Q: I was married 5/20/17 in WA to a woman who was living at home and not employed. She contributed nothing to the marriage, although her mother assisted her with moving costs to Pittsburgh. I just started a surgical residency. On 9/5/17 she disappeared when I was at work and went back to WA with her mother, back to exact same situation she was prior to marriage. I attempted over next month to reconcile, and she has remained unreconcilable. She did not work during the 3 months she lived with me. I bought a house with no down payment, only in my name. My bank account is only in my name. I only have 6k in my checking. Is there a way to file for divorce where I would not have to give her anything – like sign a document where we each don’t owe the other anything? She would spend more fighting. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: There is more information needed to adequately respond and I suggest you consult with a Pittsburgh divorce attorney. Working in your favor is the short marriage (7 months) and not much in assets because you are both just starting out. This does not mean she cannot obtain an award of spousal support from you. She has the duty to work and if she doesn’t the court can impute wages to her at least at a minimum wage level. The short length of the marriage will bode well for you regarding alimony and division of property. However, if it is possible to get her to agree to a simple no-fault divorce, you can get out of this easily. You can offer to pay for it all and have your attorney send her all the paperwork to sign and return. A simple divorce like this is not expensive. Both of you would waive any claim to the other’s property and waive support and alimony. This is commonly done with couples in your situation.