Pennsylvania Divorced Legal

At divorce, community property is generally divided equally between the spouses, while each spouse keeps his or her separate property. Equitable distribution. In all other states, assets and earnings accumulated during marriage are divided equitably (fairly), but not necessarily equally.

As long as the spouse who is served the divorce papers does not deny that the spouses have been living apart for at least one year or that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the divorce may proceed even though only one party filed for divorce.

Accordingly, the person who files the divorce first controls the divorce process because if the other spouse files later, the spouse who filed first can have the second divorce dismissed (knocked out of court).

There's no minimum length of time that a spouse has to be married in order for alimony to apply. While the length of the marriage is an important factor in the alimony statute, it's one of 17 factors that the court will consider.

Pennsylvania divides marital property under the theory of equitable distribution.Community property states attempt a 50-50 distribution, as best as possible. Equitable distribution states divide property based on a determination of what's fair under the circumstances of each case.

One of the main legal advantages that a person gains by filing the divorce petition before his or her spouse does is that the filer can request a Standing Order from the court when filing the petition.If the matter should go to a hearing, the person who files the petition usually presents his or her case first.

In a perfect world, separated and divorcing spouses in Pennsylvania would not start dating until their divorce was final, but that's easier said than done.If you start seeing someone else before you and your spouse decide to divorce or before you physically separate, it is considered adultery.

A spouse is entitled to alimony only if the court decides that alimony is necessary. To decide whether alimony is necessary, how much should be paid, and how long it should be paid, the court must consider many factors including but not limited to the relative income and earning capacities of the parties, the ages

In a Pennsylvania divorce, the court divides marital property on an equitable basis. However, this does not necessarily mean that the court will evenly split property between the two spouses. Rather, the judge presiding over the case will split up the property in a way that he or she deems fair.