What Should I Do If Served With Grounds for in Pennsylvania can be either NO-FAULT or FAULT. Before you can file for di- vorce in Pennsylvania, you and/or your must have resided in the state for at least six months. a Divorce Complaint? Then you must prove that there are grounds, or lawfully acceptable reasons, for a divorce. A divorce action is like any other lawsuit. It If a divorce is by MUTUAL CONSENT the matter will be ripe for the court to grant a divorce 90 begins with a complaint filed in court and Divorce & days after the service of the complaint on the other party and the subsequent filing of the parties’ served on the person against whom it is filed. Affidavits of Consent. If only one spouse wants a divorce and the parties have been living separate If you do not respond, the divorce may pro- and apart for at least two years or two years have passed since the filing of the divorce action, a di- ceed without you being represented or having vorce may be granted if the court determines that the is irretrievably broken. Both of these your rights protected. Separation are NO-FAULT grounds for divorce. You should consult an attorney immedi- Before someone can obtain a FAULT divorce, two things must be proven. First, that he or she is ately upon receiving a divorce complaint. If “innocent and injured,” or not at fault, and second, that misconduct by the other spouse has caused you feel that you cannot afford an attorney, a breakdown of the marriage. Allowable grounds for FAULT divorce are specified by law, such as you should the community legal ser- violence, , adultery, desertion, conviction of a crime or insanity. vices in your county.

What Is a ? leave your residence and to stay away for up to three years. Another pamphlet offered by the How Can I Locate an Attorney? Technically, there is no such thing in Pennsyl- Pennsylvania Bar Association, “Protection from Call the Pennsylvania Bar Association Lawyer vania as a “legal separation.” Separation sim- Abuse,” deals more with this issue. Referral Service toll free at 800-692-7375, or ply means that you and your spouse are living 717-238-6807. Most counties have this same separate and apart, whether under the same service at the local level. Check your yellow roof or otherwise. Separation may occur by pages under “attorneys” for more details. mutual consent or by one of you leaving or beingWhat Is the Role of a Lawyer? expelled from your home. Under some circum- If you and your spouse are having marital prob- stances, you may be considered separated even lems, your lawyer can assist you in three areas. though you and your spouse are still living in theFirst, an attorney will advise you of your legal same residence. rights and duties. Second, he or she will help to bring about an agreeable settlement or resolu- tion of the legal disputes that arise between you and your spouse as a result of separation or Can I Stop My Spouse From divorce. Finally, your lawyer is your representa- Entering Our Home? tive in enforcing your rights in a court of law or in defending you if your spouse files an action Your spouse has a right to be on and in the against you. property that you both own or rent unless a Consumer Legal Information court decides otherwise. If you lock your spouse out, he or she may be able to take appropriate action to regain entry to the property. What Is a Separation and Property Pamphlets This pamphlet has been made available to you as a public Settlement Agreement? service of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. What If My Spouse Has Abused After a husband and wife separate, especially if Visit our website at www.pabar.org they intend to divorce, it is desirable for them to or call 800-932-0311 by the for a list of other pamphlets, Me? enter into a written agreement to provide for: or to order additional copies. If there has been actual or threatened abuse, • division of real estate and personal property; Pennsylvania Bar Association P your spouse may be ordered by the court to • support, if any, payable to the dependent 100 South Street, PO Box 186, ENNSYLVANIA AR SSOCIATION Harrisburg, PA 17108 B A © Pennsylvania Bar Association All Rights Reserved. REV 01/13 Special Note: This pamphlet has been issued to inform and not to advise. It is based on Pennsylvania law. The statements are general, and individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to here. spouse and children; What Is Marital Property? What If I Don’t Want a Divorce? Who Pays the Attorney’s Fees? • responsibility for debts and legal fees; The Divorce Code provides that all property If the divorce is on no-fault grounds, the only The court has the power to award preliminary • health and life insurance arrangements; acquired by either spouse during the mar- defenses are showing that you have not lived counsel fees to the dependent spouse. In and riage, with certain exceptions like gifts and separate and apart for two years or that the addition, in the final order, after the prop- • custody and visitation of children inherited property, is marital property, regard- marriage is not irretrievably broken. erty rights of the parties are determined, the Also included are many other items that less of in whose name the property is held. In a fault