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Getting Divorced In Pennsylvania? These Are The Steps You Need To Take To Prepare

When you are getting divorced, you can create a stable, more advantageous position for yourself by taking several financial steps to prepare. If you and your spouse are separating on fairly good terms — and especially if reconciliation is possible — you may not want to take all of the steps outlined below. Many couples maintain their financial arrangements while the divorce is being processed. But when a spouse is bitter or vindictive, it is important to protect your finances and personal property as soon as practical.

The following is a list of the top steps you should consider taking to prepare for divorce:

1. Cancel all joint credit accounts.

While debt incurred by a spouse post-separation will generally not be considered marital debt by a Pennsylvania divorce court, you may still be individually liable to the creditor for the debt if you are a signer or co-signer on the debt. This is typically the case with joint credit card accounts, individual credit card accounts where your spouse is a cardholder, and home equity lines of credit.

Often, if a credit account is left open, an estranged spouse will draw down on the line of credit to finance his or her post-separation living expenses, including legal fees.
It is also often difficult to parse out separate versus marital credit card transactions at equitable distribution, making the assignment of non-marital credit card debt difficult. Further, there may be insufficient marital assets to satisfy the credit card debt at equitable distribution and/or a spouse may not pay the debt assigned to him or her in a timely manner, impairing your credit rating.
If you need access to funds post-separation to finance your living or legal expenses, you may consider taking an advance against one or more joint lines of credit before closing the accounts.

2. Close joint bank and investment accounts.

You should consider closing joint bank and investment accounts and moving the funds to individually titled accounts when you prepare for divorce. This will secure the funds from being dissipated by your spouse. As with lines of credit, your estranged spouse may attempt to take the money in those accounts or use the money to finance his or her post-separation living and legal expenses.

This step will also provide you with access to funds while the divorce is pending. You might consider leaving a portion of the funds in the account for your spouse. For example, often our clients will effectively “split” an account by removing 50% of the funds in the account and leaving the remainder for their spouse.

3. Change your direct deposit and cancel automatic deductions from bank accounts.

If you have a recurring direct deposit of your paycheck or other funds, you should change it to an individually titled account. You will also need to cancel any bills and other automatic deductions that are paid out of bank accounts that you are closing or in which you are ceasing to deposit money.

4. Secure important and/or valuable personal property.

Prepare your personal property for divorce. Divorce has a way of making personal property disappear or become damaged. You should promptly secure any personal property that is important by removing it from the marital residence or other residence to which your spouse has access.

This includes:

furniture
antiques
paintings of worth
jewelry
gifts
photographs/memorabilia
work projects
computers, etc.

You should not “clean out the house.” Just secure items that are irreplaceable, particularly valuable, or to which you need access during the divorce.

One of our clients had many of his work tools tied up for an extensive period of time during a divorce. Another client had much of his valuable wine collection consumed by his spouse. You might also consider inventorying the contents of the marital residence by photography or video at the outset of the divorce.

5. Secure all important financial documentation.

Having access to your financial documentation is important for both support and equitable distribution. It is much easier to get copies of these documents if and when you have direct access to them, rather than through the discovery process. If possible, you should take all of your personal financial documentation (account statements, tax returns, retirement information, etc.) and all of your spouse’s financial documentation, make copies, and secure those copies at a location, such as your attorney’s office, to which your spouse does not have access. Do not forget about computer files that include financial information, such as QuickBooks files.

6. Change your mailing address.

Once you are involved in the divorce process, you will not want your spouse to have access to your mail, including your financial documents and correspondence from your attorney. If you have moved out of the marital residence, change your address to your new residence. If you are going to continue to live in the marital residence, secure a post office box or ask a friend or relative if you can have your mail forwarded to their address temporarily.

7. Change your passwords.

You spouse probably knows your passwords to all of your on-line accounts. Change all of these passwords immediately.

8. Forget what your friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers have told you about divorce.

“I know that a divorce is going to cost me $100,000.” “My sister said that I’m guaranteed to get full custody.” “I moved out of the house because my wife told me that I had to.” These are the types of statements we frequently hear from our clients. Most often they are incorrect. Every situation is unique. Just because your co-worker has to do something does not mean the court will require you to do the same.

Don’t let your acquaintances’ free “legal advice” affect your judgment or actions. You would do best ignoring their advice and seeking a competent attorney.

