Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Archives for August 2017

Aug 30

The Impact of Cohabitation on Alimony in Pennsylvania

Adult couple talk and drink wine in the kitchen.

Though alimony, or spousal support, is far less common than it was a quarter of a century ago, there are still many circumstances where the court will order temporary, or even permanent, payment of support from one spouse to another. Typically, however, the alimony order contains a stipulation that terminates the obligation to pay alimony if the recipient remarries. The provision can also apply if the beneficiary is found to be cohabitating with another person in an intimate relationship.

It’s important to understand, though, that it’s not necessary to have such a provision in a divorce decree for the law to be applied. In fact, Pennsylvania law is clear that, when a person enters into cohabitation with a person of the opposite sex who is not a family member, an alimony order can be terminated. The law does not specify a length of time for the cohabitation to render a spousal support order invalid. Instead, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that cohabitation will be decided on a case-by-case basis, looking at all evidence of “financial, social and sexual interdependence.”

Alimony is a discretionary award in Pennsylvania, with the court looking at a variety of factors, including age and health of the parties, income potential, standard of living, and relative needs of the parties, all in an effort to bring about a result that is fair. When one spouse, typically the lower earning spouse, must try to survive on her or his own, the courts are more inclined to see it as fair to expect the other party to defray some of those expenses. However, if the party receiving alimony chooses to cohabitate with another person, it can be assumed that there will be additional income and the spousal support is no longer necessary or fair.

Contact Us

At the office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, we have more than 25 years of family law experience. We’ll help you stay focused on what matters. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Aug 17

Study Shows Impact of Silent Divorce

Study Shows Impact of Silent DivorceMental health professionals have long expressed concerns about the lifelong impact of contested divorce on children. Now there’s some scientific evidence to suggest that the unwillingness of parents of divorce to work cooperatively can have long-term physiological consequences as well.

A study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University has found a greater incidence of health vulnerabilities in adults whose parents separated or divorced and did not maintain communications during their childhoods. Researchers found children of uncommunicative parents to be three times as likely to catch a cold when intentionally exposed to a common cold virus.

In the study, more than 200 healthy adults were quarantined and exposed to a common cold virus. Researchers monitored them for five days to determine whether they developed any signs of respiratory illness. Test subjects whose parents lived separately and did not have any communication showed a heightened inflammation in response to the virus and were three times as likely to show symptoms of a cold. Researchers also found that children of divorce whose parents stayed in communication showed no meaningful change in susceptibility to health problems.

Researchers were looking to see if there were long-term health consequences for children of divorce. Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon, said that the results of the study suggest that there are long effects of early exposure to family conflict. Michael Murphy, a postdoctoral research associate involved in the study, noted that the results support the assertion that early life stressful experiences can have a physiological consequence that can stay with us for decades.

Contact the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates

For an appointment, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266. Let us use our experience, skill, knowledge and resources to help you make informed and effective decisions.

Aug 08

Spousal Support in Pennsylvania

Spousal Support in PennsylvaniaSpousal support, or alimony, though not as common as it used to be, is still available to a spouse in a divorce proceeding in Pennsylvania. The objective, with a grant of alimony, is to provide a person with the financial resources to meet their day-to-day expenses while they take the steps necessary to become self-sufficient. The court may, in certain circumstances, determine that the recipient, either because of age or health considerations, will never be able to take care of his or her own needs. In those limited circumstances, the court may award permanent spousal support. In all other situations, alimony is generally granted only when it is determined to be necessary. It may be awarded for a specific period of time or until it can be demonstrated that the recipient is self-sufficient.

In Pennsylvania, an award of alimony is entirely at the discretion of the court. When determining whether spousal support is warranted and, if so, how much should be paid and for how long, the court can take a number of factors into consideration, including:

  • The age and health of both parties
  • The respective income of each party
  • The earning potential of both parties
  • The length of the marriage
  • The standard of living to which the parties were accustomed
  • The contributions of a spouse as homemaker
  • The extent to which one party contributed to the earning power of the other
  • The educational background of both parties and the time needed to prepare the recipient to be self-sufficient
  • The extent to which either of the parties engaged in adultery or other marital misconduct

Contact Us

At the office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, we have more than 25 years of family law experience. We’ll help you stay focused on what matters. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.