Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Property Settlement
After a two year period has past in a contested divorce, can the divorce be granted without the property settlement being settled? How long can the marital property dispute go on? forever? Or will it automatically go to a judge to decide?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Property Settlement
Each county has slightly different procedures. You should be aware of those in effect in your county. Generally a divorce can be granted before the marital property is divided. This is called bifurcation. In some counties you'll need a court order for this; in others the party moving for the decree might only indicate that no disputes remain open. The property dispute will not resolve itself. It will get to a judge when one side or the other gets it before a judge. I don't know whether the Family Court of any counties automatically review and schedule property division proceedings. In general not. Usually it is a good idea to get the issues resolved as soon as you can.