Anyone familiar with PA divorce laws?

[Patio]

Is PA a 50/50 state no matter what caused the divorce, or are there times when a judge could allow 1 spouse more than the other, say 60/40 whatever? Wife and kids live in home, husband out of home 2 1/2 yrs, divorced filed 13 mos. ago. Wife full time employee and DH unemployed living with girlfriend. Wife pays mortgage and all household related bills, DH pays nothing. Any help is appreciated!

 

[RadioNate]

Is PA a 50/50 state no matter what caused the divorce, or are there times when a judge could allow 1 spouse more than the other, say 60/40 whatever? Wife and kids live in home, husband out of home 2 1/2 yrs, divorced filed 13 mos. ago. Wife full time employee and DH unemployed living with girlfriend. Wife pays mortgage and all household related bills, DH pays nothing. Any help is appreciated!

PA allows for fault divorces however you can negotiate any settlement the parties agree to in a no fault divorce.

If someone plans on filing for a fault divorce be prepared for it to be very very expensive for everyone.

 

[Patio]

Thank you! It's a no fault where the parties can't seem to negotiate very well.

 

[ilovemk76]

Is PA a 50/50 state no matter what caused the divorce, or are there times when a judge could allow 1 spouse more than the other, say 60/40 whatever? Wife and kids live in home, husband out of home 2 1/2 yrs, divorced filed 13 mos. ago. Wife full time employee and DH unemployed living with girlfriend. Wife pays mortgage and all household related bills, DH pays nothing. Any help is appreciated!

50/50 is a joint property state.

PA is an equitable property state. This allows the judge to issue the adult who is not responsible more of the assets. If they can reach an agreement, the judge usually just signs the agreement. The women I know of in PA and other equitable property states either got 60/40 or 65/45, unless they were the cause of the divorce.

 

[BEloveDisney]

I'm in the middle of a divorce in PA. I was told that in PA, equitable does not mean equal, so things may not be 50/50. My current arrangement is so far from 50/50 it isn't even funny.

There are also situations that make it so that someone can't get spousal support, but aside from infidelity (this was not the case in our divorce) I can't remember what those situations are. I do not get spousal support or apl (like spousal support while things are being settled) because of an arrangement my almost ex-husband and I made. He pays half of the mortgage and my cell phone bill. That's all. He makes twice as much money as I do. Sigh.

 

[Patio]

Thank you for your replies. Anyone else that actually got more than 50% on here?

 

[EdiePA]

My settlement in Pennsylvania was not 50/50. I won't get into specifics, but I did receive more than 50% -- of course, part of that settlement was the house in a bad real estate market. Also, I specified that my ex would support DS#2 until college graduation (PA law is age 18 or high school graduation.) DS#1 was 18 at the time, so I received no support for him.

 

[manning]

50/50 is a joint property state.

PA is an equitable property state. This allows the judge to issue the adult who is not responsible more of the assets. If they can reach an agreement, the judge usually just signs the agreement. The women I know of in PA and other equitable property states either got 60/40 or 65/45, unless they were the cause of the divorce.

65/45? That's not fair.

 

[kaytieeldr]

65/45? That's not fair.

Never mind not fair - it's not possible

 

[Dan Murphy]

No help with answers, Patio, but did have to stop and say 'hello' to you. Have not seen you in ages. And it is always nice to see you, Patio.

 

[ilovemk76]

65/45? That's not fair.

65/35 sure is fair, if the 35 on caused the divorce and moved the family often so the 65 person could not establish a career. There are other reason too sometime the employed spouse gives up more assets rather than pay spousal support.

 

[MickeySP]

65/45? That's not fair.

65/35 sure is fair, if the 35 on caused the divorce and moved the family often so the 65 person could not establish a career. There are other reason too sometime the employed spouse gives up more assets rather than pay spousal support.

I believe they are referring to the fact 65/45 adds up to 110% unlike 65/35

 

[ilovemk76]

I believe they are referring to the fact 65/45 adds up to 110% unlike 65/35

If you are not smart enough to realize that was a typo then I feel sorry for you.

 

[DebbieB]

My brother recently got a divorce in PA after being separated for 7 years. He still lived in the house and paid the mortgage all those years. Both were broke and never bothered formalizing the divorce. He got a settlement on his pension fund recently and needed her signature so they put the wheels in motion for the divorce. He gave her $5,000 and she signed over the house (worth about $80,000 with at least 15 years to pay). They had 2 daughters, one lived with each so that was not an issue, both are over 18 now. He went to a lawyer to file the paperwork, it was a simple 90 day (I think) divorce.

 

[BEloveDisney]

Now that I think about it, when my parents got divorced, my mom got way more than 50%. She got the house, the car, the kids, the dog, child support until my brother turned 25 and I got married (I was 22), and still gets some money from my dad. The official divorce settlement did not include child support for that long or continued financial assistance from him.