divorce, your spouse must be court could direct the parties to pay their set forth the mutual rights and duties of the It should be noted that the increase in value “innocent and injured” to establish grounds. own costs and fees, or it may divide the costs two people. This agreement is a contract, but during the marriage of gifts through third par- If you are able to prove that this is not the and expenses equitably between the parties. may be enforced as though it is an order of ties, inherited property, and premarital prop- case, you may be able to prevent the divorce. Attorney’ s fees can also be awarded as a the court. Certain provisions in the agree- erty that remain in one party’s name, will also You can also attempt to prove that the facts sanction for noncompliance of orders, includ- ment concerning visitation and be considered marital. Marital property, if not claimed by your spouse are false. There are ing discovery orders. Payment and recovery can later be modified by the court if circum- divided in the separation agreement, may be certain other defenses that may apply in spe- of costs and attorneys’ fees are matters to be stances change. is modifiable divided equitably by the court. cific situations. You should discuss with your discussed with your lawyer during the initial without showing changed circumstances. attorney what courses of action might be avail- meeting. The agreement is written by the attorneys able. representing you and your spouse following negotiations. Who Owns the Household Goods? Household items, such as drapes, carpets, fur- What Is an ? niture and appliances and other personal ef- What Will Be in the Final Court An annulment may be sought for mar- fects are generally not titled in either spouse’s Order? riages that are by law invalid or that may What Happens to Real Estate We name. Unless you can show that the household be declared invalid by a court. Marriage is a Own? good(s) was acquired prior to marriage, by gift When the court issues a Decree of Divorce, the contract, and if either individual was unable from a third party, or belonged solely to you order may include other matters if they were to enter the contract because of intoxication, Most married couples own their real property as evidenced by a valid agreement between raised in the proceeding by either spouse. being under age, or fraudulent inducements, as “tenants by the entireties.” This form of you and your spouse, the law treats all such These include disposition of marital property the court may determine that no contract of joint ownership means that neither spouse property as being jointly owned and used for and other property interests; child custody and marriage ever existed. If you think an annul- can sell the property during the marriage the benefit of both , regardless of who visitation; child support, , counsel fees; ment may be appropriate in your situation, without the consent of the other. Upon actually paid for it. As part of the divorce, the and enforcement of agreements voluntarily discuss the matter with a lawyer. divorce, however, unless the parties have a court may consider these things as marital entered into by the parties. written agreement providing for the division property and distribute them accordingly. of the property, the court has the power to di- vide the property based on equitable princi- Can the Court Require How Can I Help My Children? ples. This means that the court will take many Keep children out of the conflict! The prob- factors into account when arriving at a fair What About Bank Accounts? Counseling? lems should be worked out between you, your division, although that does not always mean If acquired during the marriage, no matter Yes. The court may require up to three coun- spouse and your attorneys, not through your that the property will be divided equally. whose name is on the account, you are both seling sessions with a qualified counselor children. Children often feel that they are the The court takes into consideration both owners of the funds. If one spouse draws all within a 90-day period in the following cases: cause of the problems and must be reassured spouses’ economic and non-economic con- of the money out of an account, he or she may • indignities are used as grounds for the di- that this is not the case. These are very dif- tributions to property acquired during the have to account to the other for the money, no vorce and counseling is requested by either ficult times for you and your family. Do not be marriage. If neither you and your spouse nor matter who originally put the funds into the person; afraid to get help from family and friends or the court divide the property, then the nature account or if the account is titled in only one • either no-fault ground is used and counsel- by asking your attorney for names of profes- of your ownership automatically changes name. As part of the divorce, the court may ing is requested by either person; and sional counselors or therapists. after divorce and you both become “tenants consider the bank accounts as marital prop- • in certain cases where there are children of in common.” erty and equitably divide the funds, regardless the marriage under 16 years old. of whose names were on the accounts.