PA Spousal Support, Alimony pendente lite (APL) & Alimony Laws
Types of Pennsylvania Support Payable To A Spouse
In Pennsylvania, support may be awarded to the spouse who earns less money or has a lower earning capacity than the other spouse. The three different types of support that may be awarded to a spouse are called spousal support, alimony pendente lite (also called APL) and alimony.
PA Spousal Support
Prior to the filing of a PA divorce complaint, support payable to a Pennsylvania spouse is called "spousal support." PA spousal support is generally not available if the parties live in same residence unless it can be established that one spouse fails to contribute to household expenses. In Pennsylvania, the amount payable for spousal support is based upon a percentage of the difference of after tax monthly incomes or earning capacities of the parties after consideration of other support obligations. Pennsylvania law provides that if the spouse receiving spousal support (also known as the payee) has committed one of the fault-based grounds for divorce, the court has the right to refuse to award spousal support. The payer's (person paying support) right to raise the fault grounds is called an entitlement defense to the payment of the spousal support. In Pennsylvania, there is no fixed length of time that spousal support is payable. However, if the parties have been married for only a short period of time prior to their separation, the Pennsylvania family court can limit the duration of any spousal support (or alimony pendente lite) payments as well as the monthly amount payable. PA spousal support will generally be automatically converted into alimony pendente lite (APL) payments upon the filing of a divorce complaint by either party.
Alimony Pendente Lite or APL in PA
In Pennsylvania, after a PA divorce complaint has been filed, support awarded to the other spouse is called alimony pendente lite (APL). The amount payable under a PA APL order is based upon a percentage of the difference of after tax monthly incomes of the parties and after consideration of other support obligations. Pennsylvania family courts have held that the purpose of APL is to permit both spouses the financial ability to proceed in the divorce action. As such, the payor spouse cannot raise the entitlement defenses available in spousal support actions. In other words, even if the spouse seeking APL has committed adultery or has abandoned the marriage without a just cause, that spouse may be entitled to APL payments. "Pendente lite" is a Latin phrase meaning pending the litigation. As such, Pennsylvania APL orders generally last until the divorce decree is issued and equitable distribution has been finalized. For the spouse receiving APL, this fact often causes them to attempt to prolong the entry of the divorce decree and finalization of equitable distribution as long as possible. On the other hand, the spouse required to make the APL payments is generally motivated to finalize the divorce and equitable distribution issues as soon as possible to limit the duration of APL payments.
Pennsylvania Alimony Laws
In Pennsylvania, after a PA divorce decree has been issued and the process of equitable distribution has been finalized, any support payable to a spouse is now titled "alimony." Pennsylvania law provides that alimony is only awarded if a spouse cannot meet their reasonable needs (the spouse's reasonable standard of living during the marriage) after taking into consideration their income and the assets they were awarded as part of equitable distribution. Receipt of alimony is not guaranteed, its award is within the discretion of the family court judge unless an agreement is reached between the divorcing spouses. Some situations in which alimony may be payable include those situations when the spouses have a great disparity in income, when the parties had a long-term marriage, when one spouse suffers from a mental or physical disability, or when one spouse primarily cares for minor children who are not yet of school age. Depending on the facts of a particular case, alimony can be awarded to allow a spouse a specific amount of time to "rehabilitate" himself or herself (often termed rehabilitative alimony), for the rest of that spouse's lifetime (often termed permanent alimony), or until a specific condition is met in the future. Another type of alimony payable in Pennsylvania is "reimbursement alimony." Reimbursement alimony is awarded to a spouse to reimburse them for expenses incurred by the other spouse such as when one spouse pays for the majority of marital debt or when one spouse supported the family while the other pursued an education. In Pennsylvania, alimony, except reimbursement alimony, is usually terminated, unless the order or agreement provides other terminating conditions, when the recipient spouse begins residing with another person in a marriage-like relationship or when the recipient spouse remarries or dies.
Calculation of PA Spousal Support, APL, or Alimony
In calculating all forms of support payable to a spouse, consideration must first be given to whether the defendant in the support action has any orders for child support and the amount owed on each and whether there is any orders for support of a previous spouse. After consideration of the other orders, spousal support and alimony pendente lite are generally based upon a fixed percentage of the differences in the net incomes or earning capacities of the spouses. If child support is also involved, the fixed percentage is 30% and if child support is not involved the fixed percentage is 40%. In determining the amount of alimony to be awarded, fixed percentages of the differences of incomes or earning capacities are not utilized. Instead, the court will consider the reasonable needs of the dependant spouse and the amount of money needed to supplement the dependant spouse's income or earning capacity to meet those reasonable needs.
