myerstownherald.com

The complaint filed by reality TV star Kate Gosselin asking for divorce from husband Jon Gosselin says that Kate will file an affidavit at a hearing alleging that they “lived separate and apart for at least two years.”
However, this allegation does not mean that they were living in separate homes.
In Pennsylvania, “separate and apart” means that the couple did not act as married people would act. A party can show being “separate and apart” from a spouse by “cessation of cohabitation, whether living in the same residence or not.”
Basically, this phrase means that the marital relationship had broken down.
In a previous case, Frey v. Frey, which was in Pennsylvania Superior Court, a husband was able to show that he lived separate and apart from his wife because “they slept in separate beds, ate almost all their meals separately, and took vacations together only for the benefit of their daughter.”
The husband proved that he lived separate and apart from his wife even though they lived in the same home. After the husband proved that they lived separate and apart, he was able to obtain the separation date he specified.
“Separate and apart” is vague and can include sporadic contact that might occur between people who are married.
In addition to alleging that she and Jon lived separate and apart, Kate alleges that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.”
Pennsylvania law defines “irretrievably broken” as “estrangement due to marital difficulties with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.” Basically, the marriage has problems and the husband and wife cannot reconcile their differences.
After receiving the complaint, the court can grant the divorce if Jon does not deny the allegations that Kate has made, or if he does deny one or more the allegations, the court can determine that the parties have lived separate and apart for at least two years and that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
Additionally, Kate is asking for a divorce under the “mutual consent” section of the divorce code, which does not have the separate and apart requirement.
For mutual consent, the marriage must be irretrievably broken and both parties must file an affidavit that they consent to the divorce.
The reason that Kate is making these allegations about living separate and apart, and that the marriage is irretrievably broken in the divorce complaint is that she wants to obtain a no-fault divorce.
Ultimately, what “separate and apart” specifically entails in this case cannot be determined. If the parties agree to a divorce, Kate might not have to explain what she means.