Divorce Lawyers in Southwestern Pennsylvania

There are two ways to end a marriage in PA: annulment and divorce.  For information other than that set forth below, please contact Pittsburgh divorce lawyer and Pennsylvania family law attorney, Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.

Annulments

If you are in need of a divorce attorney, our lawyers at Notaro & Associates, P.C., in Southwestern Pennsylvania, can help. We are located in Pittsburgh and our divorce lawyers represent clients throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania including Allegheny, Westmoreland, Armstrong, Lawrence, and Butler counties  

Two types of marriages can be ended by annulments- those that are “void” and those that are “voidable”. A void marriage is treated somewhat as if the marriage never existed. Your attorney or lawyer can base an annulment on three general types of void marriages:

• A marriage where one or both of the spouses have insanity or serious mental illness;
  
  
• A bigamous marriage;
  
  
• An incestuous marriage.

Voidable marriages can only be annulled by pleading filed by your attorney or lawyer when a spouse successfully “attacks” it. The following are situations where a spouse may “attack” a voidable marriage:

• A spouse is under age.
  
  
• A spouse is intoxicated upon the marriage.
  
  
• Duress existed.
  
  
• Fraud existed.
  
  
• There is a lack of some physical capacity. For example, a spouse has an incurable physical or psychological inability to have normal sexual intercourse.

If you would like more information on proceeding with a divorce or an annulment, please contact Pittsburgh divorce lawyer and Pennsylvania family law attorney, Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.

Divorces

Divorce Lawyers and Family Law Attorneys base their pleadings on to general types of divorces in Pennsylvania: Fault Divorces and no-fault divorce.

The following are all grounds for a fault based divorce, of which your lawyer or attorney may include in a pleading:

• Divorce based on Imprisonment for 2 or more years
  
  
• Divorce based on Bigamy
  
  
• Divorce based on Indignities, or a course of conduct that makes a spouse’s life burdensome or conditions intolerable
  
  
• Divorce based on Adultery, or voluntary sex with a non-spouse
  
  
• Divorce based on Cruel & Barbarous Treatment, or physical abuse
  
  
• Divorce based on Desertion, or willful and malicious absence from home without justification for a year or longer
  
  
• Divorce based on Insanity, or a situation where a spouse is institutionalized

Sometimes, even though a spouse is at fault, he or she may have “defenses” to the behavior. Common defenses to a Fault Based divorce are Provocation, Condonation or Insanity.  A skilled lawyer or attorney can advise you on defenses to fault based divorces.

If you think you may be proceeding with a fault based divorce, please contact PA divorce attorney and Pittsburgh Divorce lawyer, Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire for assistance.

Filing for divorce in PA

The “standard” for a no-fault divorce is a divorce where the Marriage is “irretrievably broken”. Where both parties agree that they want a divorce, and both parties consent to a divorce, the parties may sign an affidavit, wait 90 days, and assuming the paperwork is in order, a divorce may be granted.  In such a a case, your attorney or lawyer may file a one count, no fault, uncontested divorce.

A party or his/her attorney or lawyer can also request a decree in divorce (No-Fault) where the party (or his/her attorney or lawyer) alleges in the divorce that the marriage is “irretrievably broken”, and the parties are separated and apart for at least two years preceding the divorce.

To proceed with a divorce in Pennsylvania, a spouse must reside in PA for at least 6 months before the divorce. The court of common pleas in the county where one or the other of the parties resides will generally have jurisdiction of the divorce case.  The party’s attorney or lawyer may then file in that county.

For a free initial consultation regarding more information about proceeding with a divorce in Pennsylvania, please contact Allegheny County divorce lawyer and Pittsburgh Divorce Attorney Bethany L. Notaro, Esquire.

Notaro & Associates, P.C.
1220 Grant Building
310 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Phone: (412) 281-1988
Facsimile: (412) 391-0668
http://www.palegalservices.com/