Divorce proceeds as usual — even after death

[AngryAmish]

'PITTSBURGH - Dr. John Yelenic and his wife, Michele, separated in 2002, agreed to get a divorce, and had even hammered out a property settlement.

But when the Blairsville, Pa., dentist was murdered April 13, the day before he was to sign his divorce papers, it set the stage for what attorneys say is a first-of-its-kind request in Pennsylvania: a divorce decree after death.

The dentist’s divorce attorney, Effie Alexander, says simply that Yelenic would haid. “You know how people say after someone is dead, ‘If there was one thing I could do for him now’? Well, this is really a personal thing for me and my law firm.” '

Should divorce be allowed after death?

[KyndCulture]

1. That's ridiculous

and a total waste of taxpayer money for the courts.

And really which one is more permanent.. sheesh

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Is it some sort of spiteful thing against the wife?

[AngryAmish]

7. Read between the lines

I bet everyone thinks the wife had him killed.

[dogday]

3. Death is kind of like a divorce

except without all the legal filings.. After Death, probate kicks in and everyone can argue who gets the money....

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. "haid" ?? I hate it when they don't proofread!

acckkkk!

anyway... it looks like the other party is fine with it, so I don't see a problem with finalizing the divorce.

Course if she did have a problem with it, I would add her to the subject list for the murder...

[rocktivity]

5. A friend of mine and her long-separated ex HAD signed the papers

and were waiting for the judge to sign them and mail them back. He OD'd, and as the legal next of kin, she got stuck with his final expenses and debts. However, you CAN'T divorce someone who's dead. Is the lawyer just trying to get paid? And has the spouse been eliminated as a murder suspect? If she didn't do it herself, she could have arranged it.

:headbang:
rocknation

[rug]

6. It's about the property distribution not the divorce.

[Hepburn]

9. And there is a HUGE difference there.

If a party is deceased PRIOR to the termination of the marital status, there is nothing for the court to dissolve ~~ so, no, the divorce action goes away. However, in a bifurcated matter, where status has been terminated, all that remains are property issues. In CA, the personal representative of the decedent/decedent's estate can be substituted into the dissolution matter for the purpose of dividing the property, etc.

Seems reasonable to me.

[FreakinDJ]

8. How greedy can she get