9. Consult with a divorce lawyer.

There really is no more important step in the divorce process than consulting with a divorce lawyer. Only a divorce lawyer can properly analyze your situation, advise you how the law and courts will affect your divorce, and give you advice on how best to proceed. This is true even if you want to work things out amicably with your spouse. It is incredibly easy to make a mistake that will negatively impact your case in a significant way, either financially or otherwise. Consult with a knowledgeable attorney at the outset of your case.

10. Seriously consider mediation as a way to resolve your divorce.

Divorce is stressful and attorney’s fees can add up quickly. If you and your spouse can still be even somewhat amicable, then you should consider divorce mediation as a way to resolve your divorce. It is a much simpler way to resolve your divorce and can save you a significant amount of time and money. If you have minor children, mediation is much better for them as well. If you think divorce mediation might be right for you, please check out our related divorce mediation firm, SnapDivorce.com.

11. Let your spouse and children know what is going on.

Even in the best of cases, divorce is difficult for all involved, especially children. It becomes even more stressful when your spouse and children don’t know what is going on. You should make a plan to discuss the situation with your spouse and children as soon as possible after you have taken the necessary steps to prepare for divorce and protect your financial and legal interests. While the conversations may be difficult, they will almost certainly lead to a less adversarial and stressful divorce process.

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Every Town Has Its Amityville Horror

If you found out that someone was murdered in a home you were interested in buying, would you still be interested in buying it? What if the home were used as a crystal meth lab? What if satanic rituals were performed there? Criminal or traumatic circumstances that might be a deal breaker for the average homeowner are not automatically disclosed – nor are they required to be.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided a case last month on the so-called “psychological stigma” attached to real estate with a scandalous past. In Milliken v. Jacono, the Court ruled that a murder-suicide at a Delaware County home did not constitute a “material defect” that was required to be disclosed by the seller under Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law.

The Pennsylvania Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires only that sellers reveal “material defects” to potential homebuyers.

Material defects are defined as “problems with a residential real property or any portion of it that would have a significant adverse impact on the value of the property or that involves an unreasonable risk to people on the property.” So structural deficiencies, problems with heating, toxic ground water, hazardous materials on the property, and termite infestations are firmly on the list, but murder-suicides are apparently not.

The homeowner in the Milliken case testified that she had been curious about the former owners’ rapid turnover of the property (the sellers had bought it from the murder suspect’s estate). But she did not pursue that hunch beyond a general question put to the realtor, who answered circumspectly – and legally.

The homeowner sought to have the sale overturned claiming that the murder-suicide constituted an undisclosed material defect. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that psychologically disturbing acts, such a murder or suicide, do not constitute actionable material defects in part because it would be impossible to quantify what acts would qualify as sufficiently “psychologically disturbing.”

In one fairly graphic paragraph, the justices ask: “Does a bloodless death by poisoning or overdose create a less significant ‘defect’ than a bloody one from a stabbing or shooting? How would one treat other violent crimes such as rape, assault, home invasion, or child abuse?”

They go on to point out that some properties are only temporarily stigmatized, and that grotesqueries can later enhance a property’s value. Or quite possibly that some buyers might consider the scandal the home’s best asset.

Ultimately, the Court based its decision on the impossibility of defining what sorts of traumatic events would constitute “psychological stigma.”

That makes sense. Where would the list of required disclosures end? Why limit disclosure to psychological stigma? What about other potential negative issues with the house, such as being under a flight route, on a road where people frequently speed, or next to problematic neighbors? The list could be endless.

The law is more ambiguous when it comes to drug activity on the property. Colorado, for instance, has specific real estate disclosure laws for homes that have been used to produce crystal meth. Pennsylvania does not. But the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors notes a disclosure clause targeting “hazardous substances,” which could cover the kinds of damage meth production can wreak and the toxic substances it can leave behind.

The court also left open the possibility that a claim could be based on a failure to truthfully respond to a direct inquiry about murder, suicide or other disturbing events. So, when buying a house, you might want to ask the seller some interesting questions.

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Who is Responsible for Maintaining Health Insurance Coverage in Divorce and Child Support Cases in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania law provides rules that govern who is responsible for maintaining health insurance coverage in divorces and in child support matters. The law also provides the court with guidance regarding how to allocate the cost of such insurance between the parties.

