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“You never realize how short a month is until you pay alimony.” — John Barrymore
One of the more common misconceptions about Pennsylvania divorce law has to do with alimony. Throughout my career, clients have asked me, “Is there alimony in Pennsylvania?” Happily for some and sadly for others the answer is yes, there is alimony in Pennsylvania.
Unlike spousal support and alimony pendente lite (courtspeak for temporary alimony, and often abbreviated as “APL”), which are usually calculated according to a guideline formula, alimony is much more dependent on the discretion of the court unless the divorcing spouses are able to reach an agreement.
The economic reality of marriage.
Unless the married couple has signed a prenuptial agreement that says neither spouse will be entitled to alimony, it is important to realize that the act of getting married does not just bind you and your spouse to each other, but also to the terms of the Pennsylvania Divorce Code. Marriage, under the Pennsylvania domestic relations law, is an act of becoming economically interdependent. Creating a marital union in Pennsylvania means that economically as well as personally, a “you” and a “me” become an “us.” One spouse often becomes economically dependent on the other during the course of a marriage, and Pennsylvania law offers economic protection to that spouse in the event of a separation. One spouse might be dependent on the other from staying home to raise the children or otherwise performing domestic services as a homemaker. Also, a spouse can become disabled, can be laid off and unable to find new employment at the same pay, or might simply be in a career that offers less income potential. An economically-dependent spouse may have sacrificed opportunities for job seniority or additional training, or may have worked to put the other spouse through school. Pennsylvania domestic relations law recognizes the reality of this, and the mission of the court is to do economic justice when a married couple separates and divorces. Alimony is one of the tools available to the judge assigned to the divorce case.
Seventeen factors to consider for an award of alimony in Pennsylvania.
There is no set formula to calculate the amount of alimony in Pennsylvania, the way spousal support or APL is calculated. Instead, there are — literally — seventeen factors that a judge is expected to take into account when deciding whether there will be alimony and (if so) how much, for how long. These factors include how long the marriage lasted until the date of final separation, what each spouse is capable of earning, whose ability to earn might be affected by taking care of the children, and each spouse’s relative health. It is easy to see that this gives a judge a very wide discretion. The good news about this is that the court has the power to create an alimony award that fits the actual needs and circumstances of both spouses. The bad news is that it is correspondingly hard to challenge alimony through appeal, because if the Superior Court decides that the judge was operating within his or her discretion, and that there is evidence enough to support the award, the alimony order will stand.
Does adultery prevent an award of alimony in Pennsylvania?
Marital misconduct — adultery, brutality, abandonment, etc. — is indeed one of the seventeen factors a court must consider before making an award of alimony to an economically-dependent spouse. However, it is only one of the seventeen, and you can expect the court to weigh a claim of adultery or another form of marital misconduct (as well as your spouse’s defenses) as part of the whole situation rather than viewing it exclusively in its own light. Also, divorce law in Pennsylvania specifically excludes marital misconduct occurring after the date of final separation when considering an award of alimony, unless one spouse has abused the other. This means that a separated spouse is free to be in a romantic relationship with another partner without penalty once the spouses have made their final separation.
How long does alimony last in Pennsylvania?
The duration of an alimony award depends on the circumstances of the case, and on the judge. A court has the authority and discretion to award alimony for a definite period (up to the remainder of a lifetime), or an indefinite period (i.e., open-ended and subject to later review). Lifetime alimony awards are very rare, but they do happen if the circumstances justify it. Awards of alimony remain within the discretion of the court to modify or terminate, if one of the former spouses is able to prove that there has been a change in circumstances of a substantial and continuing nature. Cohabitation and remarriage ordinarily will terminate alimony, as will the death of either spouse.
Related articles:
How to calculate the amount of child support in Pennsylvania
I got served with divorce or custody papers in PA. What do I do?
Dividing marital property in divorce: whose “mine” is it, anyway?
If you need legal assistance with your divorce or family law matter in Southwestern Pennsylvania, call my office to set up a personal consultation with a Pittsburgh divorce lawyer about alimony in PA. Please do not comment anonymously, and do not post anything that you consider confidential. We try to be responsive to commentary and questions, but know that posting here will not create an attorney/client relationship and that we will not offer legal advice via the Internet.
