confidence and with a sense of purpose and peace. We strive to honor God, our clients and, through them, to transform lives.

Practice Areas

Servicing the Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania areas

Team of attorneys and legal assistant standing together in office setting.
We believe that our clients’ journey through their legal matters is unique and deserving of the same attention and careful handling as if it was our own personal case or a family member's case. We believe that our clients are entitled to:
  • Excellence, Honesty, Creativity, Innovation, Leadership and Quality in all of our services and in all of our client's relationships with our Team;
  • The utmost respect, empathy and caring as to our clients’ individual concerns, the situations that they are facing, and their desired outcomes and goals;
  • Full involvement of our clients in strategizing and decision-making, as we believe that our clients are inherently capable of making decisions for their best interests when they are equipped with a clear knowledge of the law, the legal process, and are strategically guided through their options and the legal expectations of their choices;
  • A cost-effective service which respects client resources (financial, physical and emotional resources);
  • Integrity in our billing, a complete understanding of how our clients are billed for legal services and costs, and realistic estimates and expectations of the legal costs our clients should expect to incur.
  • Respect and encouragement of our clients’ faith in God in all aspects of their situation, including decision-making, outcomes and hope in their future.
  • We believe that through this journey, our clients, equipped with a competent and caring legal Team, strategy and decision-making, will resolve their legal matters with a renewed hope in their tomorrow and a healthy confidence in their future.
Lawyers and legal assistant discussing documents, showcasing our approach to client collaboration.
Our approach is about putting our clients and their interests as our first priority. Our practice is designed to advocate for our clients, to support them as they transition the seasons of their lives, and to build a tomorrow that is better than today. We strive to attain the following goals for you:
  • To provide insight, practical wisdom, creativity and resourcefulness tailored for your legal matters in a timely manner, and to provide a full scope of implications, options and possible solutions to your particular situation.
  • To respect your need to preserve resources-financial, emotional and physical-and to discuss options that address these particular needs and parameters.
  • To be completely trustworthy with our clients, built upon our values, beliefs and competency. Our standards of trust are designed to create a client experience that is consistent, reliable, differentiated and valuable.
  • To carefully listen to you as you communicate your circumstances, your concerns, your views, your needs, your goals.
  • To communicate effectively and regularly, as needed, with you about your case. To explain and discuss legal analyses in ways that are clear and manageable to you, enabling you to fully understand, to strategize, and to confidently make decisions, with us as your advocate and support.
  • To communicate clearly with you regarding the cost of our services and how we bill for our services, to be available to discuss any billing questions that you may, and to be sensitive to financial parameters that you may desire to work within.
  • To respect and encourage your faith in God as the most important and necessary component of decision-making, resolution of the issues you are facing, and basis for healing and moving forward in your life with a renewed hope and healthy transformation of attitude and outlook.
Legal consultation handshake - Our Services
All of us at The Law and Mediation Offices of Deborah L. Lesko, P.C. are passionate about our work. We offer very competitive fees. We work by the hour, for flat-fee amounts, or on a contingent basis, depending on the nature of your case. This will be discussed with you to determine what billing method makes the most sense in your case. We accept checks, cash, Master Card, VISA, Discover, and American Express. We offer the typical business hours, 9–5, Monday through Friday, but we also make evening and weekend appointments, when necessary, meet with prospective clients at the hospital or travel to their home when necessary. Our main areas of focus are: Adoption Law | Estate Planning & Estate Administration | Family Law & Divorce Law | Guardianship | Mediation Services

Why Choose Us?

We believe in putting client needs first. We partner with our clients to build a tomorrow that is better than today. Our practice is designed to support our clients as they transition the seasons of their lives. We strive to attain the following goals for you:

  • To provide insight and wisdom tailored for your legal matters and to provide a full scope of implications, options and possible solutions to your legal issues.
  • To have complete integrity and honesty about your case.
  • To communicate effectively, clearly and regularly, as needed, with you about your case.
  • To provide timely services.
  • To treat you as we would want to be treated: With experienced competency, passion, respect, and compassion.

What People Say About Our Firm

“My family has used the services of Deborah Lesko's law office again for help with settling my mother's estate. I cannot recommend this law practice highly enough! Deborah Lesko is highly skilled, professional, and ethical. I worked closely with Tammee Barch, a member of her staff. Tammee is very knowledgeable, helpful, and..."