Who is Responsible for Maintaining Health Insurance Coverage?

In child support cases, where family health insurance is available to one or both parties through employment, the court will require one party to provide insurance for the children. If such insurance is only available to one party through their employment, that party will be the one required to provide the insurance. If health insurance is available to both parties, then the court will look at a variety of factors to determine who should be responsible for providing the coverage. These include who currently provides insurance for the children, the benefits available under each plan, and the additional costs to insure the children under each plan.

In child support actions where medical coverage is not available through either party’s employer, the court may require the primary custodial parent to apply for government-sponsored coverage, such as Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”). In divorce cases (and spousal support actions) if health insurance is not available to one of the parties through his or her employment, or if the insurance offered is sub-standard, and family health care coverage is available to the other party at no cost or a reasonable cost as a benefit of employment, then the court will require that party to extend health care coverage to the other spouse.

How is the Cost of the Premium Allocated?

The cost for maintaining health insurance coverage for the parties and their children, as applicable, is generally allocated between the parties in proportion to their respective net incomes. That amount is then factored into the overall support order. For example, if a husband is providing family health insurance coverage for himself, his wife and children at a monthly cost of $500.00 and husband earns 60% of the parties’ net monthly income and wife earns 40% of the parties’ monthly net income, then Wife will be responsible for contributing $200 per month towards the insurance. Wife’s contribution to the insurance would be offset against any child and spousal support or alimony pendente lite that husband owes to wife.

Unreimbursed Medical Expenses

In addition to requiring a party to provide health insurance for a spouse and/or children, and allocating the monthly cost of the health insurance premiums as set forth above, the court will also generally require the payor-spouse/parent (the party owing spousal or child support) to pay a percentage of the other spouse’s and/or children’s unreimbursed medical expenses in excess of $250.00 per person per year. Co-pays for office visits and prescriptions are examples of such out-of-pocket expenses. The payee (the party receiving support) is required to pay for the first $250.00 in unreimbursed medical expenses per person covered by the support order. After reaching the $250.00 threshold amount, the parties normally split the unreimbursed medical expenses in proportion to their net incomes. That amount is paid outside of the support order and any reimbursement will be a direct payment from one party to the other.

Can I Remove my Spouse from my Current Health Insurance Plan While Divorce is Pending?

Although it depends on the circumstances of your case, the short answer is probably no. Under Pennsylvania support law, the court may require that a payor-spouse pay a designated percentage of the payee-spouse’s reasonable and necessary health care expenses. If health care coverage is available at no cost as a benefit of employment or at a reasonable cost to one party, the court will order that party to extend health care coverage to the other spouse.

For the majority of cases, that means that the coverage that was in place at the time of separation must be maintained while the divorce is pending. If you remove your spouse from your employer-sponsored health insurance plan that you receive at no cost or at a reasonable cost, you can be ordered to reinstate the cancelled coverage and could be held responsible for medical expenses incurred by the payee-spouse as a result of the gap in coverage.

When does the Obligation to Provide Health Insurance Coverage End?

Generally, the obligation to provide health insurance coverage for children ends when they turn 18 or graduate from high school, whichever is later. The obligation to provide health insurance coverage for a spouse ends upon entry of a divorce decree, absent agreement otherwise. However, in both cases, the obligation may end sooner if insurance is no longer available through employment at a reasonable cost.

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10 Steps You Should Take To Prepare For Divorce In Pennsylvania

What steps a person should take to prepare for divorce depends on the person’s individual situation and the person’s relationship with his or her spouse.

If you and your spouse are separating on fairly good terms, you may not want to immediately take all of the steps to prepare for divorce as outlined below to minimize the disruption to your lives. Especially if reconciliation is possible. For example, often parties who are divorcing on good terms will continue to generally maintain their financial arrangements while the divorce is pending. For example, they may maintain deposits and withdraws to and from a joint bank account. In other cases, however, especially where a spouse is bitter or vindictive, it is important to protect your finances and personal property as soon as practical. Only you can assess your individual situation and decide which steps you feel are important to take. The following is a list of the top ten major steps you should consider taking to prepare for divorce as soon it becomes likely:

1. Cancel all joint credit accounts.

While debt incurred by a spouse post-separation will generally not be considered a marital debt by a Pennsylvania divorce court, you may still be individually liable to the creditor for the debt if you are a signer or co-signer on the debt. This is typically the case with joint credit card accounts, individual credit card accounts where your spouse is a cardholder, and home equity lines of credit. Often, if a credit account is left open, an estranged spouse will draw down on the line of credit to finance his or her post-separation living expenses, including legal fees. It is also often difficult to parse out separate versus marital credit card transactions at equitable distribution, making the assignment of non-marital credit card debt to a spouse difficult.

