Grounds for Divorce in Pennsylvania

Comment: If you are in PA, make sure to read this notes below

Under Pennsylvania Law, you have the right to represent yourself in all legal cases, including divorce.
The legal term for representing yourself is "pro se," pronounced "pro say") which is Latin for "on your own behalf." Representing yourself is not a good idea for everyone. It is important to understand that by representing yourself, you may be giving up important rights. It is very important for you to find out if your spouse has a pension, retirement account, insurance or other significant property before you decide whether to file your own divorce. If you do not ask for such things in the divorce, you will give them up forever.

Before you file for divorce on your own, you need to talk to your spouse, if possible, and find out how he/she feels about the divorce and about the issues mentioned above. This will give you an indication on how to proceed with the divorce.

The law limits the authority of the court to grant divorces (known as a question of jurisdiction-can this court hear this divorce?). The law also dictates when the court has jurisdiction over a divorce proceeding.

Within Pennsylvania, the Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction to hear divorce cases. Generally, the Common Pleas court with jurisdiction for your case is the Common Pleas court in the county where you live or the Common Pleas court in the county where your spouse lives. When you file the relevant papers, you must have stated your grounds for that court to have jurisdiction. If not state correctly, your spouse could file a motion to dismiss your case.

After you file your papers, your spouse has 30 days (if your spouse lives in Pennsylvania), 60 days (if your spouse lives outside of Pennsylvania, but in the United States), or 90 days (if your spouse lives outside the United States) to respond to your request for divorce (known as a Complaint). If your spouse fails to respond, the court will proceed with the divorce so long as service of process has been completed correctly. You do not have to appear in Court if your divorce is based on Mutual Consent. from http://www.divorcelawinfo.com/PA/padivexpln.htm