All divorce actions begin with the filing of a divorce complaint with the Clerk of Courts-Civil Division, accompanied by the required fee. All required forms and papers are filed with the Clerk of Courts- Civil Division. The required forms for divorce actions, as well as the required time periods for filing such forms, are contained in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure

Within 30 days after the complaint is filed, it must be served upon the opposing party, or that party's attorney. A proof of service must be filed. The methods of proper service are also contained in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure.

A divorce can be based upon the following:

	(1)	Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage to which each of the parties agree (Section 3301 (c) of the Divorce Code)
	(2)	Upon irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and the parties have lived separate and apart for in excess of 2 years (Section 3301(d))
	(3)	Upon indignities (Section 3301(a))

A divorce complaint may contain additional claims such as division of property (Equitable Distribution), alimony, alimony pendente lite, counsel fees, costs and expenses. It may also contain a claim for custody if a separate complaint for custody has not been filed.

If the parties agree to the divorce and if there are no other contested or disputed issues, they can obtain a divorce by consent. It must be at least 90 days from the service of the complaint upon the opposing party before each of the parties can execute and file their respective Affidavit of Consent under Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code.

If the opposing party will not sign a consent, the divorce can be entered where the parties have been separated for more than 2 years and the marriage is irretrievably broken. In this case, one of the parties files and serves upon the other an Affidavit under Section 3301(d) of the Divorce Code and Counter-Affidavit under Section 3301(d) of the Divorce Code. If the opposing party files a counter-affidavit agreeing that the marriage is irretrievably broken but that other issues are in dispute, the matter would proceed to the Master in Divorce after the filing of a Motion for Appointment of Master. If the opposing party denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken, a determination of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage must be made by the Master in Divorce through a hearing. If the opposing party simply does not respond to the counter-affidavit after 20 days, the divorce can proceed.

Where affidavits of consent have been filed, the party seeking entry of the divorce must file and serve upon the other party a Notice of Intent to Request Entry of a Divorce Decree under Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code. A similar Notice of Intent to Request Entry of a Divorce Decree under Section 3301(d) of the Divorce Code would be filed if the action is on those grounds. If the opposing party takes no further action within 10 days after receiving the Notice of Intent, a Praecipe to Transmit Record is then filed and the entire Court file is sent to the Judge for review and signing of the divorce decree.

A divorce action filed on the grounds of indignities, as defined in Section 3301(a) of the Divorce Code, would have to be heard by the Master in Divorce who issues a recommendation to the Court on the entry of the divorce decree, and related issues, if any.

In all divorce actions where there are minor children of the parties, the Court requires that the complaint contain a notice that the parties must attend and complete the Co-Parent Education Program administered by the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County (COPE). A program schedule is available in the Clerk of Courts-Civil Division. Each party's certificate of completion of the program must be filed before the divorce decree can be entered. The Custody Hearing Officer can grant a waiver of the COPE requirement, if it is requested by the parties or their attorneys to do so, and if it is determined that a waiver is warranted under the circumstances. However, no divorce decree will be entered in any case unless the parties have attended COPE or have obtained a waiver from the Custody Hearing Officer.

Once the divorce decree has been signed and returned to the Clerk of Courts-Civil Division for filing, the Clerk of Courts sends a notice to the parties or their attorneys that the divorce decree has been entered. If either party wants a copy of the divorce decree, they must request it directly from the Clerk of Courts-Civil.

Other Master in Divorce Information