Further, there may be insufficient marital assets to satisfy the credit card debt at equitable distribution and/or a spouse may not pay the debt assigned to him or her at equitable distribution in a timely manner, impairing your credit rating. However, if you need access to funds post-separation to finance your living or legal expenses, you may consider taking an advance against one or more joint lines of credit before closing the accounts.

2. Close joint bank and investment accounts.

You should consider closing joint bank and investment accounts and moving the funds in such accounts to individually titled accounts. The purpose of this step is to secure the funds from being dissipated by your spouse. As with lines of credit, your estranged spouse may attempt to take the money in those accounts or use the money to finance his or her post-separation living and legal expenses. This step will also provide you with access to funds while the divorce is pending. You might consider leaving a portion of the funds in the account for your spouse. For example, often our clients will effectively “split” an account by removing 50% of the funds in the account and leaving the remainder for their spouse. Whether you should remove all or some of the funds from any given account will depend on the particular situation.

3. Change your direct deposit and cancel automatic deductions from bank accounts.

4. Secure important and/or valuable personal property.

Divorce has a way of making personal property disappear or become damaged. You should promptly secure any personal property that is important to you or particularly valuable by removing it from the marital residence or other residence to which your spouse has access. This includes furniture, antiques, jewelry, gifts, photographs, memorabilia, work projects, computers, etc. You do not need to and should not “clean out the house.” Just secure items that are irreplaceable, particularly valuable, or to which you need access during the divorce.

One of our clients had many of his work tools tied up for an extensive period of time during a divorce. Another client had much of his valuable wine collection consumed by his spouse. You might consider renting a storage locker to store the personal property during the divorce. You might also consider inventorying the contents of the marital residence by photography or video at the outset of the divorce.

5. Secure all important financial documentation

Having access to both your and your spouse’s financial documentation is important for both support and equitable distribution in a divorce. It is much easier to get copies of these documents if and when you have direct access to them, rather than through the discovery process in divorce. If possible, you should take all of your personal financial documentation (account statements, tax returns, etc.) and make copies of all of your spouse’s financial documentation and secure those documents at a location, such as your attorney’s office, to which your spouse does not have access. Do not forget about computer files that include financial information, such as QuickBooks files.

6. Change your mailing address.

7. Change your passwords.

You spouse probably knows your passwords to all of your on-line accounts (e-mail, facebook, twitter, bank accounts, etc.). Change all of these passwords immediately.

8. Forget what your friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers have told you about divorce.

“I know that a divorce is going to cost me $100,000.” “My sister said that I’m guaranteed to get full custody.” “I moved out of the house because my wife told me that I had to.” These are the types of statements we frequently hear from our prospective clients. Most often they are incorrect. Every situation is unique. Just because your co-worker has to do something does not mean the court will require you to do the same thing. Don’t let your acquaintances’ free “legal advice” affect your judgment or actions. You would do best ignoring their advice and seeing a competent attorney.

9. Consult with a divorce lawyer.

The most important step to prepare for divorce is consulting with a divorce lawyer. Only a divorce lawyer can properly analyze your particular situation, advise you how the law and courts will affect your particular situation, and give you advice on how to best proceed in your case. This is true even if you want to work things out amicably with your spouse. It is incredibly easy to make a mistake that will negatively impact your case in a significant way, either financially or otherwise. Too often parties involved in divorces seek legal advice only after they have made a significant mistake representing themselves. Frequently it is too late to correct the mistake. Consult with a knowledgeable attorney at the outset of your case.

