When you’re planning your future after a divorce in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, it’s crucial to have an accurate picture of your finances. Spousal support payments after a divorce, called alimony in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, help the spouse with fewer resources maintain their pre-divorce standard of living. Whether you’re the spouse receiving support or making payments, knowing the Pennsylvania or New Jersey rules for calculating spousal support gives you a better sense of your financial resources post-divorce. Let’s examine the rules for calculating alimony in these states.
How Alimony Is Calculated in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania courts calculate alimony payments using complex formulas that depend on the specific circumstances of the couple getting divorced. Some of the factors that state law specifies judges must consider to determine whether a spouse will receive support payments, how long they’ll last, and the payment amount include:
- Each spouse’s relative income and earning capacity
- Each spouse’s age and their mental, physical, and health
- Each spouse’s medical, retirement, insurance, or other benefits (if any)
- The length of the marriage
- Each spouse’s contributions to the other’s education, training, or increased earning potential
- How serving as the primary parent of any minor children will affect a spouse’s ability to earn a living
- Both spouse’s standard of living at the time of the divorce
- Each spouse’s education and how long it will take the spouse seeking spousal support to get the education or training necessary to find an appropriate job
- Each spouse’s assets and debts
- What property each spouse brought to the marriage (if any)
- Each spouse’s contributions, if any, to homemaking and raising any children from the marriage
Is Spousal Support Mandatory in Pennsylvania?
While either spouse can request spousal support in a Pennsylvania divorce, the courts do not have to award it. Judges will examine the specific facts of the case to see if spousal support payments are necessary for the recipient spouse to meet their needs. Furthermore, permanent spousal support is rare in Pennsylvania, and these payments automatically end if the recipient spouse remarries.
How Spousal Support Is Calculated in New Jersey
New Jersey law outlines a similar process for determining whether a spouse will receive spousal support payments, how much those payments will be, and how long the payments will last. The factors judges must consider in these cases are largely the same as in Pennsylvania. However, it’s worth noting that New Jersey law considers spousal support to be part of the divorce conversation and not just a secondary remedy as it is in Pennsylvania.
Is Spousal Support Mandatory in New Jersey?
The quick answer is “No”. Spousal support in New Jersey, like Pennsylvania, is not mandatory in every divorce case. Judges will examine the specific facts of each divorce case in order to determine whether or not an award of spousal support is appropriate and then it will analyze the alimony factors in determining the amount of the alimony award and the length of the alimony obligation.
Contact Our Pennsylvania and New Jersey Spousal Support Lawyers Now
Whether you need spousal support payments to meet your needs after a divorce or are worried about the potential drain of spousal support on your finances, our attorneys can uphold your rights under Pennsylvania or New Jersey law. Contact BKW Family Law for a confidential consultation.