Do you have any reccomendations for a good divorce attorney in Meadville pa?
Thanks
I’m afraid I don’t, but I recommend http://www.avvo.com as a good site to find lawyers. Lawyers don’t control client feedback on their respective profiles, and (if they participate actively) you can see from their profiles how they answered other people’s questions before you even pick up the telephone.
One problem you tend to find in smaller communities like Meadville is that most or all of the lawyers who practice there have to diversify their practices just to stay in business, unlike a more populous area that can support “boutique” practices such as mine that focus deeply on a single category of law. If you don’t find the help you need in Meadville, you might look to Erie to find someone with more experience directly in the family law field.
Article doesn’t answer my question. So how long do you have to be legally married to be justified in be awarded aliimony?
I wish I could offer you a hard-and-fast answer to that, but it really does depend on your particular situation. There are just too many variables to offer you the kind of predictability you desire, in this kind of forum. Did the economically-dependent spouse quit a job to keep house? Are there children in the picture? Is there a substantial disparity of income between the spouses? Is the economically-dependent spouse stuck paying the whole home mortgage because the other spouse has moved out? Is the economically-dependent spouse in school, or in need of additional training, or need a professional license renewed to be able to restore earning capacity? Etc.
In the short term, we are more likely talking about temporary alimony (“APL”) or spousal support. If there are no children in the picture and nothing else unusual, and speaking VERY generally, I like to see a marriage of at least two years before I am inclined to take a fee to help with a support claim. Where spousal support and temporary alimony in PA are concerned, the court is specifically required to consider the length of the marriage (among other factors) when deciding whether to award support.
What if you were married in the State of Delaware but have lived the entire part of your marital life in Pennsylvania — does PA law still apply?
It never matters where you were married, only where you live now and whether you meet the residency requirement to use the local divorce code. Pennsylvania requires that either you or your husband have been a bona fide resident within the state for at least the six months just prior to filing for divorce. If you meet that standard, Pennsylvania family law indeed applies.
Can i get alimony if my spouse and i do not go for child support? I am filing for divorce the time i get my irs checks. I want to know to pay for the retainer i want to file to the courts because i have low income will i be able to get alimony.My spouce and i are divorcing because he is careless of the family responsibilities. He loses work on purpose and he does not want to work to get out of paying bills can i get alimony or no??
There is no way I can answer “yes” or “no” to a question like that without knowing much more about your situation than I can learn in a forum like this one. I will say that yes, you can certainly claim alimony in PA without claiming child support, and you can claim spousal support without even filing for divorce. If you are economically dependent upon your husband, with or without children in the situation, I urge you to sit down for an hour or so with a family law attorney and review your complete situation and goals with him/her. Especially when you are dependent upon your husband to make ends meet, knowing your entire menu of choices (and just as important, potential consequences!) can make the difference between surviving and going under.
ok sounds good
I have a question: I live in another state at this time. I had been married for over 25 years, I was a stay at home mom except for part time jobs here and there. I have full alimony that does not end unless I get married or die. How would this change if I moved to Pennsylvania?
I have good news for you: it wouldn’t! The state that issued your alimony order doesn’t lose jurisdiction just because you relocate, and Pennsylvania will honor a “foreign” domestic relations order that was validly issued by a court of another state. If you ever have to enforce the order or if either you or your ex make a claim to have it amended, you can safely expect the case to be heard by the same court that issued the original order.
Hello, I am 23, and me and my spouse were married for 4 years. Unfortunately he became a drug addict and I have the evidence of that. Now I want to file for divorce. Currently, and I have 1 more semester of college (full-time) during which I do not work. Do you think I can expect any alimony at least before I graduate or until I find a full-time job? Thank you
Based on the situation you describe, the odds are good that you will be able to get at least short-term spousal support under the circumstances; we don’t even need to worry about alimony, right away. In Pennsylvania, you can file for spousal support without having to file for divorce or alimony, and unless your spouse manages to establish that you are not entitled to it (e.g., the situation is somehow your fault while he, himself, is blameless), the ordinary guideline measure of your entitlement is 40% of the difference between your spouse’s net monthly income and your own. There are various factors that can affect that, however, and you would be best advised to sit down with a family law attorney for a consultation to make sure that you understand the full context in which you are making your decisions.
