Faster Divorce in PA? House Bill 380 could save a year for some

Current Pennsylvania divorce law offers a two-year separation as grounds for divorce. This is known as no-fault divorce under Section §3301(d) of the Pennsylvania divorce code. It is typically used by couples who do not agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken. This allows the party that wants the divorce to proceed, after two years apart, without the consent of their spouse.

Spouses who agree can move much more quickly toward a divorce under Section §3301(c). After service of the Divorce Complaint, they need only wait 90 days before asking the Judge to sign a divorce decree.

Pennsylvania House Bill 380, which has passed the state House and was in July voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would shorten the length of time for a Section §3301(d) divorce from two years to one. The Pennsylvania Bar Association has argued strongly in favor of the change as a means to expeditiously resolve issues important to children by forcing the court to decide custody, support and asset division matters more quickly.

For spouses inclined to use the two-year period to manipulate and posture each other through the legal process, it would slap an exit door on sooner, forcing partners to move forward in their lives.

This may be well and good, but it is important to consider all aspects of the reduction to a one-year waiting period for divorce by separation. At least part of the impetus of the Bill is likely a desire to bring Pennsylvania’s divorce code in closer proximity to its neighbors. The PBA argues, for example, that the waiting period in Delaware, New Jersey and New York is six months. It is one year in Maryland, and there is no waiting period in West Virginia.

There is no question that shortening the waiting period to complete financial and custody issues can benefit children of divorce, who already bear an emotional burden not of their own making. Pennsylvania law, like most states, is clearly tilted toward the greatest benefit for the child in custody matters. It won’t take years of research to show that any child, caught in the middle, will thrive better in an environment where parental animosity and disagreements are resolved, at least to the point where a kid’s day-to-day life is not affected.

Divorcing partners also benefit from a quicker end to their angst, forcing their focus toward their future as a single person. I often see the power that a final divorce decree has on a spouse who was having trouble letting go of the anger as well as the grief of divorce. There is validation, resolution and closure with the document.

But it is possible that a shorter waiting period can more negatively affect the spouse who is weaker economically or educationally, or generally a more passive person. There was a reason why the Pennsylvania legislature, when it voted to change Pennsylvania to a no-fault divorce state in 1980, began with a three-year waiting period for Section 3301(d). (It was shortened to two years a decade later). Thirty-six years ago, it was still typically the female partner who made less money, had less education and/or needed more time for training and re-matriculation back into the working world.

Now, it may equally be a man or a woman suing for support and alimony. Shortening from two years to one year the period in which a spouse re-trains and prepares themselves to be a sole supporter might create an economic disadvantage that lingers decades past the divorce. For instance, Pennsylvania law currently addresses typical inequities in a divorcing couple with spousal support, negotiation of health and life insurance coverage for the weaker spouse, and maintaining possession of the marital home as part of equitable distribution.
Like all legislation, House Bill 380 seeks to find a balance that protects the weak, is fair to both parties and yet takes into account the current cultural climate. Now that women and men can be equally vulnerable in divorce, that may feel more like Solomon splitting the baby than Justice blindly finding the balance.

If House Bill 380 is passed by the Senate during the coming legislative year, it will go into effect 60 days after passage.