10. Let your spouse and children know what is going on.

Even in the best of cases divorce is difficult for all involved, especially children. It becomes even more stressful when your spouse and children don’t know what is going on. Take steps to prepare for divorce, then make a plan to discuss the situation with your spouse and children as soon as possible after you have taken the necessary steps to protect your financial and legal interests. You might consider securing the assistance of a family counselor or therapist to assist with this discussion. While the conversations may be difficult, they will almost certainly lead to a less adversarial and stressful divorce process.

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Alimony Pendente Lite Can Help You Afford a Divorce in Pennsylvania

Whether you are unemployed, under employed or are simply the lower-earning spouse in a marriage, the cost of getting divorced in Pennsylvania is an important concern faced by those who are seeking a divorce. This is where alimony pendente lite can help.

Our attorneys often encounter clients who sacrificed their careers for the sake of the union, either by opting to work part-time or to stay at home to care for children. Such a decision, however, often made years earlier, can place a spouse at a serious financial disadvantage. Once divorce papers are filed, the “bread-winner” of the marriage often begins to use his or her financially-superior position to dictate how the parties should divide their assets, share custody of their children, and so forth. The lower-earning spouse sometimes feels that she or he has no other option but to accept these dictates. This fear is unfounded. Pennsylvania divorce law provides several practical options for spouses who find themselves in this circumstance.

In Pennsylvania, lower-earning spouses have the right to seek financial support from the higher-earning spouse, both during separation and through the pendency of the divorce. This type of support is called either Spousal Support or Alimony Pendente Lite (“APL”).

The purpose of APL is to ensure that both parties have the financial ability to retain legal counsel and proceed in a divorce action. In other words, even if you have very few financial resources on your own, you may be able to receive support so that you can hire your own attorney—someone who will represent your best interests and help you to afford a divorce.

The amount of APL that your spouse may owe you is based on a percentage of the difference in after-tax income between the higher-earning spouse and the lower-earning spouse, along with other factors. The Pennsylvania Support Guidelines dictate the amount for which a payor spouse will be obligated. APL may be awarded even if both spouses remain living in the same home during your separation. In fact, even if you have committed some other legal misconduct related to the marriage (like adultery), you can still seek and receive APL if you are the lower-earning spouse.

Cooley & Handy strongly believes that it is essential that you attempt to establish your financial independence during the pendency of your divorce.

Of course, once the marriage has legally ended (i.e. equitable distribution matters are finalized and a divorce decree has been entered), you may be granted further support. Support awarded to you after the marriage has ended is called “alimony.” Contrary to popular myth, there are not necessarily any hard-and-fast rules as to how alimony is awarded. Rather, the court will determine whether you can meet your reasonable needs (according to the marital lifestyle), and will take into consideration your income and the amount of marital assets that you received in equitable distribution.

Alimony is often awarded in cases where there is a large disparity in the parties’ incomes, where one party has physical or mental deficiencies, where the marriage was long-term, and under other circumstances. Alimony generally terminates when the person receiving the alimony begins living with another party with whom they are romantically involved, or when the payee remarries, or passes away.

Consequently, although it may seem like there is no way that you can financially afford a divorce and support yourself thereafter, there are several legal mechanisms that can assist you in getting through this difficult process.

Contact the Divorce attorneys at Cooley & Handy to discuss your options. Cooley & Handy are Bucks County Divorce Lawyers, Montgomery County Divorce Lawyers and Philadelphia County Divorce Lawyers.

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Fault & No Fault Divorce in PA: What You Need To Know

In the past to obtain a divorce in Pennsylvania one spouse had to prove “fault” by the other spouse. That, however, is no longer the case in Pennsylvania. Now a Pennsylvania divorce may be obtained without a party having to prove that the other party is somehow legally at “fault.” The Pennsylvania fault divorce, however, still survives as a legal option and in certain circumstances, where grounds for a fault divorce exist and where the opposing party refuses to consent to a no-fault divorce, it may be economically advantageous or psychologically beneficial for the party seeking the divorce to pursue a fault divorce.

In Pennsylvania there are two types of divorces: fault and no-fault.

Obviously, a fault divorce requires some type of legal “fault” by the opposing party, such as adultery, bigamy, indignities (a catch-all category for general mistreatment), or abandonment. The grounds for a fault divorce are defined by statue. Further, the party seeking a fault divorce cannot themselves be at fault or have condoned or subsequently ratified the fault behavior, such as where a party resumes martial relations with a spouse known to have committed adultery.