Do I have to move out of the house to get temporary spouse support?
What if I stay but my earnings are not enough to pay for food and gas?
It can be very difficult in Pennsylvania to claim spousal support while the two of you are still living under the same roof. Generally, to get him to pay you spousal support while you are still living together it is necessary to prove that your household bills are not being paid. This is very rare, in my experience. Obviously at least some of your essential personal expenses are not being met, but I would need to know much more about your personal situation, relative incomes and household finances to get a sense of what alternatives might exist for you, and whether a pre-relocation support fight is worth the effort and risk in your particular situation.
Were you a client in my office, I would ask you about your available resources, your goals and about how long you anticipate remaining in cohabitation with your spouse, with an eye toward exploring how to achieve separation and by doing so, removing his “cohabitation” defense against your spousal support claim. I find that clients usually have more options than they think they do.
I often advise clients that if you choose to move out of the marital home, act as if you will never see the inside of it again and make sure to take what you need. If you haven’t reviewed it already, I suggest taking a look at my article, How to survive separation from your spouse.
Thank you Michael!
One more question- my son from my previous marrige has been living in this house for 12 years. He is 20.
Can my husband force him out of the house? The boy has no place to live, he is a full time student.
While you live there, I think it’s reasonably safe to answer, “No, he can’t,” any more than any landlord can force out a tenant without a court order for eviction. If you go to your local police department and ask them the same question (and it’s never a bad idea to find out from the guys with the guns what they will do if called into the situation), I would be surprised if you didn’t get the same answer. The police are in the business of keeping the peace and enforcing the law, not of deciding who should and shouldn’t reside in his or her own home.
Even if you move out and your son remains, your husband might have a tough time removing him against your opposition. For strictly personal reasons, though, avoiding that ugly situation might be best if there is an alternative.
My boyfriend is going through a divorce and he is paying spousal support and child support. I am wondering how long he will have to pay the spousal support? We live in Pa. The divorce is a no fault they do not own any property together and they have been married for 12 years.
Also is there a limit of time that she has to sign the papers. She has been very obvious she no longer loves him and probably hasn’t for some time now. I’m wondering if she is not signing just so he is unable to move on with his life. Is there a way she can be made to sign them legally?
Nobody can ever make anybody sign anything in Pennsylvania, although in certain situations there can be consequences imposed for her refusal to sign. It may be that she is dragging her feet to extend the length of time that she can receive support from him, before he is able to move the divorce process forward without her cooperation. It might help you to read another article I have published on this site about what happens when a spouse refuses to sign divorce papers in Pennsylvania.
Entitlement to spousal support ends on the date a divorce decree is awarded to dissolve your boyfriend’s marriage. The problem is, things are usually not that simple. Technically, what your boyfriend is paying his ex now (for herself, and not for his children) is not spousal support, but “alimony pendente lite” (abbreviated “APL”), which you can think of as temporary alimony intended to level the playing field until all claims associated with the divorce process (such as alimony) have been resolved through settlement agreement or judgment by the court.
Without an opportunity to review the paperwork or to learn more about your boyfriend’s situation than I can do either in this limited forum or without charging for the time, there is no way for me to offer advice about his situations or his options under Pennsylvania divorce law.
I recently separated from my husband for several reasons. Over the 12 years we have been married he has abused me, and cheated several times. When I threw him out he started showing people a so called video of me attacking him. I am concerned cause I didn’t attack him I’m not sure how he made the video and what his motive is. Can he use that in the divorce? And how do I get the judge to realize that video it a fake?
It is possible that he could use the video as evidence, but there is no way that I can discuss how (and whether to bother) to challenge his presentation of a video that I have never seen nor had described to me.
