Divorce

Two basic categories of grounds for Divorce:

1. "Fault" grounds
A divorce on fault grounds requires that the Plaintiff prove that he or she is the innocent and injured spouse and that the other spouse is guilty of one of six categories of marital misconduct:

• Adultery

• Desertion

• Cruel and Barbarous treatment

• Bigamy

• Imprisonment for a Crime

• and Indignities.

Due to changes in the law over the years in the State of Pennsylvania the need for Fault grounds is nearly obsolete. Fault based divorces usually require a lengthy process and are considerably more expensive than No Fault Divorces. Filing for divorce on fault based grounds does not provide the plaintiff any substantive advantage as the Court is not allowed to consider fault in distributing the marital property. However, there are specific instances where filing a fault based divorce is necessary and beneficial to the filing spouse.

2. "No Fault" grounds
Pennsylvania currently allows parties to obtain a divorce where the marriage is "irretrievably broken". A person can obtain a divorce on the basis of irretrievable breakdown if:

A. BOTH parties consent to the entry of the divorce decree; - OR -

B. if one spouse will not consent to the divorce then the filing spouse may request the divorce decree be entered if, and only if, husband and wife have lived "separate and apart" ¹ for a period of two years or more.

In Pennsylvania there is no such thing as a legal separation.

Please contact our firm immediately at (412) 431-7770 so that we may discuss the options that are available to you.

¹ The Divorce Code defines separate and apart as the "complete cessation of any and all cohabitation whether living in the same residence of not." see 23 Pa.C.S.A

3103