Court Opinion

ID: 9712626
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:57:30.181484+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:13.374792
License: Public Domain

Concurring Opinion by
Cercone, J.:
While I join in the majority opinion, I wish to note that I do not read that opinion to stand for the proposition that mere insolvency is sufficient to sustain a petition under Rule 1137. Formulated to comply with Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371 (1971), Rule 1137 should not be read so broadly as to include those persons who, by living less extravagantly, could readily reserve enough money to pay the costs of their divorces. The language quoted above from Boddie v. Connecticut implies that the costs of litigation need not be borne by the state when, by budgeting, the litigants might meet their own expenses. In the instant case there is no indication that appellant’s financial situation might significantly change in the foreseeable future, nor is there any indication that appellant could realistically alter her life style to save the money to pay the fees and costs. Similarly, there were no such indications in Gerlitzki v. Feldser, 226 Pa. Superior Ct. 142 (1973), upon which the majority opinion heavily relies.