That said, I am encouraged that you have not mentioned that he is going after a Protection from Abuse Order or trying to have you charged with a violation of the Pennsylvania criminal code, and I doubt the video will get him very far in a divorce context. To the extent that it tends to prove that you have committed a form of marital misconduct, it could be relevant to defending against an alimony claim; but marital misconduct is only one of the seventeen factors that the court must consider when addressing an alimony claim.
Marital misconduct is entirely excluded as a consideration when it comes to marital property distribution, so it won’t help him at all in that context.
My estranged wife of 12 years is suing for divorce and I live in FL currently. She lives in Harrisburg, PA. We have 2 kids via the marriage. I filed for divorce but she talked to me about reconciliation and like a fool I dropped it. She has lived with multiple men with my children during the separation for a good amount of this time. She brought this up to me recently about alimony saying she was entitled and I’m like how is that possible since she has lived with different men during this time. Am I looking at facing alimony as well as the child support. I have already been paying the child support. please tell what I can expect.
Thanks
I do not give legal advice over the internet, and in any case I would need more information about your unique situation. Particularly, I am not clear on whether your ex has filed for divorce in Pennsylvania; but if she has not, it might be a good idea to re-file your divorce in Florida to secure jurisdiction if you consider Florida domestic relations law to be advantageous to you over Pennsylvania domestic relations law.
That said, if she has filed (or does file) for divorce in Pennsylvania without any competing divorce process in Florida, while the litigation proceeds she can claim temporary alimony (“alimony pendente lite,” or APL). Who she may live with, or have lived with, has no bearing on this because the idea is to “level the playing field” between you in the context of litigation; usually, it’s a numbers game in which entitlement is heavily dependent on relative earnings or earning capacity as well as on your child support obligation(s). Where a Pennsylvania alimony claim is concerned, if she is cohabiting with a boyfriend when the court passes final judgment on the economic issues arising from your marriage it is a bar to alimony; if not, however, it may not matter who she may have lived with beforehand. Instead, the court will consider seventeen separate factors when making its decision. Marital misconduct after the date of your final separation (that does not involve violence) is specifically excluded from consideration by a Pennsylvania family court when considering an award of alimony.
None of that is the same thing as saying that alimony is going to be “automatic.” As you will see if you click the link above to look at the factors the court must consider, alimony awards in PA are very dependent on the particular facts of your case. If you decide to allow the case to proceed in Pennsylvania (or if she already has filed here), you would be well-advised to consult with a Pennsylvania divorce lawyer in her jurisdiction (presumably, Dauphin County) sooner rather than later to make sure that you know where you stand, what has to happen, and how you can best protect yourself.
I am a 39 year old man. I have been with my gf for 6 years. She has 4 children from a previous marriage. I have a really good paying job and Im willing to help her by marrying her because I love her but also her kids. I am worried that because she really has no work history and so many kids at home that if it doesnt work out she will try to get me for alimony. Doesnt seem right since there not my kids. I dont want to help her stay at home with her kids so she can raise them when shes not getting child support since she has two and her x has two if its gonna come around to bite me in the ass.. That could change at any time and we could have all four plus I have a 15 year old daughter. If it gets too crazy and shes not doing her part and I cant take it anymore would the judge make me pay alimony to her even though the kids arent mine and I was doing my best to help her but it got too hard?
There’s always a possibility of alimony for an economically-dependent spouse. You have no legal obligation to pay child support for kids who aren’t yours except in unusual circumstances, but obviously her child-care responsibilities have an impact on the amount of money that she could reasonably earn.
If you want to be sure, before the two of you marry you should enter into a prenuptial agreement that says, at very least, that under no circumstances will either of you be liable for spousal support, alimony pendente lite or alimony. If she refuses to agree to that you know how she is thinking before you take a step that can compromise you, and if she does sign it you are able to enter into your marriage with greater comfort and security.
The bottom line is this: without such an agreement, a judge will tell you how things are going to go; with it, you tell the judge.
