Divorce

Divorce is the legal dissolution of the relationship of husband and wife.  It is the legal termination of a valid, recognized marriage.

Grounds upon which divorce will be granted.

Pennsylvania is a combination state - it recognizes both fault and no-fault grounds for divorce.  The Commonwealth prefers divorces based on no-fault over those based on fault.

Fault Grounds

Here are some of the fault grounds which are recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Adultery

Bigamy

Cruel and Barbarous Treatment

Desertion

Imprisonment

Indignities

Insanity or Serious Mental Disorder




Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his or her own spouse. Since adultery is not often witnessed by the innocent spouse, the court will permit adultery to be proved by circumstantial evidence indicating that the parties had the opportunity and the inclination to commit adultery.

Bigamy occurs where one of the spouses to a marriage had a prior existing legal marriage at the time of entering into a subsequent marriage.

Cruel and Barbarous Treatment is conduct that endangers the health or life of the innocent and injured spouse.

Desertion is the willful and malicious absence from the habitation of the innocent and injured spouse, without a reasonable cause, for a period of one or more years.

Imprisonment - If a spouse has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of two or more years upon conviction of a crime, there are grounds for divorce.

Indignities - The "indignities" ground is satisfied if the offending spouse offered such indignities to the person of the innocent and injured spouse so as to render his or her condition intolerable and his or her life burdensome. Indignities can be proven only by a continuing course of conduct. Indignities have been proven in cases involving the following: vulgarity; unmerited reproach; habitual laziness; studied neglect; intentional incivility; manifest disdain; abusive language; malignant ridicule; habitual humiliating treatment; repeated accusations of infidelity; sexually deviant behavior, serious temper tantrums; or violence. Indignities was the most common ground for divorce prior to the institution of no-fault divorce.

Insanity or Serious Mental Disorder - The insanity ground exists where there has been confinement to a mental institution for at least 18 months before the filing of the complaint, and where there is no real prospect of the spouse's being discharged from inpatient care during the next 18 months subsequent to the filing of the complaint.

No-fault Grounds

A divorce will be granted where both parties to the marriage acknowledge by affidavit that they consent to the issuance of a divorce decree and that the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken; i.e.., there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.

A divorce shall be granted after it has been determined that the parties have lived separate and apart for a period of at least two years and that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Parties can be separate and apart while they are living in the same household as long as their living arrangements meet the requirement of a complete cessation of the marital relationship.

The information presented on this web site does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship has been created. Readers are strongly encouraged to contact the firm for professional advice before making any decision of a legal nature. Family Lawyer Service is licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.