On Oct. 4, 2016, the waiting period for a no-fault divorce was reduced from two years to one year. The new law became effective on Dec. 3, 2016. The law was prospective and applied to separations which begun on or after Dec. 4, 2016. Now a year later the question becomes what if any impact this new legislation has had on obtaining a no-fault divorce in Pennsylvania.

Historically, the no-fault divorce under Irretrievable breakdown grounds was a three-year separation. Most family law practitioners generally believed that if the parties were uncertain they wanted a divorce, waiting three years would be a sufficient time period to determine if a divorce was the right thing to do in their case. Many practitioners also believed when the parties had to wait three years, litigation was lengthy and costly and there seemed no end to a divorce when one party was holding out.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]