I have been married for 35 years and I’m having an affair does this mean I will not be able to get half of what we own
Not at all. Section 3502 of the Pennsylvania Divorce Code says, “… the court shall equitably divide, distribute or assign… the marital property between the parties without regard to marital misconduct…”
What you might or might not “deserve,” in the eyes of your spouse, has no place in any discussion of how to divide marital property in Pennsylvania.
I was married for 27 years and left my husband because of an email I read where I felt my life was threatened. Also the 27 years of marriage was hell. I was waiting for my son to graduate from college before I left but couldn’t hang on. This was in January 2007. At that time, I also found out that he had been meeting with financial advisors without me knowing. I saw that he opened an account without me knowing. A lot of shady stuff was going on and then I found the email. I was afraid for my life and packed my bags. He was making about $100,000 a year about two years before I left him. He then took a job for $30,000 and told me to work harder. After reading the email I left and 7 years later he filed for divorce. I was afraid to file because I felt he was a little off and feared for my life . I hired an attorney in March of 2013 so that we could go through the equitable distribution process. I am a secretary. He had all of our 401K. He had been a director for any years and now works for the navy. For over a year he refused to answer the interrogatories and it cost me $12,000 of going to court over and over again because he was nonresponsive and he was even in contempt of court. He finally answered the interrogatories a year and a half later and my attorney was about to respond with a settlement letter but hadn’t gotten around to it and now a petition for Alimony Pendente Lite was filed against me since he found out that I am now making more money than him. I am making more money through hard work and overtime. When I left, I left with the clothes on my back and no money in my 401k at the age of 50. Can he really file this Petition after being separated 8 years He was making a lot less over the years and is making more now and he is divorcing me and now that he is making more he wants to come after me for spousal support. He found out a bought a townhouse and what I make through the interrogatories. I am looking for a new attorney because after waiting a year and a half to get the answers to the interrogatories my attorney had been nonresponsive to me over the months when I asked for a status. He would ignore my calls and never respond to emails. I just found out today about this petition that had been laying around his office for a week. So again my question is, can someone file this petition after being separated for 8 years when he wanted a divorce. When he filed he thought I would sign on the dotted line but now thinks I have money because of the interrogatories. Even though the court somewhat froze his assets and said he couldn’t spend any money until this was over, he bought a new car and is now crying poor. Please help.
The help you need is not going to come online, off the cuff, or without cost. Your starting point is to ask your attorney what your options are, where you stand, and what he/she recommends, since it seems evident that you are not being properly informed about these essential matters. You are absolutely entitled to know what is going on in your case, what the time frame might be, and why things are the way they are.
Call your attorney, and get some answers. If he/she isn’t helping you, set up an office consultation with another local divorce lawyer and “reality check” both your understanding, and the information you have been given.
My nephew pays child support to a previous GF. Now he also has been ordered to pay alimony and child support to his present wife. Plus he had been ordered to pay for his wife’s attorney fees. He now gets a $100 every 2 weeks to live off of. He can’t afford an attorney. Has he been so badly ripped off because he doesn’t have an attorney or can the courts just do this to him? He can’t afford gas to go back and forth to work. Can they make him pay her attorney’s fees.
The sad reality is that few are the people who get justice, or the full benefit of the law, merely because they deserve it. In this instance, based on your description, much damage has been done and there is no guarantee that it can all be undone quickly, easily, cheaply, or at all. I know nothing about whether he has been imputed income that he does not presently earn, or whether his alimony obligation takes into account his other child support obligation (it should!), or whether his income has changed substantially since one or both awards were put into place. I know nothing about why he was ordered to pay his wife’s counsel fees.
None of this, though, means that he is without options. I do know a few things that may be helpful:
– Your nephew should not, under any circumstances, have more than 65% of his income withheld, according to the Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act.
– Your nephew’s support obligations, combined, should not leave him with less than a “self-support reserve” of $931 each month.
– If his total guideline support obligations as calculated by the court exceed half his income, he may be entitled to proportionate reductions under what is often referred to as the “multiple family rule.”
– It is possible that if it has been less than twenty days since the most recent adverse decision has been made, your nephew might be in a position to challenge the finding through either a demand for a “de novo hearing” or by filing “exceptions,” depending on how the local Pennsylvania court handles support matters.
