There are two ways to end a marriage
in PA: annulment and divorce.
Annulments
Two types of marriages can be ended
by annulments- those that are “void” and those that
are “voidable”. A void marriage is treated somewhat
as if the marriage never existed. There are three general types
of void marriages:
- A marriage where
one or both of the spouses have insanity or serious mental
illness;
- A bigamous marriage;
- An incestuous marriage.
Voidable marriages can only be annulled
when a spouse successfully “attacks” it. The following
are situations where a spouse may “attack” a voidable
marriage:
- A spouse is under
age.
- A spouse is intoxicated
upon the marriage.
- Duress existed.
- Fraud existed.
- There is a lack
of some physical capacity. For example, a spouse has an incurable
physical or psychological inability to have normal sexual
intercourse.
If you would like more information
on proceeding with a divorce or an annulment, please contact Pittsburgh
divorce lawyer Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire.
Divorces
There are generally two types of
divorces in Pennsylvania: Fault Divorces and No-Fault
divorces.
The following are all grounds for
a fault based divorce:
- Imprisonment for
2 or more years
- Bigamy
- Indignities, or
a course of conduct that makes a spouse’s life burdensome
or conditions intolerable
- Adultery, or voluntary
sex with a non-spouse
- Cruel & Barbarous
Treatment, or physical abuse
- Desertion, or
willful and malicious absence from home without justification
for a year or longer
- Insanity, or a
situation where a spouse is institutionalized
Sometimes, even though a spouse is
at fault, he or she may have “defenses” to the behavior.
Common defenses are Provocation, Condonation or Insanity.
If you think you may be proceeding
with a fault based divorce, please contact PA divorce attorney
Bethany L. Notaro,
Esquire for assistance.
Filing for divorce in PA
The “standard” for a
No-Fault
Divorce is one where the Marriage is “irretrievably
broken”. Where both parties agree that they want a divorce,
and both parties consent to a divorce, the parties may sign an
affidavit, wait 90 days, and assuming the paperwork is in order,
a divorce may be granted.
A party can also request a decree
in divorce (No-Fault) where the party alleges that the marriage
is “irretrievably broken”, and the parties are separated
and apart for at least two years.
To proceed with a divorce in Pennsylvania,
a spouse must reside in PA for at least 6 months before the divorce.
The court of common pleas in the county where one or the other
of the parties resides will generally have jurisdiction of the
divorce case.
For more information about proceeding
with a divorce in Pennsylvania, please contact Allegheny County
divorce lawyer Bethany
L. Notaro, Esquire.
