Unfortunately, sometimes marriages end in divorce. This process can bring a host of legal and financial issues during an already difficult time. Understanding what the divorce laws and standards are in your state are can give you a leg up on planning, though. If you live in Pennsylvania, you’ll need to know about divorce-related items like child support, retirement plan division and more.
Are you in the midst of a divorce or are about to file for one? Consider consulting a financial advisor.
How to File for Divorce in Pennsylvania
Eligibility
To file for divorce in Pennsylvania, at least one spouse must have lived in the state for at least six months before filing. The divorce must be filed in the county where either spouse currently resides.
Grounds for Divorce in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has both no-fault divorces and fault divorces. In a no-fault divorce, both parties agree to get divorced simply because the marriage has fallen apart. In a fault divorce, one spouse alleges that the other spouse is to blame and is the reason for the divorce.
All of the following must be true for a no-fault consent divorce in Pennsylvania:
- The marriage is irretrievably broken
- All financial matters are resolved between spouses
- All parties fully agree to the divorce
If the above is true, the filing spouse must serve the non-filing spouse and wait 90 days. After at least that amount of time has passed, the court will receive the paperwork, grant a divorce decree and have a judge sign off on it without any proceeding needed.
For a no-fault separation divorce in Pennsylvania, the same requirements above apply, minus the third bullet about all parties agreeing to the divorce. In this situation, the parties instead only need to have been living separately for at least a year.
Comparatively, grounds for a fault divorce include:
- Desertion, with absence from the home of the other spouse without reason, for at least one year
- Adultery
- Cruel treatment or the endangerment of the life or health of the other spouse
- Bigamy
- Other indignities that make the life of the other spouse intolerable
When other indignities constitute the grounds for a fault divorce, either spouse can request that the court require up to three counseling sessions.
Process to Divorce
If both spouses agree that they want a divorce, they can file a complaint and then simply wait 90 days to finalize their divorce. Both spouses must write a statement saying that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Then, they can proceed with a no-fault divorce. If the two parties have lived apart for two years, it’s only necessary for one spouse to go through that process.
In a fault divorce, one spouse, who becomes the plaintiff, must file a complaint in the Court of Common Pleas against the other spouse, who becomes the defendant. Once the paperwork is final, the couple will go to trial and present their cases before the court. The court will make decisions about matters like assets, child custody and alimony.
How to Split Up Assets During a Divorce in Pennsylvania
Any property that the couple acquired during the marriage is considered marital property for the purpose of a divorce. All marital property is subject to division by the court during the divorce process.
There are exceptions to what counts as marital property. The court does not consider the following items marital property:
- Any property acquired before the marriage
- Any property excluded by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement
- Gifts (except between spouses)
- Inheritance
- Property acquired between the final separation and the finalization of the divorce
- Property that one of the two parties sold or disposed of in good faith before the date of final separation
- Veterans’ benefits exempt from levy or seizure
How to Divide Property in Pennsylvania After Divorce
In a Pennsylvania divorce, the court divides marital property on an equitable basis. However, this does not necessarily mean that the court will evenly split property between the two spouses. Rather, the judge presiding over the case will split up the property in a way that he or she deems fair.
The judge may consider the following factors when dividing property in a divorce in Pennsylvania:
- Length of the marriage
- Prior marriages of either spouse
- Age and health of each spouse
- Income, skills and employability of each spouse
- Contributions of one spouse to the other’s education
- Future earning capability of each spouse
- Income of both parties, including medical insurance and retirement benefits
- Contribution of each spouse to the marriage, including income and homemaking
- Standard of living established during the marriage
- Economic circumstances of both parties
- Tax ramifications
How to Manage Child Support and Alimony Under Pennsylvania Divorce Laws
In Pennsylvania, the judge can order child support. There are guidelines for determining how much the non-custodial parent will pay in child support, but it is not a strict formula. The court will weigh any number of factors to determine the amount of the payments, including:
- Each spouse’s income
- Number of nights children spend with both parents
- Ages of children
- Unusual financial needs of each spouse
- Other support obligations of either party
- Non-marital assets of each spouse
- Extraordinary medical costs of any child
- Standard of living for the child during the marriage
- Any other factors, including the best interest of the child
Note that child support only covers the basic needs of a child. There are also so-called extraordinary expenses that you must negotiate separately. These include things like childcare costs, private school tuition, summer camp fees and the cost of SAT prep classes.
