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ckaym83 · Aug 3, 2009, 06:06 AM

I was wondering what is the time line in Pennsylvania when a husband leaves the home that I can change the locks. I was told there is an amount of time and that I could file abandonment charges against him?

s_cianci · Aug 3, 2009, 06:13 AM

You'd have to check local statutes to be sure ; maybe talk with a local attorney. Often, when it comes to issues of "abandonment" and the like, the standard is 180 days which is equivalent to 6 months or half a year. You may, in that time, have to demonstrate a "good faith attempt" to locate him before you can legally claim 'abandonment" (check with friends, relatives, former employers, etc.)

JudyKayTee · Aug 3, 2009, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by s_cianci

You'd have to check local statutes to be sure ; maybe talk with a local attorney. Often, when it comes to issues of "abandonment" and the like, the standard is 180 days which is equivalent to 6 months or half a year. You may, in that time, have to demonstrate a "good faith attempt" to locate him before you can legally claim 'abandonment" (check with friends, relatives, former employers, etc.)

I read Pennsylvania Law, the State Statute, not the local Statute, as "more than one year."

s_cianci · Aug 3, 2009, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

I read Pennsylvania Law, the State Statute, not the local Statute, as "more than one year."

Was it any more specific than that? If not, then the inference would be "one year."

JudyKayTee · Aug 3, 2009, 07:11 AM

Originally Posted by s_cianci

Was it any more specific than that? If not, then the inference would be "one year."

"Committed willful and malicious desertion, and absence from the habitation of the injured and innocent spouse, without a reasonable cause, for the period of one or more years."

Pennsylvania Grounds for Divorce — DivorceNet

There is no inference; that's the law.

cdad · Aug 3, 2009, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

"Committed willful and malicious desertion, and absence from the habitation of the injured and innocent spouse, without a reasonable cause, for the period of one or more years."

Pennsylvania Grounds for Divorce — DivorceNet

There is no inference; that's the law.

I again notice that the correct legal term is being used. People all to often use the word abandonment when its desertion plain and simple.
Good catch and nice link.