Tax Aspects of Pennsylvania Support Orders
Federal law states that if a spouse receives spousal support, APL, or alimony, the amount received usually is treated as income to the recipient and a deduction from income to the person paying alimony. Furthermore, if one of these orders also contains an additional amount for child support, the entire amount received, including the child support component, may be considered income to the recipient for tax purposes unless the order of court states otherwise. In Pennsylvania, it is presumed that an order for both spouse and child will be in an unallocated (not separately defined) order and that the entire amount paid will be deductible by the payor spouse on his or her federal tax returns. In addition to the amount for support, if the payor spouse pays any additional amounts for payment on the mortgage, health insurance, or unreimbursed medical expenses, these additional payments may also be considered as payments for alimony under federal tax laws. If an individual is paying or receiving support in an unallocated order, it is best to consult with a tax advisor.
Pennsylvania Orders for Health Insurance Coverage
In Pennsylvania, the issue of which spouse or parent should provide health insurance for the other spouse and/or children and whether the person carrying the insurance should be partially reimbursed for any costs associated with medical care is an issue that can be resolved as part of a claim for support. However, when a couple divorces, the health insurance policy covering the family no longer covers the former spouse who is not the policyholder. Employer provided health insurance plans will only cover the employee-spouse after a divorce decree is entered by the court.
A federal law requires most employer-sponsored group health plans to offer the non-employee spouse the right to purchase continued coverage at group rates for as long as three years after the divorce. This coverage is often referred to as "COBRA benefits." The divorced spouse of the employee must pay for the COBRA coverage at the employer's cost, not the discounted employee rate for said insurance.
Schedule a consultation with our PA support lawyers
In order to establish a PA spousal support, PA alimony pendente lite, or PA alimony order, a request must be filed with the PA family court prior to the granting of a Pennsylvania divorce decree. Furthermore, the right to collect or modify these orders is only retroactive to the date the request is made to the PA family court. If you believe you are entitled to a PA spousal support, APL, or alimony order or if you are entitled to modify one of these orders, please email our PA support lawyers or contact our Pittsburgh support attorneys by telephone at (412) 281-9906 for our Pittsburgh office, (724) 776-9906 for our Cranberry office, or toll-free at 1(866) PA-DIVORCE or 1(866) PA-CUSTODY.
Our PA support law firm has offices in the downtown Pittsburgh and Whitehall sections of Allegheny County and in Cranberry Township located in Butler County. Our Pittsburgh support lawyers, PA support attorneys regularly accept support cases in Allegheny County Family Division (Pittsburgh), Armstrong County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Washington County, and Westmoreland County (Greensburg). Our Pittsburgh support attorneys accept PA support cases in other Western Pennsylvania counties including Clarion County, Greene County, Indiana County, Lawrence County, Mercer County, Somerset County, and Venango County on a case-by-case basis.
Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Court cases involving spousal support, APL, and alimony
Berry v. Berry - Marital assets are not considered income for PA support purposes under PA Child Support Guidelines ; severance pay equals income for calculation of PA child support order.
Godfrey v. Godfrey - A defendant who has been found to be in willful noncompliance of a PA support obligation and found in civil contempt of the support order may be sentenced to jail for up to 6 months, given a fine of up to $1,000, or up to 1 year probation; however, court must set a purge condition allowing defendant to be released from jail. Trial court must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has the present ability to comply with purge condition. Appellate court also held that both parties in a support action must supply court with any changes in address within 7 days or else notice of hearings sent to prior address will not excuse failure to appear at hearing.
Ney v. Ney - The trial court was found to have committed an error when the judge performed an internet search of jobs in father's field of employment and relied on the results in accessing the credibility of father in testifying at his support hearing that his income had decreased and no jobs were available in his area at his former wages. Ney v Ney, 2007 Pa. Super. 38
Kraisinger v. Kraisinger - The parties entered into a marriage settlement agreement that provided that husband would make the payments for the mortgage on wife's residence. In addition, husband would pay $500 per month per child for child support. The agreement also contained a clause indicating that if wife filed to modify her child support, she would be required to pay husband's counsel fees. Wife filed for modification of child support. Husband argued that her child support should not be modified given he was paying both the mortgage and child support. The Superior Court held that although one parent cannot bargain away a child's right to adequate support from the other, an agreement in which one parent releases the other from the duty of support will be enforced so long as it is fair and reasonable, was made without fraud or coercion, and does not prejudice the welfare of the children involved. Here the Court found Husband's mortgage payments to be his obligation under equitable distribution and not support. Therefore, the Court found that wife was entitled to seek modification of support and that the provision for attorney's fees was unenforceable. Kraisinger v Kraisinger, 2007 Pa. Super. 197
Gates v. Gates - The parties' prenuptial (antenuptial) agreement excluded husband's business valued at $1 million dollars and any increase in value. Husband also inherited $2 million from his mother. Husband was awarded primary physical custody of the parties' minor child arguing in the parties' custody case that wife was mentally unstable. The Superior Court upheld an award to wife of alimony in the amount of $4,000 per month and a total of $27,000 in counsel fees reasoning that Husband's argument of wife's instability in the custody case justified finding her inability to work in the alimony matter. Gates v Gates, 2007 Pa. Super. 281
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Disclaimer
The statements in this section are based on Pennsylvania law and have been issued to inform and not advise. The statements are general in nature and individual facts in a given case may alter their application or involve other laws not referred to here.
