Support payments between divorcing spouses are among the biggest and most contentious issues. Those who may be obligated to pay alimony often contemplate the amount and duration of the hook dangling in front of them, while those eligible to receive alimony often wonder if the terms of support will sustain them in light of their drastically changing circumstances. Ideally, the parties will negotiate and settle on alimony and related support issues, rather than go to trial. Realistically, the court in many cases needs to step in to order support and enforce payment, especially after entry of the Final Judgment of Divorce.

Critical factors

In New Jersey, there is no standard alimony calculator, and the Family Court judges enjoy considerable leeway in determining sufficient amounts. While judicial discretion guides this process, there are a number of statutory factors on which the courts rely to make decisions, including:

• actual needs of the payee;
• the payor’s ability to pay;
• marriage duration;
• the parties’ age and health;
• the established standard of living during the marriage;
• the parties’ earning capacities, education levels, job training, and skills;
• potential payee’s absence from the job market;
• the parties’ parental roles;
• the parties’ unique participation in acquiring marital assets;
• the property award; and
• the existence of income-producing assets.

The court also has discretion to consider any other factors it deems relevant.

Unique circumstances

As a New Jersey couple recently discovered, courts are not permitted to emphasize one factor at the expense of other factors in assessing alimony payments. In the case described, both the trial and the appeals court trained their focus on the length of the marriage, attempting to classify a fifteen-year marriage as either short-term or long-term. The New Jersey Supreme Court reminded the litigants that there are no bright-line rules in this area, and marriage duration is only one of many factors. The Court concluded, “When determining the amount of an award, the court must evaluate the actual needs of the dependent party and the actual means of the other party.”

The new NJ Alimony Reform Statute, which took effect after the case was decided by the lower courts, but before the Supreme Court ruled, cuts down on the trial court’s discretion to a significant degree.  The length of alimony can never exceed the length of the parties’ marriage; alimony in cases of marriage over 20 years are deemed of “open duration”, closed only upon retirement; and retirement is presumptively defined as occurring at the payor’s reaching age 66.

Conclusion

There are no tarot readers who can predict with precision the amount of alimony support that will be ordered in a divorce. In some cases, neither spouse may be eligible or liable for such support.  In many cases, the parties do not require the intervention of a Family Court judge.  They will decide the support issues for themselves, with the help of a financial planner, mediator, arbitrator, collaborative law process, negotiations coach, and/or attorney negotiator.

If you or someone you love needs a realistic handle on whether you or they may receive or have to pay alimony, please call or write us.  We are experienced family law attorneys who are “compassionate counsel and tough advocates.”  We will sit down to discuss the facts of the case, the applicable law, whether your matter is straightforward or unique, and which processes may be best for you (court-based or alternative dispute resolution).

We will work hard to achieve solutions that are just and reasonable for you.  Contact us today.  You will be glad you did.