Post office Box

[Ja3317]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
I live in Pennsylvania. I am filing for divorce and my husband does not know where I live and I would like to keep it that way. If he finds out where I live he will just come over whenever he wants and spy on my and not think there is anything wrong with that. Is it possible to use a post office box instead of using my actual residential address? My attorney said she can't with hold my address unless I get a PFA. I don't have a reason to get a PFA,he's not threatening.
Any advice would be helpful

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
I live in Pennsylvania. I am filing for divorce and my husband does not know where I live and I would like to keep it that way. If he finds out where I live he will just come over whenever he wants and spy on my and not think there is anything wrong with that. Is it possible to use a post office box instead of using my actual residential address? My attorney said she can't with hold my address unless I get a PFA. I don't have a reason to get a PFA,he's not threatening.
Any advice would be helpful

Talk to your attorney about that. Do you and your husband have children?

 

[Ja3317]

Talk to your attorney about that. Do you and your husband have children?

No we don't have children. He sold the house & kept all the $$ from the sale of the house, he took all the $$ out if the joint checking acct... I don't want anything from him except for him to sign the papers. He is very irrational & I don't want him to know where I live.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
I live in Pennsylvania. I am filing for divorce and my husband does not know where I live and I would like to keep it that way. If he finds out where I live he will just come over whenever he wants and spy on my and not think there is anything wrong with that. Is it possible to use a post office box instead of using my actual residential address? My attorney said she can't with hold my address unless I get a PFA. I don't have a reason to get a PFA,he's not threatening.
Any advice would be helpful

That is a bit troublesome since PA Court Rule 1920.12 (a)(2) requires that the complaint give the residence of the plaintiff. Which seems obvious inasmuch as the plaintiff must be a 6 month domicile of the state in order to bestow jurisdiction.

But I fail to understand the reasoning of your attorney that a protection order - totally unrelated to the divorce action - would negate the need to allege that the court has jurisdiction over the marriage relationship.

Just a thought here, but since the Rule does not specifically require a street address, why couldn't it just be alleged that you are presently a bona fide resident of the state of Pennsylvania (county and city) and have been so for a continuous period in excess of 6 month. Then let the defendant raise the issue should he chose to do so. And if he does, and good cause is shown, the court might rule favorably to you.

I really believe that with no children involved and your fear of confrontation, the increasing incidences of domestic abuse, that an experienced divorce lawyer could get around the problem. So maybe you need to seek elsewhere for counseling.

Good luck

 

[single317dad]

But I fail to understand the reasoning of your attorney that a protection order - totally unrelated to the divorce action - would negate the need to allege that the court has jurisdiction over the marriage relationship.

Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act, as is the case in many state statutes, allows the victim to protect their address from the assailant during any legal proceedings.

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/231/chapter1900/chap1900toc.html

In my state, the Attorney General's office will provide the victim a secure mailing address for all case documents. All green-sheeted documents (containing victim's true address) are confidential and eyes only, and the victim's court documents are forwarded on to the victim or their attorney by the AG's office.

I'm not familiar with PA's exact procedure, but I imagine it is similar. OP's attorney is probably referring to the PFA.

 

[stealth2]

What abuse do you all see in OP's posts???

 

[latigo]

Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act, as is the case in many state statutes, allows the victim to protect their address from the assailant during any legal proceedings.

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/231/chapter1900/chap1900toc.html . . . .

Would you be kind enough to direct me to the particular Section or Sections of your referenced Chapter 1900 of the Pennsylvania Code entitled "Actions Pursuant to the Protection from Abuse Act" . . .

allowing the victim to protect their address during any legal proceeding

For some reason I have not been able to locate it.

Clearly the plaintiff/petitioner has the option of withholding that information as per the prescribed petition form. But I find nothing in either the temporary or permanent protection order (see forms) or anywhere else in the body of the statute extending that area of confidentiality to any other proceedings; neither during or subsequent thereto.

Also, you write that it is the same case in many states. Would you please cite an example?

Thanks

 

[single317dad]

Would you be kind enough to direct me to the particular Section or Sections of your referenced Chapter 1900 of the Pennsylvania Code entitled "Actions Pursuant to the Protection from Abuse Act" . . .

Good thing I added the qualifiers "victim" and "assailant"; that limits the scope of my statement quite a bit.

 

[latigo]

Good thing I added the qualifiers "victim" (?) and "assailant" (?) that limits the scope of my statement quite a bit.

The words "victim" and "assailant" do not appear in Pennsylvania's PFA Act. And to my knowledge neither does the wording contained in your first response. But if I've overlooked it, I would like to be corrected.

And if so, then retract my statement to the OP that I failed to see how a PFA proceeding in which the petitioner would be permitted to withhold her residential address could have collateral consequences in a subsequent divorce action.

Also, again please cite me the statutes of anyone of the "many states" in which you claim that the petitioner seeking protection under the state's domestic violence law is entitled to maintain his or her residential address confidential "during any legal proceeding".

 

[quincy]

... Also, again please cite me the statutes of any one of the "many states" in which you claim that the petitioner seeking protection under the state's domestic violence law is entitled to maintain his or her residential address confidential "during any legal proceeding".

Like stealth2, I do not see domestic violence being alleged by Ja3317. In fact, Ja3317 says in the original post that "I don't have a reason to get a PFA, he's not threatening."

That said, here is a link to information published by the Michigan Poverty Law Program (in conjunction with the Michigan Advocacy Program and the University of Michigan Law School) on Michigan's laws on confidentiality of information in court proceedings, to address at least one of the "many states" question. Not only do I think all states have similar laws to protect domestic violence survivors, there are also federal laws:
http://www.mplp.org/Resource/family1

The above, again, covers Michigan's laws and not those of Pennsylvania.