Pennsylvania is a no-fault divorce state. You do not have to prove that your spouse did anything wrong, and in most cases you do not have to go to court. Kevin Burke Law handles divorces for people across Northwestern Pennsylvania, including cases where the other spouse will not cooperate and cases where you do not even know where your spouse is.

Who can file in Pennsylvania

At least one spouse must have lived in Pennsylvania for the six months before the divorce is filed. The case is filed in the Court of Common Pleas, usually in the county where either spouse lives.

The three ways to get a divorce

1. Mutual consent (no-fault). Both spouses agree the marriage is irretrievably broken. After the divorce complaint has been filed and served, 90 days must pass. Then each spouse signs an affidavit of consent, and the court can enter the decree. This is the fastest and least expensive route, and it is the one most couples use. A spouse who has been convicted of a personal injury crime against the other is presumed to consent, so the victim does not need the abuser’s signature.

2. One-year separation (no-fault). If one spouse will not consent, the other can still get a no-fault divorce by showing that the couple has lived separate and apart for at least one year. “Separate and apart” is about living separate lives, and in some cases spouses have been found separated while still under the same roof.

3. Fault grounds. Pennsylvania still allows divorce for desertion of a year or more, adultery, cruel and barbarous treatment, bigamy, a prison sentence of two or more years, and “indignities” that make life intolerable. Fault divorces require a hearing and proof, so they are rare today, but they can matter when one spouse refuses to consent and a year of separation has not passed.

If you do not know where your spouse is

A divorce complaint normally has to be delivered to the other spouse. When a spouse cannot be found, the court can allow service by other means, including publishing a notice in a newspaper and the county’s legal journal, after you file an affidavit describing the investigation you made to find them. We have helped people get divorced this way.

Dividing property

Pennsylvania divides marital property “equitably,” which means fairly, not necessarily equally, and the court does it without regard to marital misconduct. Who was at fault for the breakup does not change who gets what.

Marital property is everything either spouse acquired during the marriage, no matter whose name is on it, plus any increase during the marriage in the value of property one spouse owned before. It includes houses, vehicles, bank accounts, retirement accounts and pensions earned during the marriage, and debts.

Not marital property: what you owned before the marriage, gifts and inheritances you received (except gifts from your spouse), and property acquired after the final separation, as long as it was not bought with marital assets. The increase in value of these things during the marriage is still marital.

When spouses cannot agree, the court weighs factors such as the length of the marriage, each spouse’s age, health, income and earning ability, who will have the children, each spouse’s contribution to acquiring the property, including as a homemaker, the standard of living during the marriage, and the tax consequences. Retirement accounts and pensions earned during the marriage are divided by a court order directed to the plan.

Any claim for property division or alimony must be raised before the divorce decree is entered. Once the decree is final, claims that were not raised are gone.

Support and alimony

• Spousal support and alimony pendente lite are payments from one spouse to the other while the couple is separated or the divorce is pending. The court can also order one spouse to contribute to the other’s attorney fees and costs.
• Alimony after the divorce is not automatic. The court awards it only if it finds alimony is necessary, after weighing 17 factors, including each spouse’s earning capacity, age and health, the length of the marriage, contributions as a homemaker, the standard of living, and marital misconduct. Alimony can be modified when circumstances change substantially, and it ends if the person receiving it remarries.
• Child support is set by statewide guidelines based on both parents’ net incomes and the number of children. It is handled through the county’s Domestic Relations Section and can be filed at any time, with or without a divorce.

Children

Custody is a separate case from the divorce, decided on the best interests of the children. See our Custody page. Parents can have custody and support orders in place long before the divorce is final.

Going back to your former name

A spouse can resume a prior surname by filing a simple written notice with the prothonotary of the county where the divorce was filed. It can be done before or after the decree is entered.

How long it takes and what it costs

A mutual consent divorce cannot be finished until at least 90 days after the complaint is filed and served, and a typical uncontested case takes a few months. A one-year separation case cannot be finished until the year has run. Contested cases involving property division or alimony take longer, often a year or more, because the court has to gather financial information and may hold hearings before a divorce master or judge.

The court charges a filing fee that varies by county. We explain our fee at the consultation.

What you will need

Even if you do not know where your spouse is located, we can help you get divorced. Contact us and we can help you gather this information:

• Date of marriage
• Date of separation
• A list of assets and debts, including real estate, vehicles, pensions, bank accounts and insurance policies

How our office helps

Attorney Burke personally works with you from the first consultation through the end of the case and represents you at every court appearance.

• Uncontested divorces. When you and your spouse agree, we prepare every document from the complaint through the decree. We represent one spouse; the other can sign as an unrepresented party or have their own lawyer review the papers.
• Contested divorces, including fault grounds, one-year separation cases, and cases where the spouse cannot be found.
• Property division: identifying and valuing marital property, retirement accounts and pensions, the marital home, businesses and debts, negotiating a marital settlement agreement, and litigating equitable distribution before a master or judge when there is no agreement.
• Spousal support, alimony pendente lite and alimony, on either side.
• Child support, through the Domestic Relations Section, including establishing, modifying and enforcing orders.
• Custody, which runs alongside the divorce. See our Custody page.
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, separation agreements, and annulments.
• Name changes after a divorce.
• Protection From Abuse orders when there is abuse in the marriage. See our Protection From Abuse page.

We serve Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango and Warren counties.

Common Questions

Do I need a reason to get divorced in Pennsylvania?
No. Pennsylvania allows no-fault divorce. If both spouses consent, the only requirement is that 90 days pass after the complaint is filed and served. If one spouse will not consent, a year of living separate and apart is enough.

How long does a divorce take?
The fastest case, where both spouses sign, cannot be final until 90 days after filing and service, and usually takes a few months in all. If your spouse will not agree, the divorce can be granted after one year of separation. Cases with disputes over property or alimony take longer.

My spouse refuses to sign. Can I still get divorced?
Yes. After you have lived separate and apart for one year, the court can grant the divorce without your spouse’s consent. Fault grounds are also available in some situations.

I have no idea where my spouse is. Can I still get divorced?
Yes. After a documented search, the court can allow the complaint to be served by publication, and the divorce can go forward. We have handled divorces this way.

Do we have to be separated before filing?
No. A mutual consent divorce can be filed while you are still living together. The one-year separation requirement only applies when one spouse will not consent.

How is our property divided?
Fairly, which is not always 50/50. Pennsylvania courts look at the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income, health and earning ability, who has the children, contributions including homemaking, and other factors. Fault for the breakup is not one of them. Most couples settle property division by agreement rather than by trial.

Is the house I owned before the marriage, or my inheritance, protected?
Property you owned before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances you received, are not marital property. But the increase in their value during the marriage is marital and can be divided, and mixing them with marital funds can change their character.

Will I get alimony, or have to pay it?
Alimony after divorce is awarded only when the court finds it necessary, based on factors such as each spouse’s earning capacity, the length of the marriage and the standard of living. It can be modified if circumstances change substantially and ends if the receiving spouse remarries. Support while the case is pending is more common and is based on income.

Who gets the children, and what about child support?
Custody and child support are separate cases from the divorce and can be started at any time. Custody is decided on the best interests of the children. Child support follows statewide guidelines based on both parents’ incomes.

Can I go back to my maiden name?
Yes. You file a written notice with the prothonotary in the county where the divorce was filed. It does not matter whether the decree has been entered yet.

Call for a consultation

Call 814-807-0972 or use the contact form. The consultation fee is $50.

This page is general information as of 2026, not legal advice about your situation.