Why Divorce.com?
Benefits of an online divorce
Divorce.com is a super handy tool for those couples who are seeking an uncontested divorce but don't want to involve an expensive lawyer in their case. The essence of the service is that it helps spouses select and fill out required divorce papers, which are often very difficult to figure out independently without relevant experience or legal education.
To receive the forms explicitly required for your case, you need to answer the questions in our special questionnaire.After submitting your answers, the papers will be ready and available for download in your personal account within just two business days. Fast, simple, and cheaper than even the most budgetary fixed rate divorce lawyer in Pennsylvania for uncontested cases.
You can work with your documents and make changes to them 24/7 from any convenient device. You no longer need to spend enormous sums on lawyers and adjust to their schedules. Divorce.com is a real find for your amicable divorce!
Pennsylvania
Divorce Forms
All the forms required
The list of forms that spouses need for a divorce in Pennsylvania may vary depending on the case's specifics (for example, the presence or absence of children, etc.). However, there are primary forms including:
Complaint Notice to Defend
Acceptance of Service
Affidavit of Service of Original Process by Mail
Affidavit of Consent Defendant
Affidavit of Consent Plaintiff
Notice Waiver Plaintiff
Notice Waiver
Notice of Intention to Request
Final Praecipe to Transmit Record
Divorce Decree
Affidavit of Non-Military Service
Notice of Intention to Resume Prior Surname
Spouses seeking an uncontested divorce must sign a particular document — the Settlement Agreement. In this paperwork, the ex-partners prescribe all the critical points of their divorce: the property division, alimony, child custody, child support, etc.
Also, additional forms may be required depending on the county in the state of Pennsylvania. Therefore, before submitting ready-made papers to the court, an applicant needs to check with the clerk for a complete list of required forms for a particular divorce.
Steps to consider
Filing Requirements
Residency Requirements
A couple must meet the residency requirements to get a divorce in Pennsylvania: one or both spouses must have lived in Pennsylvania for at least six months before filing for divorce.
Also, any divorce papers must be filed in the Pennsylvania county where one or both spouses reside.
However, suppose the defendant lives in a different county than where the couple lived together during the marriage. In that case, the divorce may also be filed in the county where the couple resided during the marriage, if the claimant has resided there continuously since the separation or in the county where the applicant lives, if the defendant agrees.
Grounds for Divorce
In Pennsylvania, spouses can file for a no-fault divorce or a fault-based divorce.
No-fault grounds include "irretrievable breakdown of a marriage" or "irreconcilable difference." The first means that the marriage broke up irrevocably and has no hope of being repaired, and the second means that the spouses no longer get along.
If one of the spouses blames the other for the divorce, they can use the following fault-based grounds:
Adultery
Abandonment for at least one year
Extreme cruelty, including domestic violence
Bigamy (the defendant married the applicant without divorcing their first spouse)
Felony conviction resulting in imprisonment for two or more years.
Initial Filing
To get a divorce in Pennsylvania, the couple must file their divorce papers in a Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Then, the spouses need to file the required paperwork with the county's Prothonotary Office (court clerk).
Ex-partners can file online through the e-filing system, send papers by mail to the court, come to court in person and file divorce forms, or use the additional services of Divorce.com for filing documents with the court.
Filing Fees
Spouses must pay mandatory court fees in Pennsylvania. Court fees differ from county to county, so the couple will need to check where they filed the exact amount with the court clerk.
However, in most Pennsylvania counties, divorce filing fees range from $200 to $300.
If the spouses cannot pay the registration fees, they can ask the judge to waive the fees. They must request a fee waiver by filing a Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis.
Serving the Respondent
Serving is the delivery to the spouse of all copies of divorce papers. In Pennsylvania, an applicant may do so in the following ways:
By personal service (hiring a sheriff or a professional process server);
By mail with an Acceptance of Service form (only if an applicant thinks the defendant will agree to accept service);
By certified mail (filling out an Acceptance of Service of Original Process by Mail form);
By publication (publishing a notice in a newspaper if the applicant doesn't know where the defendant is).
Waiting Period
After the spouses bring the original and two copies to the Prothonotary's Office for filing to begin their divorce, there is a 90-day waiting period before the court can finalize the marriage dissolution.
However, if the spouses have been separated for more than one year, the 90-day wait is no longer necessary, and their divorce can be finished in weeks.
Finalizing a Divorce Case
Once the couple files all the papers, the clerk will forward their case to the judge for review. After the judge signs the Final Decree of Divorce, the clerk's office will give the spouses certified copies, and their divorce will be official.
Filing basics
Filing for Divorce
Pennsylvania
How to get started
The list of forms that spouses need for a divorce in Pennsylvania may vary depending on the case's specifics (for example, the presence or absence of children, etc.). However, there are primary forms including:
Complaint Notice to Defend
Acceptance of Service
Affidavit of Service of Original Process by Mail
Affidavit of Consent Defendant
Affidavit of Consent Plaintiff
Notice Waiver Plaintiff
Notice Waiver
Notice of Intention to Request
Final Praecipe to Transmit Record
Divorce Decree
Affidavit of Non-Military Service
Notice of Intention to Resume Prior Surname
Spouses seeking an uncontested divorce must sign a particular document — the Settlement Agreement. In this paperwork, the ex-partners prescribe all the critical points of their divorce: the property division, alimony, child custody, child support, etc.
Also, additional forms may be required depending on the county in the state of Pennsylvania. Therefore, before submitting ready-made papers to the court, an applicant needs to check with the clerk for a complete list of required forms for a particular divorce.
Custody Basics
There are two types of child custody in Pennsylvania — physical custody and legal custody.
Physical custody is a decision about who the child will live with, while legal custody determines the right to make decisions in the child's life (medical, educational, religious, etc.).
The other parent may share physical custody (also called joint custody in PA) with the custodial parent or have limited physical custody such as supervised visitation.
Partial or shared physical custody means that the parents have the same time with the child. Also, based on the interests of the child and what is best for them, the court may determine the following types of guardianship:
Shared physical custody
Primary physical custody
Partial physical custody
Sole physical custody
Supervised physical custody
Shared legal custody
Sole legal custody.
Uncontested Divorce
In Pennsylvania, the court calls an uncontested divorce a "no-fault and mutual consent divorce" or a "mutual consent divorce."
This type of divorce is way faster than the traditional one with battles in court. For example, spouses may divorce after three to four months instead of the standard two or more years.
However, to benefit from an amicable divorce, both spouses must agree to the divorce and sign a particular document, the Settlement Agreement, which will spell out the critical points of the divorce, such as the division of property, child custody, alimony, etc.
Spouses must meet specific requirements to file for a divorce by mutual consent:
Their marriage must be irretrievably destroyed;
Both spouses must agree to a divorce;
They must sign an affidavit consenting to the divorce;
Both ex-partners must have resided in Pennsylvania for at least six months before applying.
Support Basics
In Pennsylvania, all parents have a financial obligation to support their minor children. State laws require one parent to make a monthly payment to cover the cost of raising a child.
The parent who cares for the child most of the time (the "custodial parent") usually receives parental support from the parent with less parental time ("non-custodial parent").
The amount of child support is based on Pennsylvania's child support guidelines. However, the court may reduce or increase the amount of child support based on the following facts:
Сhild's age
Other commitments to support
Other family income
Unusual needs and unusual fixed obligations
Medical expenses not covered by insurance
Standard of living
Other factors affect the interests of the child.
