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?

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.)

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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.)

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

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

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

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

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Originally Posted by s_cianci

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

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"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.

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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.

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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.