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ALIMONY - CAN I GET IT? - DO I HAVE TO PAY IT? WHAT IS IT?
It is a proven fact that for each year absent from the workplace, a dependent spouse looses 6% of their lifetime ability to earn a living. Contacts and other networking opportunities are entirely missing during the dependent spouse's child rearing years, and skills are not kept current. Getting back into the job market after significant time away is a chore, and getting a well paying job may be an impossibility. Thus, Alimony is designed to replace the lost earning power of a dependent spouse with a stream of income. Alimony however, is not a reward for remaining in an unstable or abusive marriage, nor is it a bonus for marrying wealth.
ALIMONY - THE BASICS
The 2000 case of Crews v. Crews (164 N.J. 11) clarified that "The marital standard of living is the measure for assessing initial awards of alimony." Thus, parties are now required to stipulate to what the standard of living during the marriage was, or if they choose not to, to testify that they understand the ramifications of not doing so.
Our alimony statute at N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23 requires the court to evaluate the factors listed below before awarding permanent alimony. IF the court determines that permanent alimony is not warranted - then and only then it may consider whether alimony should be awarded at all, and if so, whether LIMITED DURATION, REHABILATIVE, or REIMBURSEMENT ALIMONY is appropriate.
The court can also award support pendente lite which means during the time period that the divorce is pending. A pendente lite award of support often excees that which is ultimately granted as alimony, because pendente lite support is designed to maintain the status quo.
ALIMONY - THE FACTORS
Factors that the court considers for an award of Alimony:
(1)The actual need and ability of the parties to pay;
(2)The duration of the marriage or civil union;
(3)The age, physical and emotional health of the parties;
(4)The standard of living established in the marriage or civil union and the likelihood that each party can maintain a reasonably comparable standard of living;
(5)The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties;
(6)The length of absence from the job market of the party seeking maintenance;
(7)The parental responsibilities for the children;
(8)The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment, the availability of the training and employment, and the opportunity for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;
(9)The history of the financial or non-financial contributions to the marriage or civil union by each party including contributions to the care and education of the children and interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities;
(10) The equitable distribution of property ordered and any payouts on equitable distribution, directly or indirectly, out of current income, to the extent this consideration is reasonable, just and fair;
(11) The income available to either party through investment of any assets held by that party;
(12) The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a non-taxable payment; and
(13) Any other factors which the court may deem relevant.
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