Pennsylvania Divorce Law

The law office of Bennett & Associates is focused exclusively on assisting people considering divorce. We offer clients the option of negotiated divorce, mediation, the collaborative divorce process, or traditional courtroom litigation. On our Web site, we provide information on each of these options and on the other decisions you will need to make at this time.

Our experienced family law attorneys represent clients seeking knowledgeable legal guidance in Chester County, Delaware County and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Contact us to schedule a consultation.

What to expect in Pennsylvania Family Courts

This is a thumbnail sketch of the process your case will go through in Pennsylvania family law court. There may be minor variations from county to county and it's important to remember that judges and masters have discretion in how they apply the law and procedure. (Eliminating the discretion, expense and complexity of this process is one reason why some couples choose to use collaborative law in order to reach their own agreements outside of court.)

The length of your marriage and the issues to be decided will have a significant effect on how spousal support and property division is handled.

• Short term marriages: In short-term marriages of three years or less without children the Court generally seeks to restore the parties to where they were before the marriage. In longer marriages up to ten years, average case, division of property acquired during the marriage is 50/50 and alimony is ordered for only a short period of time, if at all.
• Divorce with children: The court always seeks to protect the children. The court may order more than 50% of the assets to the less wealthy custodial spouse. Child support, medical coverage, and alimony may be appropriate in these cases. Alimony is often awarded on the basis of one (1) year of spousal support for every three (3) years of marriage (depending on the length of the marriage and the age of the parties' children). Health, earning capacity and the possibility of inheritance are among the factors that will be considered by a divorce court judge.
• Divorce in long-term marriages: When couples seeking a marital dissolution late in life, the court tends to revert to a 50/50 split of assets and provide alimony, if needed, until retirement age (Health insurance is an important consideration in these cases, as is the division of pension interests.

Divorce Litigation

Litigation is a last resort for our firm. Litigation tends to produce the least satisfactory results and to be expensive and time consuming. If your Bennett & Associates divorce lawyer is taking your case to court, it's because the circumstances are such that we believe it is the only option for getting you a positive outcome.

We don't go to court unless we have to, and when we do, we're there to win. We play hardball. You can rest assured that we will be aggressive in protecting your interests.