If you are contemplating divorce, the fear of a complex divorce may have you second-guessing yourself. Or, perhaps the fear of being separated for two long years before you are single again seems like too much to bear – that's entirely understandable!
If you've heard all the divorce horror stories, please know that divorce doesn't have to be messy. In fact, there is a much better way. You see, in each Pennsylvania divorce the spouses have a choice, "We can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way." We'll attest that the "easy way" is certainly the preferred method.
Opting for a 'Mutual Consent' Divorce
In Pennsylvania, there are four basic types of divorce: mutual consent or no-fault divorce, two-year separation divorce (not recommended), fault divorce, and lastly, the mental hospital. For the purposes of this post, we are going to focus on the mutual consent or no-fault divorce because it's the simplest of the four.
If you're afraid of a two-year separation divorce, we think you'll be happier with the mutual consent (no-fault) divorce. With a mutual consent divorce, the divorce can be completed in as little as 90 days after the divorce complaint is served upon the defendant.
However, in order for a married couple to obtain a mutual consent divorce, both spouses have to be on board. Unlike no-fault divorce states, such as California, one spouse can't file for divorce without the other spouse's consent and obtain a divorce shortly afterwards.
In Pennsylvania, if you file for divorce and your spouse wants no part of it, you'll have to be separated for two full years before the court will let you have your divorce. Essentially, two-year separation divorces are just delaying the inevitable, but that's currently the law in Pennsylvania.
When All You Want is a Simple Divorce
With any divorce, we know that emotions can be raw, but when a marriage is irretrievably broken, it's better on all parties (including the children of the marriage) to make a clean break. A simple, no-fault divorce has many advantages, including:
- It's less stressful than a two-year separation divorce.
- It's the least expensive way to divorce.
- The spouses maintain control over child custody, child support, and property division, not the court.
- A no-fault divorce can be achieved in as little as 90 days, instead of delaying the inevitable for two or more years.
If you want to file for divorce and find the no-fault divorce appealing, we encourage you to contact Cairns Law Offices for a free consultation. We can explain our simple, uncontested, affordable divorces, and answer any questions that you may have!
