Mary Vidas and Michelle Piscopo 

Pennsylvania is set to shorten the time parties need to be living separate and apart from two years to one year, but will that really enable you to get a divorce faster?

Pennsylvania is a “no-fault” state for establishing the grounds for divorce. There are two no-fault grounds— mutual consent by both parties 90 days after the filing and service of a divorce complaint, OR living separate and apart for a period of two years. The grounds for divorce must be established before the court can determine the equitable division of the marital estate and enter a divorce decree. This week, the Pennsylvania legislature approved a bill to shorten the time period for living separate and apart from two years to one year and the bill is on Governor Wolf’s desk waiting to be signed into law. Once the bill is signed, it will go into effect 60 days later.

This new law has been greatly supported by the Family Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Often times, the party who will not consent to a divorce will do so in order to collect support for a longer period of time or simply out of spite (we know…hard to believe). The benefits of a shorter waiting period have been discussed and debated for years and most practitioners agree that the shorter waiting period will lessen the emotional turmoil that comes with a divorce and lower legal costs.

All in all, a shorter waiting period sounds like a good thing. However, this new law will only apply to divorce actions filed or to parties who separate AFTER the law goes into effect. While that hardly seems fair, it seems that the only option to avoid the longer waiting period would be to withdraw the divorce action, reconcile and then separate again. Not a very likely solution for most couples.

While there may not be anything you can do if you are already involved in divorce litigation to speed up the process, if you have been contemplating a divorce but haven’t actually separated from your spouse or filed for a divorce—wait! If you suspect that your spouse will not be so willing to consent to a divorce, the best thing you can do to avoid having to wait two years instead of just one year is to put the brakes on separating from your spouse. If you wait to separate until the new law goes into effect, you can potentially shorten your waiting time by a year. While not ideal, the benefits of waiting may outweigh staying in the relationship for a few more months. However, we would never encourage anyone involved in an abusive relationship to delay leaving.

For more information on how this new law may impact you, please contact the Philadelphia attorneys in our Matrimonial Practice Group.