October 30, 2018October 30, 2018 adminadmin 0 Comments

Family Law in Pennsylvania–A Look Into the Divorce Law

Pennsylvania Family Law: Areas of Focus

Family law is a wide area of practice that encompasses marriage,divorce,child support,child custody,alimony,child adoption,paternity,and other issues relating to the structure and functioning of a family.

In addition,family law in Pennsylvania is concerned with other underlying issues that affect families such as abortion,same-sex marriages,child abuse,and domestic violence. Family law in Pennsylvania continues to evolve to address the ever-changing issues around the concept of the family. This article delves into the aspect of divorce and the provisions of law.

Divorce

Just as Pennsylvania has marriage laws,it also has divorce laws for spouses wishing to separate. While each state has its own divorce laws,they all have cross-cutting provisions such as the amount of time it takes to finalize a divorce,residency requirements as well as the jurisdictional powers of a court to handle a divorce.

Grounds for Divorce

Each state has put in place the rules for initiating a divorce. generally,a spouse may file a divorce that is either fault or no-fault divorce. In Pennsylvania,the law provides for both of these grounds.

Residency Requirements

The divorce laws require a party filing a divorce to have been a resident in the state for at least six months. There is no clearly defined waiting period for finalizing a divorce. Pennsylvania appreciates and accepts same-sex marriages hence the divorce laws apply regardless of the gender of the parties involved in the matter.

Grounds for Divorce

Fault: In Pennsylvania,the court may grant a party a divorce to a party who may approach a court on account of being injured or being mistreatment.

Other reasons that may be invoked include (for more: -):

  • Unfaithfulness

  • Desertion by a spouse without any reasonable cause for a period exceeding one year,

  • Entering another marriage even though he or she was in a functional marriage

  • If the other party has been sentenced to prison for more than years upon being convicted of a crime or,

  • If a spouse has caused the other to live in unbearable conditions

Institutionalization: Where a spouse proves to the court that his or spouse has been confined because of a mental illness for at least 18 months,the judge may grant the divorce.

Mutual Consent: Both may agree to separate and approach the divorce court for finalizing the divorce. both spouses are required to file a sworn affidavit showing that they have agreed to separate. Consent may also be implied if one of the spouses has been found guilty of causing an injury to the other spouse.

Irreparable Breakdown: The court may grant a divorce if a party in the matter demonstrates that their marriage has been problematic and that it has reached an irretrievable breakdown. In this case,the couple must have lived away from each other for a period of more than one year.

Note that for spouses who started staying together as husband and wife before December 5,2016 are required to file for a divorce after December 6,2018.


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