Ending a marriage needs many challenging decisions about the couple’s assets, home, and children, among other things. The entire divorce process can seem devastating even in the friendliest of separations.
When a person is in this kind of situation, it is essential they have a divorce lawyer who knows the entire legal process and will be an advocate for their interests and rights.
What Are The Grounds for Divorce in PA?
Pennsylvania law obligates that one or both parties filing for divorce should have lived within the state for approximately six months. The court might grant a “no-fault” divorce where it’s identified that neither spouse is responsible for the divorce or an “at-fault” divorce which might be granted to the spouse who’s considered to be the injured or innocent party in the proceeding.
Normally, no-fault divorces in the state take less time to fix than an at-fault divorce, particularly after a recent law passed in the state.
Keep in mind that no-fault grounds for divorce in PA involves:
Mutual consent
The marriage is irreversibly broken, and both spouses complete and submit affidavits stating that they agree to the divorce. That’s often referred to as a divorce based on “irreconcilable differences” and is more likely the most typical grounds for divorce in America.
Insanity
One spouse is in a mental institution for roughly eighteen months before the start of the divorce filing, and there’s no reasonable prospect of the spouse being released throughout the next eighteen months.
Separation
The marriage is irreversibly broken, and one spouse files an affidavit claiming that both spouses have lived separately and apart for at least one year.
On the other hand, at-fault grounds for divorce in PA is composed of the following:
Personal indignities
One spouse has given such humiliations to the other spouse to render their condition in life unbearable.
Conviction of crime
A spouse is convicted of a crime and sentenced to nearly two years in prison.
Bigamy
The at-fault partner willfully married the innocent partner while already married to another individual.
Barbarous or cruel treatment
The action of the other spouse jeopardizes the health or life of the innocent spouse.
Adultery
The at-fault spouse is discovered to have committed adultery.
Malicious and willful desertion
One spouse is absent from the innocent spouse’s home without reasonable cause for roughly a year.
Remember that a divorce case is established on the grounds upon which it’s filed. One might think that one or various divorce grounds apply to their case, but their divorce lawyer can work with them to prove the grounds for the divorce that works for them.
Contested Divorce Versus Uncontested Divorce?
Divorces could be either uncontested or contested. If the divorce is uncontested, both spouses agree on all major concerns of the divorce, and they wish to proceed as smoothly and flawlessly as possible. Divorce papers can normally be drafted and agreed upon faster in an uncontested divorce.
On the other hand, a divorce is contested if both spouses can’t agree on the terms, the divorce must be finalized. Disagreements on that cause could be about child support or child custody, alimony payments, or even reasons for the divorce.
In this case, it’s essential to have a qualified divorce lawyer working on spouses’ behalf through the negotiations and court hearings that happen in their case.
Property Division: Marital Versus Non-Marital Property?
The division of assets and property can potentially be the most contested part of the divorce process. Pennsylvania is not a 50/50 divorce state because of the equitable distribution theory. Both spouses’ property will be split into either a marital or non-marital property.
Marital property involves most property items obtained by either spouse during the marriage without regard to whether the property title is in the name of one or both spouses. Other properties will be considered non-marital to one spouse alone.
Meanwhile, the non-marital property could include many other things like:
· Certain veteran’s benefits that are exempt from attachment
· Assets or property received as a gift or inheritance
· Payment from a lawsuit for any action or cause that occurred before the marriage or after final separation irrespective of when the payment was received
· Property obtained after the final separation before the divorce date
· Property obtained before the marriage
One should hire an experienced family lawyer from a divorce law firm in York by their side if they’re planning on ending a marriage. A divorce lawyer can help the entire family deal with the difficult and complicated PA court system, helping them move on with their life.