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Home My WebLink About2008-1014AARON MATHIAS SHOWERS,: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. : CIVIL ACTION — LAW RENEE SUSAN SHOWERS, Defendant : NO. 08-1014 CIVIL TERM IN RE: DEFENDANT'S PETITION FOR BIFURCATION BEFORE OLER, J. OPINION and ORDER OF COURT OLER, J., June 2, 2011. This divorce action was commenced by the filing of a complaint, with a count for equitable distribution, in 2008.1 For disposition at this time is a petition for bifurcation filed by Defendant. A hearing on the petition was held on May 24, 2011. For the reasons stated in this opinion, the petition will be granted. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiffs complaint, filed on February 13, 2008, was based upon an alleged irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.' A count for equitable distribution was included in the complaint .4 A petition for alimony pendente lite and attorney's fees filed by Defendant was denied by the court on July 13, 2009.5 It was not until nearly two years later that either party further pursued a disposition of the case on the record, when the petition for bifurcation sub judice was filed by ' Complaint under Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code, filed February 13, 2008 (hereinafter Complaint) 2 Defendant's Petition for Bifurcation, filed April 8, 2011 3 Complaint ¶6. 4 Complaint, Count 2. 5 Order of Court, July 13, 2009. Defendant on April 8, 2011.6 Plaintiff filed an Answer and New Matter in opposition to the petition.' A hearing was held on the issue of bifurcation on May 24, 2011. STATEMENT OF FACTS Plaintiff, Aaron Mathias Showers, is an adult individual who presently resides in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Defendant, Renee Susan Showers, is an adult individual who presently resides in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Plaintiff and Defendant were married on August 28, 2005 and separated in 2006 or 2007. The parties have stipulated that they have been separated for at least two years and that the marriage is irretrievably broken for purposes of Section 3301(d) of the Divorce Code, and have indicated a willingness to execute affidavits of consent for purposes of Section 3301(c) of the Divorce Code. Defendant, who is 26 years old, is involved with another man whom she intends to marry, and wishes to begin a family. According to her testimony, which the court found credible, she suffers from a medical condition which "makes [any pregnancy she undertakes a] high risk pregnancy, [and] the longer [she] wait[s] the more complicated the pregnancy can be." The outstanding marital assets and debts in this case consist of a time-share in Williamsburg, Virginia, which has proven unmarketable, and debts of between $22,000.00 and $32,000.00. It is apparent that an equitable distribution of marital property will basically consist of a division of debt. Plaintiff's objection to bifurcation arises out of his concern that it would eliminate an incentive for Defendant to assume responsibility for her fair share of the debt. DISCUSSION Statement of law. The Divorce Code authorizes the severance of divorce claims from economic claims. 23 Pa. C.S. § 3323; Bonawits v. Bonawits, 2006 PA Super 238, ¶5, 907 A.2d 611, 614. Section 3323 of the Divorce Code, provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 6 Defendant's Petition for Bifurcation, filed April 8, 2011. 7 Plaintiff's Answer to Defendant's Petition for Bifurcation and New Matter, filed May 10, 2011. 2 §3323. Decree of court (c.1) Bifurcation.-- ... In the absence of the consent of both parties, the court may enter a decree of divorce or annulment prior to the final determination and disposition of [other claims] if: (1) grounds have been established as provided in subsection (g); and (2) the moving party has demonstrated that: (i) compelling circumstances exist for the entry of the decree of divorce or annulment; and (ii) sufficient economic protections have been provided for the other party during the pendency of the disposition of the [other claims] . (g) Grounds established.—For purposes of subsection[] (c.1), grounds are established as follows:.. . (2) In the case of an action for divorce under Section 3301(c), both parties have filed affidavits of consent. (3) In the case of an action for divorce under section 3301(d), an affidavit has been filed and no counter -affidavit has been filed or, if a counter -affidavit has been filed denying the affidavit's averments, the court determines that the marriage is irretrievably broken and the parties have lived separate and apart for at least two years at the time of the filing of the affidavit. Application of law to facts. In the present case, where (a) the parties have lived separate and apart since at least 2007 and (b) Defendant is 26 years old, wishes to remarry and begin a family with a man she has been seeing, and suffers from a medical condition which puts her at increasing risk for complications as time passes with respect to pregnancy, the court is of the view that she has proven that compelling circumstances exist for entry of a divorce decree at this time. Given that the marital estate consists largely of debt, which can be relegated for division to a divorce master's proceeding at no inconvenience or prejudice to the parties, the court is also of the view that a bifurcation in this case will not leave Plaintiff unprotected in a financial sense. The parties having stipulated that grounds for a no-fault divorce exist, the following order will therefore be entered: 3 ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 2nd day of June, 2011, upon consideration of Defendant's Petition for Bifurcation, following a hearing held on May 24, 2011, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the petition is granted and a praecipe to transmit the record for entry of a divorce decree may be submitted by either party. PENDING further order of court, neither party shall transfer, encumber, or otherwise depreciate the value of any marital property. Susan Kay Candiello, Esq. 4010 Glenfinnan Place Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Attorney for Plaintiff Karl E. Rominger, Esq. 155 South Hanover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Attorney for Defendant 11 BY THE COURT, s/ J. Wesley Oler, Jr. J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J. AARON MATHIAS SHOWERS,: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiff : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA V. : CIVIL ACTION — LAW RENEE SUSAN SHOWERS, Defendant : NO. 08-1014 CIVIL TERM IN RE: DEFENDANT'S PETITION FOR BIFURCATION BEFORE OLER, J. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 2nd day of June, 2011, upon consideration of Defendant's Petition for Bifurcation, following a hearing held on May 24, 2011, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the petition is granted and a praecipe to transmit the record for entry of a divorce decree may be submitted by either party. PENDING further order of court, neither party shall transfer, encumber, or otherwise depreciate the value of any marital property. BY THE COURT, J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J. Susan Kay Candiello, Esq. 4010 Glenfinnan Place Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Attorney for Plaintiff Karl E. Rominger, Esq. 155 South Hanover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Attorney for Defendant