On October 4, 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe signed House Bill 380, relating to the divorce waiting period. Historically, under Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Code, if one party to a divorce action contested the divorce, they could theoretically prolong the process for at least two years. This “waiting period” of two years was initially designed to provide parties an opportunity to resolve their issues and ultimately reconcile. However, the result of prolonging many divorce actions for this amount of time was often detrimental. Allowing one party to drag out a divorce action created heightened strain and animosity in many cases, as well as increased legal fees.
House Bill 380, which became effective in December 2016, has shortened this waiting period to one year.
A common misconception regarding the divorce waiting period is that after the waiting period has run, the parties are automatically divorced. This is not the case. The expiration of the waiting period simply removes the ability of one party to unreasonably delay the divorce process past that point. Now that this period has been reduced to one year, it is likely that many cases will be approached differently, and (hopefully) resolved much more quickly, and with less legal expense.
Major changes will be notable in many areas of a given divorce case, and especially when it comes to payments of spousal support or alimony pendente lite (support payments made to the dependent spouse during the course of the divorce litigation, prior to the final resolution of the case). As cases will now theoretically have the ability to move along the litigation path more quickly, individuals faced with paying either form of support will often pay less, as these payments cease once the final divorce is entered.
Of course, every divorce case is unique, and for further explanation about how House Bill 380 affects your case individually, please contact one of the family law attorneys at Tremba, Kinney, Greiner & Kerr.
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