The court may also order alimony, also called spousal support. The judge will consider the following factors when determining whether to award spousal support:
- Earnings and earning capacity of each spouse
- Age and health of each spouse
- Income sources, including insurance
- Expected inheritances
- Length of the marriage
- Contributions of one spouse to the other’s education
- Impact of childcare duties on either spouse’s earnings
- Education level of each spouse
- Assets and liabilities
- Property brought to the marriage by each spouse
- Contributions of each spouse as a homemaker
- Needs of each party
- Marital misconduct during the marriage (this does not include behavior since the separation, except in cases of abuse)
- Tax ramifications
- Capability of the requesting spouse to support oneself
Remember that you’ll need to take both alimony and child support into account when filing taxes after divorce.
401(k)s, IRAs and Other Retirement Accounts in a Pennsylvania Divorce
Your divorce will likely impact your retirement savings. The court considers any money put into or earned from a retirement or pension plan during the marriage as a marital asset.
Let’s say you have a 401(k) plan. Any money that you put into the account before you got married is considered a separate asset and is not subject to division during a divorce. Any money that you put into your account during the marriage, though, is a marital asset. Thus, the judge can divide it as he or she sees fit. The same factors that the court uses to determine how to divide other marital property will apply to the division of retirement plans during divorce.
After the division is finalized by the court, it’s necessary to submit a Qualified Domestic Relations Order to the plan administrator. This explains how you’ll divide the assets within the plan after the divorce.
Divorce and Estate Planning in Pennsylvania
You may have written a will or drawn up an estate plan while you were married. But with your divorce, circumstances have likely changed. Your estate plan should as well. Some parts of your will automatically change when you get a divorce.
If you’ve given your spouse power of attorney, health care power of attorney or an advanced medical directive, the court automatically declares these directives void. You’ll need to appoint someone else to assume those responsibilities. Similarly, any provisions in your will leaving assets to a spouse can also become ineffective, depending on the grounds for divorce. Alternate fiduciaries are not automatically changed though. So if you’ve named someone related to your ex-spouse, you may want to change that as well.
Now is also a good time to reconsider your plan for who will take care of your kids if something were to happen to you and your ex-spouse. Although you likely made a plan when you were married, circumstances have changed. You and your spouse should come to a new agreement if either of you feels differently now that you’re getting divorced.
General Financial Tips to Get Through a Divorce
Divorce affects more than just your legal status—it can have a lasting impact on your financial stability, credit and long-term planning. Therefore, managing these changes requires careful financial adjustments and planning.
One of the first steps is creating a post-divorce budget. Income, expenses and new financial obligations should be reassessed to reflect the changes in financial responsibilities. Housing costs, child support, legal fees and day-to-day expenses should be accounted for to maintain financial stability. Adjusting spending habits may be necessary to align with your new reality.
Protecting credit is also important during and after a divorce. Joint credit accounts should be closed and names should be removed from shared debts to prevent future financial liabilities. Monitoring credit reports for unexpected changes can help detect any issues early. If needed, establishing new credit in your name can provide financial independence.
Tax implications are another consideration. Filing status changes—such as shifting from “married” to “single” or “head of household”—may impact tax rates. Alimony payments may or may not be tax-deductible depending on when the divorce was finalized, and selling a marital home could trigger capital gains taxes.
Financial accounts should also be updated after a divorce. Removing an ex-spouse as a beneficiary on retirement accounts, life insurance policies and bank accounts is important to allocate assets properly. Retitling assets that have been legally divided helps maintain clear ownership. And, if you were married for at least 10 years, you may also want to check Social Security benefits, as you could be eligible for spousal benefits based on your former spouse’s work record.
Finally, don’t overlook your retirement planning. The division of assets may significantly affect 401(k)s, IRAs and pensions, making it essential to review the impact on long-term savings. A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is required for the division of certain retirement accounts to ensure that funds get transferred correctly. Adjusting investment strategies and savings goals may be necessary to stay on track for retirement.
Bottom Line
Pennsylvania has both no-fault and fault divorces. The type of divorce you seek will depend on your reason for getting it. It could impact the judge’s decisions as he or she decides matters like alimony. The court considers all property acquired during the marriage as marital property, and the judge will divide it during the divorce. Division of property is not necessarily even. The judge will divide marital property in a way that he or she determines is fair, taking into factors like income and education levels.
Divorce Planning Tips
- When going through a divorce, you might want to work with a financial advisor to stay on top of your finances. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- When looking for a financial advisor, note the certifications an advisor has earned. For a client going through a divorce, an advisor who is a certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) might be a good choice.
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