Practice Areas
Support
(Child Support, Spousal Support
and Alimony Pendente Lite / Separate Maintenance)
Child Support Guidelines now exist in all states. In January of 2006, Pennsylvania
enacted a new set of guidelines for child support. The child support guidelines
are required to have a standardized system for determining child support.
The guidelines are not exact calculations. There are a number of factors
that are used to deviate up or down from the guideline calculation. A court
is free to increase or decrease the amount of support as long as it gives
reasons for the deviation. In Pennsylvania, people with annual net incomes
of approximately $250,000 may use a needs analysis rather than an income
analysis, according to the lifestyle and needs of the children.
Depending upon the jurisdiction, college tuition and costs may or may not be mandatory for separated and/or divorced parents. In New Jersey, payment for college tuition and expenses is mandatory. In Pennsylvania, college is not mandatory and cannot be secured by Court Order.
During the course of the divorce, if not already in existence, each parent
should set up a 529 Plan for the benefit of a child. This is a relatively
recent education savings vehicle, tax free, whereby a parent can set aside
money for the education of a child. This account, however, is controlled
and owned by the parent and is different from a Uniform Gift to Minors Act
situation. Adoption is the official transfer to a third party through
the court system of all of the parental rights which a biological parent
has to a child, along with the assumption by the adopting parent of all of
the parental rights of the biological parent that are being terminated. The
legal obligations of the biological parent are assumed in their entirety
by the adoptive parents, including the responsibility for the care and supervision
of the child, its nurturing and training, its physical and emotional health,
and its financial support. An adopted child has the same rights of inheritance
as a biological child. Adoption laws differ from state to state.
Spousal Support and Alimony Pendente Lite/Separate Maintenance
Spousal Support/Alimony Pendente Lite and Separate Maintenance are all temporary forms
of spousal support. In New Jersey, separate maintenance is what a spouse
can receive during the period of separation but prior to a divorce action
being filed. Separate maintenance can continue during the pendency of the
divorce action in New Jersey because in order to file for divorce in New
Jersey under a no-fault provision, the parties must be separated 18 months
before filing. Therefore, a dependent spouse would file for separate maintenance
upon separation and such award would continue through the pendency of divorce.
The spousal stipend after divorce
is called alimony.
In Pennsylvania, a spouse may be entitled to spousal support. However, that vehicle of support for the dependent spouse is subject to challenge by the other spouse on the basis of “entitlement”. If spousal support is challenged with the other side stating that the person was not a good wife, did not take appropriate care of the children, subjected him to indignities, committed adultery, or other statutory challenges, that dependent spouse can seek in Pennsylvania alimony pendente lite, which literally means alimony while the action is pending. The purpose of alimony pendente lite is to put the parties on fairly equal footing so that one party cannot put the other one out of court. Once again, alimony pendente ceases at the time of divorce. Any monthly stipend for the spouse after divorce is called alimony.
You may also want to visit our Family Law FAQ and Publications pages for additional information.