– Barbara

(an estate administration client)

“I met with Deborah Lesko and Christine Wells regarding a very sensitive child custody case. I retained their services and could not be more impressed with not only the quality of their work but also with the type of honest, kind, thorough, good-hearted and professional people that they are. Christine Wells and Deborah Lesko always returned...”

– Lisa

(a custody client)

“Prior to finding Debbie, my husband and I had reached out to a number of other lawyers to help us with our adoption process. Half of them did not call us back and the other half had never handled a private adoption and did not know where to start. Due to our situation, we needed answers quickly. Jillian and Debbie both went out of...”

– KW

(an adoption client)

How To Find Us?

Address: 373 Vanadium Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15243

Phone: (412) 276-4200

Fax: (412) 730-2575

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday (9:00 am – 5:00 pm)
Evenings and Weekends Available by Appointment

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Frequently Asked Questions

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A: Under Pennsylvania law, a court can appoint a guardian to make decisions for an individual (“incapacitated person”) who cannot care for himself/herself or who needs assistance to care for himself/herself. This typically includes elderly persons or persons with mental or physical limitations that have been diagnosed by a medical provider. A court can also appoint a guardian for a minor child. Guardians have a legal responsibility to make decisions in the best interest of the incapacitated adult or minor child.

A: The different types of custody:

  • Legal Custody – the authority to make decisions regarding the child(ren) (medical, school, religious, etc.)
  • Shared Legal Custody – the parents share this authority to make decisions regarding the child(ren) (medical, school, religious, etc.)
  • Physical Custody – where the child(ren) physically resides
  • Primary Physical Custody – the parent with whom the child(ren) primarily resides
  • Shared Physical Custody – An arrangement by which the residence of the child(ren) is split between the parents’ respective residences
  • Partial Custody – Custody time for the parent with whom the child(ren) resides less than 50% of the time (may include supervised or unsupervised, and may not involve keeping a child(ren) overnight)

A: In Pennsylvania, the process of distributing property and debts between the spouses is called equitable distribution. As the court seeks to divide these “fairly” between the spouses, it need not be an equal distribution.

The court will take many factors into consideration when determining equitable distribution. The following factors that are relevant for the court to consider include those set forth under Pennsylvania law, 23 Pa. C.S. § 3502 (a):

  • The length of the marriage.
  • Any prior marriage of either party.
  • The age, health, station, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties.
  • The contribution by one party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other party.
  • The opportunity of each party for future acquisitions of capital assets and income.
  • The sources of income of both parties, including, but not limited to, medical, retirement, insurance or other benefits.
  • The contribution or dissipation of each party in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation or appreciation of the marital property, including the contribution of a party as homemaker.
  • The value of the property set apart to each party.
  • The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage.
  • The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective.
  • The Federal, State and local tax ramifications associated with each asset to be divided, distributed or assigned, which ramifications need not be immediate and certain.
  • The expense of sale, transfer or liquidation associated with a particular asset, which expense need not be immediate and certain.
  • Whether the party will be serving as the custodian of any dependent minor children.

A: To the commonly asked question, “Do I need a will?” we recommend that every adult have a will to set forth his or her intentions and wishes upon their death.

If you die without a will, the Pennsylvania state law will dictate how your estate will be distributed, which may not be what your wishes are.

You should name the person who you want to handle your affairs after your death. This person is called the Executor.

In addition, if you have children and they are minors, your will should name a guardian, otherwise the court will dictate who will have custody of your minor children.

Preparing your will is just plain good stewardship and planning of your assets and your affairs!

A: What should you look for in an adoption attorney? You need to be an educated consumer of legal services. While there are many excellent attorneys, not all of them are adoption attorneys. Some questions to ask:

  • How long have you been handling adoptions?
  • How many adoptions do you handle per year?
  • What percentage of your practice is devoted to adoptions?
    • What types of adoptions do you regularly handle? (ie. Step-parent only? Agency? Private? Interstate? Foreign? Contested? SWAN?)
    • Do you represent any adoption agencies? Which ones?
    • Do you teach or speak to any groups about adoptions? Which ones?
    • Are you a member of any adoption organizations? Which ones?
    • Why did you choose to handle adoption cases?
    • Are you available outside normal business hours if necessary?
    • How do you charge for your legal services?
    • Can you give me an estimate of the total cost?
    • What types of services do you provide to adoptive parents?
    • What types of services do you provide to birthmothers and birthfathers?
  • Do you have support staff available to assist in the adoption process?
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A Few of Our Professional Memberships

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