NO FAULT DIVORCE
MUTUAL CONSENT & 1 YEAR SERARATION
A no-fault divorce is a less complex legal proceeding and therefore less expensive. The divorcing parties do not have to endure an emotionally charged and financially costly process of exchanging discovery or providing testimony at a hearing for the family court to determine if either spouse is at fault for the marriage's demise. There are 2 kinds of no fault divorce:
To qualify for a divorce by mutual consent, you and your spouse (your husband or wife) must formally agree to the divorce. Accordingly, both parties (that is, both the Plaintiff and the Defendant) must sign and have filed on their behalf Affidavits of Consent (these are legal documents in which you say that you agree to the divorce).
1 YEAR SEPERATION DIVORCE
MUTUAL CONSENT DIVORCE
To qualify for a one-year separation divorce, you and your spouse (your husband or wife) must have lived separate and apart continuously for at least one year. This type of divorce would be used if your spouse will not sign an Affidavit of Consent and you have lived apart continuously for one year or more.
MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS
The State of Pennsylvania offers two types of no-fault divorce. A "mutual consent divorce" can be granted ninety days after filing for divorce if both parties file an Affidavit consenting to the divorce. If the parties complete a Divorce Settlement Agreement the process can be expedited, but having such an agreement is not necessary. The other no-fault grounds for divorce is one-year separation. This type of divorce can be granted only after the parties have been separated for a minimum of one year and have signed an Affidavit stating this fact. In addition to the previous two grounds of divorce, the state offers a number of fault divorce grounds, which require one spouse to prove wrongdoing or fault by the other spouse.
In order to file for divorce in Pennsylvania at least one spouse must have resided in Pennsylvania for at least six (6) months immediately prior to filing for divorce.