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Pennsylvania, as a matter of legislative intent, has attempted to make the law for the legal dissolution of marriage effective for dealing with the realities of the matrimonial experience. Pennsylvania has "fault" and "no-fault" divorces. The fault grounds are the familiar charges of adultery, desertion, indignities, and other marital wrongs that would be legal "grounds" for divorce in Pennsylvania. There are two kinds of no-fault divorces in Pennsylvania. Both types require an irretrievable breakdown in the marriage with no hope of reconciliation. The first type of no-fault divorce is granted where there is mutual consent by the parties. The second is based on a two-year separation and can be obtained unilaterally by one party. There is a legislative movement to reduce the required separation time to one year. Only a Pennsylvania resident can sue for divorce in Pennsylvania. Most states require a residency period of six months or year before a resident can sue for divorce. Pennsylvania requires a party to maintain a residency in Pennsylvania for six months before having the right to sue in divorce. Interestingly, because of these rules, there are parties who have no legal residence in any state and cannot initiate a divorce in any state. The process for a "mutual consent no-fault divorce" takes about four to five months after the filing of the complaint for divorce. The complaint must be filed and then there is a 90 day "cooling off period" after the service of the complaint on the defendant. The parties are then permitted to sign affidavits of consent which are filed with the court, along with other papers, and the court will thereafter enter a degree of divorce. A "separation no-fault divorce" may take a shorter period of time. Contested divorces on fault grounds take considerably longer. Most contested divorce cases arise out of the parties' property division disputes, i.e., money. Defenses to fault-ground divorces vary widely from case to case. There are the straightforward factual denials of the facts which would constitute the grounds for divorce. For example, the accused party may deny the adulterous acts. There are also technical defenses such as "recrimination" (the party seeking legal relief of divorce is guilty of acts which would constitute grounds for divorce) and "condonation" (the defendant says that the plaintiff has forgiven the acts which constitute grounds by resuming cohabitation or sexual relations). Pennsylvania's desertion ground can include "constructive desertion". This reflects the situation where the wrongful actions of one party drive the other party from the marital abode. |
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DIVORCE AND ANNULMENT |
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John Wendell Beavers & Associates, P.C., a Pennsylvania Professional Corporation |
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John Wendell Beavers, Esq. John Wendell Beavers & Associates, P.C. (a professional corporation) 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 800 Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: 1-215-732-0600 Office Email: trial.lawyer@verizon.net Home Email: jwbesq@comcast.net |