How Long Does Alimony Last In PA?

People going through a divorce often wonder, how long does alimony last in PA? The answer depends on a variety of factors, including what type of “alimony” or support is being paid.

As we discussed in our previous article, there are three types of “alimony” or support that a court might order paid in Pennsylvania: Spousal Support, which is support paid to a spouse when separation begins but before a divorce is filed; Alimony Pendente Lite (APL), which is support paid to a spouse after a divorce is filed but before the divorce is final; and Alimony, which is support paid to a spouse after a divorce is final.

1.  Spousal Support. 

Spousal support is rarely sought anymore in Pennsylvania.  In the past, due to more stringent divorce laws, couples would separate but not divorce, or they would give their marriage a lengthy “cooling off” period before divorcing. Spousal support was paid during this interim so that the financially dependent spouse could maintain his or her lifestyle.

However, since the introduction of no-fault divorce in Pennsylvania, a divorce complaint is usually filed by one of the parties soon after separation. Once a divorce complaint is filed, then support will be classified as alimony pendente lite, rather than spousal support.  As a result, true orders for “spousal support” are increasingly uncommon.

Theoretically, spousal support can last indefinitely.  It terminates when a couple reconciles, or it can convert into alimony pendente lite when a divorce complaint is filed.  It would also terminate upon cohabitation by the recipient spouse, or death of either party.

2.  Alimony Pendente Lite

In general, alimony pendente lite (APL) is paid during the pendency of a divorce, from the time a lower-earning spouse formally requests it until a final decree in divorce is entered. It can continue after a divorce decree is entered through an appeal to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, although such appeals are rare. In short, APL is paid during the divorce process. The purpose of APL is to help the lower-income spouse finance his or her living and legal expenses through the divorce.

In Pennsylvania, the average divorce takes about two years to litigate. Therefore, if your divorce is average, you can expect that APL will last for about two years.

APL can be limited in certain circumstances.  For example, in the case of a short-term marriage (about three years or less), the payor spouse can request that the court limit the duration of APL. In such cases, it is customarily limited to about six months. However, the exact length of time to which a court might limit APL would depend on the variety of factors, including the disparity of income between the parties and the complexity of the case.

APL might also be limited if the party receiving APL is intentionally delaying the divorce.  A big frustration for spouses who are paying APL is that some spouses drag out the divorce to keep the APL payments going. In those cases, the attorney for the payor spouse can request that the court intervene and either to put a stop to the foot-dragging, or limit the duration of APL.

3.  Alimony

Finally, the length of time that true post-divorce alimony lasts in Pennsylvania is technically dependent on a list of statutory factors.

Practically speaking, however, courts primarily look at four things: (1) the duration of the marriage; (2) the size of the marital estate, (3) how the marital estate is divided, and (4) if the payee spouse has any significant separate assets.

Each county in Pennsylvania also has their “rules of thumb.”  The judges in some counties are inclined to grant alimony for a longer period of time, and in others a shorter period of time. Therefore, it is difficult to make any broad generalizations because there are so many variables in situation and divorce.

However, as a general example, an “average” marriage of ten years with $200,000 in assets split 55/45 might result in a total of 2-3 years of alimony/support, inclusive of any time spent paying spousal support or APL.

For the most part, alimony is awarded for a fixed period of time. In some rare instances, such as where a spouse is disabled and cannot work, alimony can be awarded for an indefinite amount of time.

Further, regardless of length of time that alimony has been paid, most courts will terminate it upon the retirement of the payor spouse. As with spousal support and APL, unless agreed otherwise, alimony also terminates upon the cohabitation of the payee spouse or death of either party.

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I am a Woman: Do I Have to Pay Alimony or Child Support?

One morning not long ago, when I was dropping my son off late at pre-school, all of his classmates were already in circle time talking about the day’s weather. As my son joined the circle, I overheard his teacher gently reminding the class that their “mommies” must return permission slips for the library field trip. My heart dropped a bit as I thought of my son’s best friend, sitting there in the circle. Unlike the majority of the children in class, this boy’s father is the parent who has taken on the responsibility of signing permission slips, packing lunches and, yes, doing laundry and making dinner. His wife happens to be a very successful businesswoman – climbing the corporate ladder early on and proving to be a formidable force in her line of work. Because his career was not as lucrative, they made the decision early on that he would be the parent to stay home and care for their two young children. This scenario is becoming increasingly common, leading many women to ask, do I have to pay alimony or child support?

For years women have attempted to achieve equal status to men in the work place, as well as in the home, shattering traditional gender stereotypes and achieving greater equality. Like my son’s friend’s dad, more fathers are finding themselves assuming what were once stereotypical female familial roles. Although these traditional roles are changing, overall divorce rates have remained fairly consistent over the last decade, purportedly ranging between 46 and 53 percent. This has proven to have unexpected consequences for the higher-earning female spouse.

