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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 16-2104
Order Amending Rule 1920.72 of the Rules of Civil Procedure; No. 654 Civil Procedural Rules Doc.
And Now, this 18th day of November, 2016, upon the recommendation of the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee; the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3) in the interest of efficient administration:
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 1920.72 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure is amended in the following form.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective on December 5, 2016.
Rule 1920.72. Form of Complaint. Affidavit under § 3301(c) or § 3301(d) of the Divorce Code. Counter-affidavit. Waiver of Notice of Intention to Request Decree under § 3301(c) and § 3301(d).
(d) The affidavit required by § 3301(d) of the Divorce Code and [Rule] Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.42(a)(2) shall be substantially in the following form:
If you wish to deny any of the statements set forth in this affidavit, you must file a [counteraffidavit] counter-affidavit within [twenty] 20 days after this affidavit has been served on you or the statements will be admitted.
1. The parties to this action separated on [______ and have continued to live separate and apart for a period of at least two years] insert date .
[2.] 3. The marriage is irretrievably broken.
[3.] 4. I understand that I may lose rights concerning alimony, division of property, lawyer's fees or expenses if I do not claim them before a divorce is granted.
Date: _____ _________________
[Plaintiff/Defendant]
(e)(1) The counter-affidavit prescribed by [Rule 1920.42(d)(2)] Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.42(d)(2) for a divorce under § 3301(c) of the Divorce Code shall be substantially in the following form [in a § 3301(c) divorce]:
COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT UNDER § 3301(c)
(2) The counter-affidavit prescribed by [Rule] § 3301(d) of the Divorce Code and Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.42(d)(2) shall be substantially in the following form [in a § 3301(d) divorce]:
COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT UNDER § 3301(d)
[ ] (b) I oppose the entry of a divorce decree because [(Check (i), (ii), (iii) or all)]:
[ ] (i) The parties to this action have not lived separate and apart for [a period of at least two years] the required separation period: two years for parties that separated prior to December 5, 2016, and one year for parties that separated on or after December 5, 2016.
EXPLANATORY COMMENT—2016
Act 102 of 2016 (the Act) amended the Divorce Code by reducing the separation period required by § 3301(d) from two years to one year for parties separating after the Act's effective date: December 5, 2016. The Act provides that the one-year separation period is only applicable to married persons separating after the effective date of the Act. However, the current two-year separation period remains applicable to married persons that separated prior to the effective date of the Act. As such, the current forms could not be amended merely by substituting one-year for two-year on the affidavit and counter-affidavit in Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.72(d) and (e)(2), respectively. Instead, the current forms have been amended to delineate when the parties separated vis-à-vis the Act's effective date. Therefore, a party alleging a date of separation prior to December 5, 2016, should proceed under a two-year separation period. A party alleging a date of separation on or after December 5, 2016 should proceed under a one-year separation period.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 16-2104. Filed for public inspection December 9, 2016, 9:00 a.m.]