Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Spousal Support

Feb 21

Comparing and Contrasting the Various Types of Alimony in Divorce

A Brief Explanation of the Different Types of Alimony

Although everything is rarely split right down the middle in a divorce, the process almost always breaks apart most, if not all, aspects of spouses’ lives. According to a 2013 U.S. Census Bureau publication, 93.4% of the 1.8 million Americans who provide alimony to their former romantic partners or spouses are men. Of the $18.3 billion given to ex-partners or ex-spouses as court-ordered financial support, the mean and median annual amounts were $5,154 and $9,958, respectively.

All Alimony Eventually Boils Down to This

No matter what type of alimony you’re ordered to pay, it’s still alimony. Alimony, like all elements of divorce, is highly situationally dependent. In other words, alimony payments won’t just depend on your income.

The purpose of alimony is to support your ex-spouse’s lifestyle following a divorce. As you’ll learn throughout this article, different types of alimony serve different purposes. All of them, however, force someone to make regular payments to his or her ex-spouse.

A Precursor — Understanding Divorce and Legal Separation

Before diving into these three types of alimony, it’s important to understand the differences between divorce and legal separation.

As you may know, courts use marriages to officially recognize partners as full-fledged spouses. Marriages create legal obligations and rights for spouses, including the choice to file income taxes as married filing jointly. The IRS actually encourages married couples to file jointly by offering them several tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

Similar to how courts legally recognize marriage, courts also formally recognize divorce as the immediate, permanent dissolution of marriage. Although alimony can be an upside or a downside, depending on which side you’re on, divorce comes with downsides, such as potentially having the responsibility to make financial support payments to your soon-to-be ex-spouse.

In terms of legal recognition, Pennsylvania courts don’t care whether you’re engaged to or dating someone. Conversely, splitting from your spouse without getting divorced does, in fact, hold legal weight in some states. This alternative to divorce is known as legal separation.

Pennsylvania, however, doesn’t have laws that recognize legal separation. The Quaker State allows spouses to create separation agreements that have many of the same functions as divorces without actually getting divorced.

Some of these functions include splitting property, creating co-parenting schedules, determining alimony payments, calculating child support obligations, and establishing who’s responsible for paying bills and outstanding debts.

Now that you understand the difference between legal separation and divorce, we can review the three different types of alimony recognized by the Keystone State: spousal support, alimony and alimony pendente lite.

Spousal Support

Unlike alimony or alimony pendente lite, spousal support is the only type of alimony that requires legal separation to be involved. Although courts want both spouses to support themselves, judges grant spousal support to dependent spouses to help them get on their feet.

Spousal support is available after you’ve formally filed a separation agreement and up until you or your spouse file for divorce. It doesn’t matter who files for divorce. As such, this form of financial support ends whether you or your spouse files for divorce.

Pennsylvania courts use a complex formula, which is found under 231 Pa. Code § 1910.16-4, to calculate the dollar amount of spousal support owed.

Alimony Pendente Lite

After spousal support eligibility ends, the dependent spouse can receive alimony pendente lite, which translates from Latin into English as “alimony pending litigation.”

This type of court-ordered financial support begins after a spouse has filed a divorce complaint and ends after the divorce is finalized.

Alimony pendente lite helps dependent spouses keep their proverbial heads above water throughout the divorce process. It also gives them the chance to properly defend themselves in court by hiring a divorce lawyer. Alimony pendente lite is calculated with the same formula that’s mentioned above. It’s just as long, and arguably too complex, for any non-attorney to understand.

Alimony

This is the alimony you probably had in mind before reading this article. In Pennsylvania, judges award alimony to dependent spouses to lighten the financial load of transitioning to pre-marriage life.

Although exceptions exist, alimony usually doesn’t break the better-off spouse’s bank. Judges strive to be reasonable when determining whether dependent spouses should receive ongoing financial support and, if so, what amount.

Lastly, there isn’t a time limit for alimony payments. Still, you shouldn’t expect to make monthly alimony payments indefinitely. Court-ordered spousal financial support usually won’t last more than a few years.

If you’re anticipating a divorce or legal separation, you can’t go wrong by contacting the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner of Jenkintown at (215) 886-1266. The firm’s sole practitioner, the well-tenured divorce lawyer, Joanne Kleiner, has more than 42 years of legal experience. You can also reach us by filling out our website’s contact form.

Jul 27

Has COVID-19 Impacted Child and Spousal Support Payments?

How Child and Spousal Support Are Affected By COVID-19

In March and April 2020, an estimated 30 million Americans lost their jobs as a result of COVID-related closures, lockdowns and quarantines issued by local and state governments. If your ex-spouse is among the millions who lost their jobs, they may have decided to stop sending their spousal or child support payments. However, the law doesn’t give them a break because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Income

Studies suggest that millions of Americans were laid off or furloughed over the past few months due to the coronavirus outbreak. Many of those who have kept their jobs have faced reduced work hours, irregular schedules or even pay cuts. This situation has led to many issues for divorced couples, especially those raising young children.

A decrease in income may cause your ex-spouse to go to court and fight for a lower rate of spousal or child support. If they are earning less money, the court may ultimately grant lower payments. Keep in mind that they can’t decide to do this on their own. A court order that modifies child or spousal support is required for a lawful decrease in your payments.

Ability to Remit Payments

Even if your ex-spouse has continued working during the COVID-19 pandemic, they may have some trouble remitting their payments. Many exes transfer money in person at a social services agency office. Unfortunately, many of these offices have closed or limited their hours due to lockdown measures. The payer may need to petition the court if a judge required them to make their payments in this manner. If your ex-spouse has flexibility in how they make the payment, there are other options. Banks, credit unions, post offices, and money services at grocery and big box stores continue to offer money order services. Cashier’s checks may also be possible.

Paycheck Debits

Some people have a court-mandated paycheck debit for their spousal or child support. If your ex-spouse lost their job, this directly impacts your payments. If you’ve stopped receiving the payments, reach out to your divorce lawyer to find out why. If your spouse qualifies for unemployment compensation, the debit can be done through the state office of unemployment compensation.

Ex-Spouse Gets COVID-19

With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in most areas of the United States as of July, it’s possible that your ex-spouse could end up getting infected with COVID-19. This could impact their ability to work. If you find out that your ex-spouse is ill, contact your attorney. You may need to request amended court orders for visitation and spousal or child support payments.

Ex-spouse Stops Paying

At worst, your ex-spouse may simply stop paying their support payments if they’re no longer receiving any income. Even during these extraordinary times, this is not within the law. Your ex-spouse is still required to pay you the amount due by the court-established deadline. If you stop receiving the payments you’re owed, contact your attorney for help.

Ask the Court to Intervene

If your ex-spouse decreases their child or spousal support payment or completely stops paying and blames it on the COVID-19 pandemic, seek legal counsel as soon as possible. The family courts are back in session, albeit often using remote hearings and other options to maintain social distancing. Your attorney may need to get the court to enforce the support order. Even if a judge eventually grants a support modification, this is typically not retroactive. Your spouse must continue to meet the current support obligations.

If you’re not receiving the spousal or child support that the Pennsylvania courts ordered your ex-spouse to pay, our divorce lawyer offers help. At the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner, we’re here to protect your rights and ensure that you receive the child and spousal support you need to pay for essential expenses. You don’t need any more stress during these challenging economic and social times. To schedule a consultation with our Jenkintown attorney, call us at (215) 886-1266 or visit our website.

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 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.