New Divorce Forms

On October 1, 2019, an order amending Chapter 1920 (Actions of Divorce or For Annulment of Marriage) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect.  As part of this amendment, several new forms related to divorce were created and others changed.

If you are a self represented litigant and want access to the forms related to divorce, including the new forms, check out the Divorce Proceedings page of The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania's website. Please note, though, that these forms are designed only for simple no-fault divorces. 

The Unified Judicial System's webpage recommends that you read the instructions in Divorce Procedure in Pennsylvania before beginning a divorce action. They note that several forms have been updated and parts of this document are out of date. They suggest reading it carefully and checking back to their site for an updated document soon.

The new rule changes affect the instructions in several ways.  Two of the most important are:

The new amendments create new forms and procedures for handling a 3301(c)(2) divorce -- presumption of consent in divorce cases where a party is the victim of a personal injury crime (as defined in 23 Pa.C.S. § 3103) committed by that party’s spouse.  

Another important change affects the service of the Affidavit under 3301(d) and the related Counter Affidavit. These should now be served in a way that is consistent with original process (see Step 2, Service of the Complaint in Divorce Procedure in Pennsylvania for more information about how to serve consistent with original process).

More complicated divorces, such as a request to divide property, receive alimony, receive payment of lawyer's fees and expenses, or if your spouse is in the military will require additional forms that are not included  on The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania's website.  It is also recommended that you hire a lawyer in these situations.