In contrast to a fault divorce, in a Pennsylvania no-fault divorce proof of legal fault is not required. Rather, the only requirement is that one or both parties want to get divorced. The vast majority of Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia County divorces proceed as no-fault divorces. This is true even if fault is present because the parties generally do not want to testify in open court to establish fault grounds and because no-fault divorces are simpler and generally less contentious. However, the length of time it takes to obtain a no-fault divorce is dependent on whether both parties agree to proceed with the divorce.

There are two types of no-fault divorces available in Pennsylvania.

No-fault divorces in which both parties consent to the divorce and no-fault divorces where only one party consents to the divorce.

In the former case, the divorce can proceed as soon as 90 days after the divorce complaint is served. In the latter case, however, where one spouse does not want the divorce or will not agree to a no-fault divorce (due to economic or other reasons), the divorce cannot proceed until one year has elapsed from the date of separation, which is presumed under law to be the date the divorce is filed, although the presumption is rebuttable based on evidence of another date of separation presented at a hearing. Thus, a disagreeable spouse or his or her divorce lawyer can potentially delay a divorce for a year or more, all while the delaying spouse continues to receive economic benefits from the marriage, such as spousal support and residence in the martial home.

A party might desire to expedite the divorce for any number of reasons. For example, the party may no longer wish to support their estranged spouse economically, or the party may want to sell the marital residence or just simply finally separate themselves from their estranged spouse.

In these cases, a party can allege grounds for a fault divorce in a divorce complaint filed in Bucks County, Montgomery County or Philadelphia County. Then request a hearing to establish and prove the legal grounds for a fault divorce. In Bucks County Divorces, the process for establishing fault grounds consists of a record Divorce Masters’ hearing. Then, potentially a court trial if one party disagrees with the Bucks County Divorce Masters’ recommendation. The process is very similar in both Montgomery County divorces and Philadelphia County divorces. Practically speaking, however, with a fault hearing pending, parties are more likely to agree to consent to a divorce to avoid having the details of inappropriate conduct aired in court.

Indeed, in the cumulative 35+ years the Bucks County Divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy have been practicing family law, we have collectively only had to litigate one fault divorce through a hearing. In all other cases, the opposing party signed their affidavit of consent to a no-fault divorce prior to the fault grounds hearing. Thus, the mere threat of moving to proceed on fault grounds is usually all the leverage that is needed to obtain a speedier no-fault divorce.

Economic and emotional factors, as well as custody issues, can come into play in deciding whether it is advantageous to attempt to proceed on fault ground. Persons considering this option, therefore, should discuss the matter with a Bucks County divorce lawyer, a Montgomery County divorce lawyer or a Philadelphia County divorce lawyer, such as the attorneys at Cooley & Handy.

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How to Get Divorced in Pennsylvania

“How do I get divorced in Pennsylvania?” This is probably the most frequent and seemingly simple question that Cooley & Handy gets from our family law clients. Unfortunately there is no simple answer.

All Pennsylvania divorces are officially started by the filing of a divorce complaint in the Court of Common Pleas, generally in the county in which one of the parties resides. However, there are many paths that a divorce may take prior to the entry of a final divorce decree depending on the particular circumstances of the case.

Keep in mind that every divorce is different, and can break off into any number of directions and complications. You should rely on a good attorney to do the work for you. Nevertheless, here is a quick look at process for those interested in how to get divorced in Pennsylvania.

1. Establish a Date of Separation

Often, the first step in obtaining a divorce in Pennsylvania is to establish a date of legal separation. This starts the clock ticking for certain waiting periods. The date of separation is also important because it establishes a cut-off date for the acquisition of marital assets to be divided in the divorce, and for the accumulation of marital debt.

A date of legal separation can be established in one of two ways:

By filing a divorce complaint. The law presumes that the date of separation is the date on which the divorce complaint is filed, unless a party can establish an alternate date.
Through conduct. For example, by moving out of the marital residence, or by moving into another bedroom. By declaring to your spouse, friends and family that you are separated. Remember that it is possible to undo the date of separation by, for example, having marital relations. That will, in effect, cancel the prior date of separation, and a new date of separation will need to be established.

