Rule Text
(a) The plaintiff may state in the complaint one or more grounds for divorce and may join in the alternative a cause of action for annulment.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the plaintiff may:
(1) join as separate counts in the complaint the ancillary claims that may be joined with an action of divorce or for annulment under the Divorce Code;
(2) amend the complaint to include the ancillary claims;
(3) file to the same term and number a separate supplemental complaint or complaints limited to the ancillary claims; or
(4) file to the same term and number a subsequent petition raising the ancillary claims.
(c) The court may order reasonable counsel fees and costs and expenses pending final disposition of any claim.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 1920.13 amended January 5, 2018, effective January 6, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 477; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3520; amended July 30, 2018, effective January 1, 2019, 48 Pa.B. 4960. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (392645).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When filing for divorce in Pennsylvania, you can include more than one reason for the divorce in your complaint. You can also ask for an annulment in the same filing as an alternative option if the divorce is not granted.
Along with the divorce or annulment request, you can include related claims like property division, alimony, or child support. You have several ways to do this. You can add these claims to your original complaint, update your complaint later to include them, or file separate paperwork that gets attached to the same case.
The court can also order one spouse to pay the other's lawyer fees and other costs while the case is still being decided.
Committee Notes
See Pa.R.C.P. No. 1930.1(b). This rule may require attorneys or unrepresented parties to file confidential documents and documents containing confidential information that are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.
See Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.31(a)(2) as to raising claims for child support, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite.
See Pa.R.C.P. No. 1910.26(b) for interim or special relief for support and alimony pendente lite actions proceeding through the domestic relations section.
