Going through a divorce in Pennsylvania can be an emotional, stressful process. As such, most who are involved want to go through it as quickly as they possibly can and bring their marriage to an end so they can get on with their lives. But like most other states, there is a waiting period involved in a Pennsylvania divorce that you’ll have to go through.

Waiting periods in Pennsylvania divorce cases are currently 2 years for no-fault divorce. What this means is simply that couples who are married must be separated for a period of 2 years before they are allowed to finalize their divorce through the courts. Once that 2 year period is up, the divorce can move ahead and the couples can move on.

There is one exception here, however, and that is with ‘fault based’ divorce cases. No fault divorces are generally those where the couple feels that they need to split up through no specific fault of the other. However, in a ‘fault’ divorce case, one of the two in the marriage will have taken actions that directly led to the failure of the marriage. This can include things like:

• Crimes leading to imprisonment
• Bigamy
• Adultery
• Domestic violence

If one of these actions has occurred and a fault based divorce situation exists, it may be possible for an attorney to have the courts allow for a divorce to take place immediately, waving the divorce waiting period of two years entirely and letting people move on with their lives after being hurt by their spouse.

It’s also important to remember that a divorce can often be a complex process, and various factors such as child support, child custody, equitable distribution of property, and more can all slow down the proceedings. Couples who reach an agreement over these things outside of court can often speed up the process further.

A good attorney can also help you speed up your divorce as well. They could help you identify whether or not a no-fault or fault situation is at play, and at any rate can help negotiate with your spouse and start the process of moving your divorce towards finalization much faster. In short, those who want to get their divorce finished as quickly as possible will want to find a good attorney and start looking at their options more closely. Two years can seem like a long time, but it may be an inevitable waiting period for many.