• Divorce in Pennsylvania is a little more difficult than it is in most states. Every state in the US now has some form of no-fault divorce, and in most states only one spouse needs to want a divorce under the no-fault provision. In Pennsylvania one spouse can get a no-fault divorce, but only after a lengthy waiting period. The only way for a spouse to get a quick divorce against the wishes of the other spouse is to prove fault against that spouse. Pennsylvania law also does not favor alimony or spousal support. Courts can order alimony only if they make written findings why it is necessary.
  
  

No-Fault Divorce

• In order to file a divorce in Pennsylvania at least one of the spouses must have resided in Pennsylvania for at least 6 months before the case is filed. Pennsylvania has two forms of no-fault divorce. If both parties agree to the divorce, they can file on the grounds that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The only limitation is that the divorce cannot be granted sooner than 90 days from the start of the legal action. If only one party wants a divorce on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the parties have to live separately for at least 2 years before the divorce action can be filed.
  
  

Fault Divorce

• Spouses can also file for divorce on the grounds of fault on the part of the other spouse. The grounds for a Pennsylvania fault divorce are: desertion for a year or more, adultery, physical endangerment, bigamy, imprisonment for 2 or more years and intolerable indignities that make life burdensome. Because Pennsylvania is one of the few states that considers the misconduct of a spouse during the marriage as a factor in awarding alimony, there may be financial advantages in some cases to filing a divorce based on fault.
  
  

Alimony

• Pennsylvania courts cannot award alimony unless they find that the alimony is necessary. They must make written findings about why spousal support is or is not necessary, and how the court has calculated the alimony. Once a court finds alimony is necessary the court has some discretion about how much alimony to award. The Pennsylvania statute sets out the factors courts must consider in awarding alimony: earning capacity of spouses, ages of spouses, all sources of income, expectation (inheritances and trusts), length of marriage, one spouse's contributions to the education, training, earning capacity of the other, effect of childcare on earning capacity, standard of living during the marriage, education of spouses and time needed to get enough education to be self-supporting, assets and debts of spouses, property each spouse brought to marriage, contributions of homemaker, needs of spouses and marital misconduct of either spouse during the marriage. Misconduct after separation is not considered, except in the case of abuse.