Your nephew can’t afford an attorney, but in this instance it may be that he can’t afford NOT to sit down with a child support lawyer for long enough to review all the paperwork from both cases and get a full sense of where he stands and how best to approach the situation. Sometimes, an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure; failing that, preventing the situation from getting worse is no bad idea. The very best way to get out of trouble is to avoid getting into it in the first place, but if that isn’t possible, the next best thing is to take directed action as soon as possible, especially in a situation like this in which time may very well be of the essence.
I am on SSDB and LTD and unable to work due to a surgery that went bad in 2011. My husband is a self employed contractor. He threatens me with divorce and said he would take me for alimony. Is he able to do this if he serves me papers for divorce and I have to move out. He says I will get nothing. Is he entitled to alimony from a disabled person. And is he entitled to everything, property and all. Only his name is on the house.
Your situation is much more involved than will allow me to offer an “off the cuff” opinion. It can be tough to determine the income of self-employed people, particularly when they work in a field like his that is filled with cash dealings and side jobs. I have no basis to know how your income compares with his, as well as having no knowledge of what kind of proof is available to you (or from him), etc.
Who says you have to move out just because his name is the only one on the house? Absent a violent situation and a Protection from Abuse Order, police will generally avoid involving themselves in domestic matters and will simply tell him to take the matter to a family judge, if he tries to get them to throw you out.
There is a certain class of controlling spouse that tries to play on your fears: you’ll get nothing, he’s in control, he’ll “get you” for [fill in the blank], etc. His saying it doesn’t make it so, but your fear that it might be true becomes his ally behind “enemy lines” to make you toe the line and allow him to call the shots.
Particularly because you’re still under the same roof, you need to talk to a PA divorce lawyer as promptly as can be. Find a way to make it happen. Accurate information suited to your particular situation, obtained soon enough to do the most good, can make the difference between making it and going under.
My name is Michael my wife and I have been together for 10 years and have just celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I just recently found out that she’s having an affair this past weekend. I don’t know how long this has been going on. I confronted her about the affair this past Saturday morning October 30, 2015. She hasn’t told me that she’s going to end this affair so that we can regain our marriage as this affair I feel is clouding her judgment on what this is doing to our marriage and family. Should I be considering council from an attorney to protect myself? Please advise asap. I can be reached by my email address above or cell phone 412-xxx-xxxx. Thank you we’re currently still living in our home together in East Liberty PA. I feel I need some direction and answers to what I should be doing to protect my rights of our marriage in case of this causing our marriage to become devolved. Please help in any way you can.
To say “I am a Pittsburgh divorce lawyer” is much the same as saying “I am a paranoiac,” and the main thing I wonder about is whether I am being paranoid enough.
I believe in good marriage, and I believe in hope; but while hope is a fantastic motivator, it is the worst strategy you could possibly adopt.
Whether your wife’s judgment is clear or clouded, you cannot change it; only she can, and I wouldn’t bet the rent on that. YES, you should be protecting yourself. Packing an umbrella won’t make it rain, but counting on sunshine when you hear thunder is liable to leave you all wet.
I think of myself as dealing mainly in two things: informed clients, and protected clients. That is not the same thing as creating a war where there doesn’t have to be one… but just as I would recommend driving with a seatbelt, I recommend taking sensible precautions in a situation like yours. The thing about precautions is that you don’t get to take them when you need them; they’d better already be in place.
Whether you choose to work with me or with one of my colleagues, I urge you to educate yourself sooner rather than later. Pennsylvania family law is one of those areas where an ounce of prevention really can be worth a pound of cure. If your wife’s choices are taking her in a different direction than she once made you believe — and your description seems pretty clear about that — it is dreadfully dangerous to let your hope overwhelm what is right in front of your eyes.
Prepare for the worst, and if it never manifests you can cast your precautions aside like releasing your seatbelt when you come to the end of your drive. If the worst comes and you are ready, though, it is more likely to be an inconvenience than a disaster. The Boy Scouts have it right: “Be Prepared.”