2. File for Divorce

The divorce complaint is usually filed in the county in which you reside. If you live in Bucks County, your divorce complaint will be filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County. However, if your spouse lives in another state, it raises several complex issues. You may need to file in the state in which your spouse resides. But in general, if you and your spouse have lived in Pennsylvania for more than six months, residency requirements should not be an issue.

3. Process the Divorce

The next step is to process the divorce. In simple divorces processing the divorce can be straightforward. A simple divorce is one in which both parties agree to the divorce and are not asking the court to award support or alimony, divide marital assets or order other relief. Still, the process involves executing and filing all of the necessary forms in the right order and at the right time. These include:

affidavits of service or acceptances of service;
consents or affidavits of separation;
notices or waivers of notice; and
a praecipe for a grounds order or for the divorce decree.

Where one spouse will not agree to the divorce, or where issues such as discovery, document requests, appraisals, interim hearings, support, alimony, or equitable distribution must be resolved, processing the divorce is much more complicated.

In the event that a settlement is not reached, you will need a Master’s hearing on economic issues. You may possibly also need a trial before a judge, after which the divorce can be processed.

4. Request the Court to Enter the Divorce Decree

Only after all outstanding issues are resolved and the necessary paperwork is filed with the court can a party move a divorce to conclusion. Once these steps are completed, you are nearly finished getting divorced. The final step is to file a praecipe for entry of a divorce decree. Generally, spouses no longer sign divorce papers. The decree arrives unobtrusively in the mail or, if you are represented, is sent to your attorney.

The length of time that it takes to get divorced in Pennsylvania can be anywhere from about 5 months to several years. This depends on the grounds for the divorce, the cooperation or lack thereof from the other spouse, and the issues involved in the divorce.

NEXT: WHAT STEPS SHOULD YOU TAKE TO PREPARE FOR DIVORCE IN PENNSYLVANIA?

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How The Vanishing Credit Works In Bucks County PA Divorces

A frequent issue that arises in Pennsylvania divorce cases is how to handle premarital assets.

The question is how is a premarital asset contributed to the marriage is handled in equitable distribution. In response, the Bucks County Masters Office employs a “vanishing credit” theory. However, it is first important to understand what is classified as a pre-marital asset. Additionally, how these assets are typically handled by most courts?

A premarital asset is one that a party possessed before the marriage. Such an asset is “contributed to the marriage” when it is put into joint names or used to purchase a joint marital asset. A classic example of this is when one party uses premarital funds as a down payment toward the purchase of the marital residence, which is deeded in both parties’ names.

In equitable distribution, the party contributing the premarital asset almost invariably seeks to have the full value of the asset returned to them as separate property. This spouse argues the asset should not be included in the marital estate for equitable distribution purposes. Of course, the non-contributing spouse argues that the entire value of the premarital asset should be deemed a martial asset subject to equitable distribution. This spouse often argues the asset was contributed or “gifted” to the marriage. Thus, the dilemma is how to fairly or equitably handle this issue.

Under Pennsylvania law, once a premarital asset is contributed to the marriage it becomes a marital asset.

This asset is then subject to equitable distribution. Therefore, in this regard, the non-contributing spouse is correct in asserting that non-marital assets contributed to the marriage are marital property. They are thus subject to equitable distribution. However, Pennsylvania law also requires that the court consider a spouse’s contributions to the marriage as a factor to be considered in equitably dividing marital property. Therefore, the contributing spouse has a strong argument that some or all of his or her contribution should be returned in equitable distribution.

While not the official law of Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Divorce Master’s Office most often applies a very fair formula for equitably distributing premarital assets contributed to the marriage.

This is known as the “vanishing credit.”

The formula is named as such because the contributing spouse’s credit essentially “vanishes” over a twenty-year period. In short, the Bucks County Divorce Master’s office considers 5% of a premarital asset converted to a joint marital asset per year and subject to equitable distribution. The remaining percentage will be deemed a separate asset and returned to the contributing spouse in full.

For example, suppose a spouse contributes $100,000.00 of premarital funds to purchase a jointly owned marital residence. Further, assume that the marriage is a ten-year marriage. The parties purchased the marital residence two years into the marriage. The premarital funds were contributed at that time. To calculate the marital component of the contributed funds, the Bucks County Divorce Master’s Office will multiply the number of years elapsed between the contribution of the funds and the date of separation. In this example 8 years, by 5%, which equals 40%. Therefore, The Bucks County Divorce Master’s office will recommend that 40% of the $100,000.00 be considered as martial property subject to equitable distribution. The Bucks County Divorce Master’s Office will further recommend that the remaining 60% of the $100,000.00 be returned to the contributing spouse as separate property.