Indeed, more women are finding themselves responsible for monetary support during and after divorce.

According to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 56% of the nation’s top divorce attorneys say that they have seen an increase in the number of mothers paying child support during the past three years.   Forty-seven percent of those attorneys also note a rise in women being responsible for alimony throughout the same time period. Ken Alshuler, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers believes that “the court system is generally a reflection of societal changes and that this is no exception.” He explained “as more women achieve success in their career paths, they are also finding themselves increasingly responsible for financial obligations during and after the divorce process.”

As has long been the case with divorcing men, many women who now find themselves responsible for spousal support, alimony and/or child support payments are frustrated at the prospect of making these payments to an ex-spouse. It is important that women contemplating divorce understand Pennsylvania spousal support, alimony and child support laws and how they may financially impact them upon divorce.

Pennsylvania spousal support, alimony and child support laws simply do not discriminate between women and men.

Instead, our courts are obligated to analyze various factors when determining who will pay support. Generally, the greater income-producing spouse will end up making the spousal support, alimony and/or child support payments having nothing to do with whether the spouse is a man or a woman.

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Cooley & Handy Secures Extraordinary Stay of Alimony Pendente Lite Order Entered in Bucks County Divorce Proceedings from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania took the rare step of staying a completely unprecedented and legally erroneous alimony pendente lite order entered against an ex-husband in a Bucks County divorce action by the Hon. Alan M. Rubenstein.

The stay of the alimony pendente lite order was obtained through the efforts of the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy. Alimony pendente lite is court-ordered support paid to a spouse while a divorce is pending, purportedly to help the spouse pay for litigation costs.

In the underlying Bucks County divorce case, the Bucks County divorce court purportedly “reinstated” a previously vacated (terminated) alimony pendente lite order against ex-Husband almost three years after the trial court entered final judgment in the parties’ divorce and on all claims regarding the division of marital assets. The order was entered during post-divorce litigation over the parties’ marital property settlement agreement and a prenuptial agreement that ex-wife had failed to produce during divorce proceedings. In short, the ongoing litigation concerned which contractual agreement – the marital settlement agreement or the prenuptial agreement – would control the distribution of the marital property and other claims. Notably, ex-wife had waived alimony pendente lite in both contracts. Nevertheless, the Bucks County divorce court erroneously awarded ex-wife alimony pendente lite in direct contravention to the terms of the contractual agreements and Pennsylvania law in a misguided and legally improper effort to make the post-divorce litigation “fair.”

In ex-husband’s appeal of the alimony pendente lite order, Cooley & Handy argued that the Bucks County divorce court’s alimony pendente lite order was erroneous because (1) ex-wife waived alimony pendente lite in both the parties’ marital property settlement agreement and the parties’ prenuptial agreement and at least one of those contracts will be enforceable, and (2) entry of the divorce decree in the case three years earlier forever terminated ex-wife’s claim to alimony pendente lite. In addition, the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy argued that 23 Pa. C.S. 3105(c) statutorily precludes a trial court from altering or amending martial rights previously resolved by contractual agreement (i.e. the marital settlement agreement and the prenuptial agreement).

To obtain the stay of the alimony pendente lite order from Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Cooley & Handy argued that ex-husband would likely be successful in his appeal and would suffer irreparable harm if a stay were not granted.

Ex-husband faced a very high burden to obtain a stay from the Superior Court, which grants stays judiciously. Cooley & Handy argued ex-husband would likely be successful in his appeal for the reasons set forth above. With regard to irreparable harm, Cooley & Handy argued that ex-husband would suffer irreparable harm for several reasons. First, Cooley & Handy argued the trial court violated a clear statutory mandate (23 Pa. C.S. § 3105(c)) when it modified the terms of the parties’ marital settlement and prenuptial agreements by “reinstating” alimony pendente lite, which constitutes irreparable harm per se. A violation of a statutory mandate is deemed to be irreparable harm per se. See, e.g., Capepiello v. Duca, 449 Pa. Super. 100, 107, 672 A.2d 1373, 1377 (1996). Second, Cooley & Handy argued that the trial court clearly exceeded its jurisdiction in awarding Ex-Wife alimony pendente lite after the parties’ divorce and equitable distribution claims had been finally resolved and, as in the case of an explicit statutory violation, the exercise of power by a trial court in excess of its jurisdiction should be deemed irreparable harm per se. Finally, the Bucks County divorce lawyers at Cooley & Handy argued that the Superior Court had previously recognized that alimony pendente lite orders can result in the irreparable loss of rights where a divorce is not pending in Sutliff v. Sutliff, 326 Pa. Super. 496, 474 A.2d 599 (1984) and Fried v. Fried, 509 Pa. 89, 501 A.2d 211 (1985).

In a significant legal victory for ex-husband, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania granted ex-husband a stay of the alimony pendente lite order while the merits of his appeal are decided.

© 2010 Cooley & Handy

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