Thank you for your interest in the services of Attorney Kimberly D. Kovach. Attorney Kovach is a family law attorney that has been serving Southwestern Pennsylvania for over 14 years. Attorney Kovach has filed many divorces in many different counties and now has a system to help people file for a basic no-fault divorce with minimal stress and that is not very expensive.
You will not have to travel to her offices for a consultation nor will you have to travel to court. The process will be done by mail services, internet and over the phone. Before we go any further, there two absolute requirements you need to get started. They are:
1. To file a divorce in Pennsylvania, either you or your spouse (but not both) must have lived in Pennsylvania for at least the last six months or more.
AND
2. You must know where your spouse is presently residing, (or at least where he/she works) so that your spouse can be served with all the necessary papers. If you do not know where your spouse is, we cannot file a stress free, hassle free, simple uncontested no-fault divorce for you. You will need to contact Attorney Kovach or any other family law attorney for a consultation.
WHAT KIND OF DIVORCE CAN WE FILE FOR YOU?
WE CAN FILE A SIMPLE, UNCONTESTED NO-FAULT DIVORCE
The Grounds for the Divorce; No-Fault
A Divorce is a process to legally end a marriage. Sometimes a divorce will allege a reason or basis for the end of the marriage. With a no-fault divorce, no reason for the end of the marriage has to be given. The grounds for the divorce is “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage
In other words, the marriage is so broken that it could not be put back together again. Any specific personal problems between the spouses will remain a private matter between the spouses. The divorce decree will not say that one or the other spouse is at fault for the end of the marriage.
Consent
However because there is little or no discussion of the problems that occurred between the spouses, the consent by both parties to the divorce is required. Consent is very important in a no-fault divorce. That both spouses consent to the divorce shows that:
- He or she wants a divorce, and
- He or she is willing to waive a long and sometimes expensive fault divorce process.
Even so, you should know that under Pennsylvania Law, anyone can contest a divorce at any time and for any reason. You may file a no-fault divorce and your husband or wife may not consent to it. In that case, you will need to take additional legal action that exceeds the services described in this letter to you. You can contact Attorney Kovach directly in such a case for further information.
Length of Time: Two alternatives…
1. If you and your spouse are living together or have not been separated for at least two years…
After Attorney Kovach has proof that your spouse received his/her divorce complaint in the mail, you must wait 90 days (about 3 months) until the next set of documents are sent to you and your spouse. Processing and filing these documents takes about four weeks (or more depending on how fast your spouse sends the papers back to us). From there, it takes about 4 to 6 more weeks for the court to finalize the divorce and issue a divorce decree. From start to finish you are looking approximately 5 to 6 months. See our Rush Delivery Services below, which can help to reduce the length of time even more.
2. If you and your spouse have been separated for two years or longer…
You must wait twenty-one (21) days after we receive proof that your spouse received his/her copy of the divorce complaint, thus reducing the time you will have to wait for the divorce decree by several weeks. From start to finish, this process can take from approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Naturally any delay in receiving documents in the office, will delay the divorce. Of course, you can add our Rush Delivery Services (see below) to help the process along.
The Basic Process:
Once we have the Divorce Complaint drafted, Attorney Kovach will send it to you for your signature and approval. Then she will serve a copy of the divorce papers on your spouse by certified mail. Certified mail will require your spouse’s signature on a “green card”, proving that your spouse received the papers.
You must wait for ninety (90) days from the date of your spouse signs the green card (the date of service). On the ninety-first (91st) day, Attorney Kovach will send the second set of documents (Consent and Waiver Documents) that must be signed and turned to her. Your spouse will also have to sign and return his/her copy of the Consent and Waiver documents.
After we have received all the necessary papers, Attorney Kovach will ask the court to review your divorce file and to grant your Divorce Decree. It takes an average of four to six weeks after the ninety day period to get your Divorce Decree. Your final Divorce Decree will arrive to you in the mail.
Basic Fee
The legal fee to draft an Uncontested No-Fault Divorce is One Hundred Ninety Five ($195.00) Dollars. Does the $195.00 basic fee include the fee to file the Complaint at the Courthouse? YES. There are no hidden costs in the basic $195.00 fee. Attorney Kovach is able to keep her fee low, and pass the benefit on to you, because she files the uncontested divorce in a county that has a low filing fee and handles a large number of divorces throughout the state. She will file your divorce in this county and when the divorce is granted you will receive a valid legally binding divorce decree.
This fee will cover the following services:
1. The drafting and filing of a Simple Uncontested No-Fault Divorce Complain in a county in the State of Pennsylvania.
2. The drafting of the necessary Consents and Waivers for said Divorce as well as other legal documents required in connection with receiving an Uncontested final Divorce and Decree.
This fee will not cover the following services:
1. Kimberly D. Kovach, Esquire will not represent you under the 195Divorce.com program should your spouse decide to contest your Divorce action. In Pennsylvania, any Divorce can be contested, even for no reason.
2. If you start your case with Attorney Kovach and it turns out that your spouse will contest the Divorce, you MUST dismiss Attorney Kovach and hire other legal counsel or hire Attorney Kovach for a contested divorce at additional cost. Attorney Kovach WILL NOT refund to you, your fees paid for work that we have done. Additionally this agreement does not cover legal services in connection with the pursuit of alimony, division of marital property, removing a spouse’s name from a Deed, settlement agreements, matters of child custody or support, or the re-taking of a maiden name. These services require an additional fee. Click Here for more information.
“Service” of the Complaint In Divorce upon your spouse:
Your agreement with Attorney Kimberly D. Kovach does include that service of legal papers will be paid for by the firm to serve your spouse by Affidavit of Service only. Any other type of service will require an additional expense from you. You have informed Attorney Kovach of the location and whereabouts of your spouse so that she can appropriately serve him/her.