Of course, if one (or both parties) does not accept the master’s recommendation, they can take the issue of equitable distribution to trial before a judge. However, a judge will likely not apply the vanishing credit, since that is not the official law of Pennsylvania. However, the ultimate decision on equitable distribution by the judge may practically be very similar in result.

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Cooley & Handy Secures Extraordinary Stay of Alimony Pendente Lite Order Entered in Bucks County Divorce Proceedings from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania took the rare step of staying a completely unprecedented and legally erroneous alimony pendente lite order entered against an ex-husband in a Bucks County divorce action by the Hon. Alan M. Rubenstein.

The stay of the alimony pendente lite order was obtained through the efforts of the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy. Alimony pendente lite is court-ordered support paid to a spouse while a divorce is pending, purportedly to help the spouse pay for litigation costs.

In the underlying Bucks County divorce case, the Bucks County divorce court purportedly “reinstated” a previously vacated (terminated) alimony pendente lite order against ex-Husband almost three years after the trial court entered final judgment in the parties’ divorce and on all claims regarding the division of marital assets. The order was entered during post-divorce litigation over the parties’ marital property settlement agreement and a prenuptial agreement that ex-wife had failed to produce during divorce proceedings. In short, the ongoing litigation concerned which contractual agreement – the marital settlement agreement or the prenuptial agreement – would control the distribution of the marital property and other claims. Notably, ex-wife had waived alimony pendente lite in both contracts. Nevertheless, the Bucks County divorce court erroneously awarded ex-wife alimony pendente lite in direct contravention to the terms of the contractual agreements and Pennsylvania law in a misguided and legally improper effort to make the post-divorce litigation “fair.”

In ex-husband’s appeal of the alimony pendente lite order, Cooley & Handy argued that the Bucks County divorce court’s alimony pendente lite order was erroneous because (1) ex-wife waived alimony pendente lite in both the parties’ marital property settlement agreement and the parties’ prenuptial agreement and at least one of those contracts will be enforceable, and (2) entry of the divorce decree in the case three years earlier forever terminated ex-wife’s claim to alimony pendente lite. In addition, the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy argued that 23 Pa. C.S. 3105(c) statutorily precludes a trial court from altering or amending martial rights previously resolved by contractual agreement (i.e. the marital settlement agreement and the prenuptial agreement).

To obtain the stay of the alimony pendente lite order from Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Cooley & Handy argued that ex-husband would likely be successful in his appeal and would suffer irreparable harm if a stay were not granted.

Ex-husband faced a very high burden to obtain a stay from the Superior Court, which grants stays judiciously. Cooley & Handy argued ex-husband would likely be successful in his appeal for the reasons set forth above. With regard to irreparable harm, Cooley & Handy argued that ex-husband would suffer irreparable harm for several reasons. First, Cooley & Handy argued the trial court violated a clear statutory mandate (23 Pa. C.S. § 3105(c)) when it modified the terms of the parties’ marital settlement and prenuptial agreements by “reinstating” alimony pendente lite, which constitutes irreparable harm per se. A violation of a statutory mandate is deemed to be irreparable harm per se. See, e.g., Capepiello v. Duca, 449 Pa. Super. 100, 107, 672 A.2d 1373, 1377 (1996). Second, Cooley & Handy argued that the trial court clearly exceeded its jurisdiction in awarding Ex-Wife alimony pendente lite after the parties’ divorce and equitable distribution claims had been finally resolved and, as in the case of an explicit statutory violation, the exercise of power by a trial court in excess of its jurisdiction should be deemed irreparable harm per se. Finally, the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy argued that the Superior Court had previously recognized that alimony pendente lite orders can result in the irreparable loss of rights where a divorce is not pending in Sutliff v. Sutliff, 326 Pa. Super. 496, 474 A.2d 599 (1984) and Fried v. Fried, 509 Pa. 89, 501 A.2d 211 (1985).

In a significant legal victory for ex-husband, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania granted ex-husband a stay of the alimony pendente lite order while the merits of his appeal are decided.

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