Monroeville Divorce Attorney
Reduce Waiting Period for Divorce
If one spouse does not consent to a divorce, then the spouse seeking the divorce must wait two years before requesting a final decree. Currently Pennsylvania is considering legislation to reduce the waiting period for a contested divorce to one year.
Pennsylvania House Bill 380 calls for reducing the waiting period for a no-fault divorce based on separation from two years to one.
Proponents of the legislation say that expediting divorce will enable courts to focus greater attention on child custody disputes.
“Where the divorce is inevitable,” attorney Maryann Modesti testified at a recent meeting of the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee, “allowing the family to focus on the challenge of co-parenting as divorced parents is better than the emotional toll of a delay in the divorce litigation.”
Currently many other states impose a short waiting period than two years. For instance: Maryland has a one-year waiting period; New York has a six-month waiting period; and West Virginia imposes no waiting period at all.
To speak with an experienced Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.
Providing Records to Your Divorce Lawyer
Once the divorce process is under way, your lawyer will need ready access to all relevant financial documents. Start by locating and gathering together the following records pertaining to both you and your spouse:
- Social Security numbers
- Income tax returns for the past three years
- Retirement savings plans statements for the past three years
- Bank account statements
- Insurance policies (life; automobile; house; other)
- Stock certificates
- Credit card bills
- Employment payment stubs
- Brokerage statements
- Pension statements
- Health insurance and work-related benefits
- Real estate records
- Receipts and monthly statements documenting household expenses and everyday expenses (groceries, gas, heat, water, personal grooming, transportation, gifts, clothing, laundry and cleaning supplies, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses, and so forth)
- List of all assets and liabilities
- Date of separation (the date of separation is the date used to determine the value of particular assets – the matrimonial home, bank statements, investments, and so forth)
To speak with a Pittsburgh family law attorney, call Spivak Law Firm at (412) 344-4900 or toll free at (800) 545-9390.