Understanding Spousal Support and Alimony in PA

While most people have heard of alimony, issues involving spousal support and/or alimony pendente lite (commonly referred to as “APL”) are often overlooked in the area of family law, and alimony is often incorrectly understood. All three concepts – alimony, spousal support, and alimony pendente lite – are similar in that they involve the higher income earning spouse making payments to the other spouse, but they have subtle, unique differences depending on the circumstances.

Both spousal support and APL are calculated based on the parties’ respective incomes according to the Pennsylvania State Support Guidelines. If the party receiving support also files for child support, the guidelines are built to accommodate paying both child and spousal support and the two can be calculated at the same time. If the higher earning spouse is entitled to child support an offset can be ordered in connection with spousal support.

Spousal support is paid after the parties are separated but before a divorce is filed. The purpose of spousal support is to provide for the “care, maintenance, and financial assistance” of the financially dependent spouse. In other words, spousal support is meant to meet the reasonable needs of the lower income spouse and is not meant to be a punishment to the higher earning spouse. However, the party who is required to pay spousal support may raise an “entitlement defense” and argue against the obligation to pay spousal support if he/she can successfully prove a fault-based ground for divorce such as indignities, cruel and barbarous treatment, adultery, and/or abandonment. If the paying spouse can successfully prove that the other party engaged in conduct that caused the separation of the parties, there will be no obligation to pay spousal support unless it can be proven that the paying spouse “condoned” or “forgave” the action or activity that gave rise to the fault claim.

Alimony pendente lite (APL) is a Latin term that means alimony “pending the litigation.” APL is similar to spousal support in terms of the higher income spouse paying the other spouse but is paid after a divorce is filed and terminates when a divorce decree is entered. Typically, the court uses the same support guidelines to calculate spousal support and APL.

Theoretically, APL is discretionary and should be based on the needs of the spouse with less income. The purpose of APL is to assist the financially dependent spouse with the legal costs associated with the divorce proceedings, and their living expenses. The Divorce Code states that “married persons are liable for the support of each other according to their respective abilities to provide support as provided by law.” In practice, APL is generally awarded automatically based on the parties’ incomes regardless of whether the receiving spouse needs financial assistance, using the same formula for spousal support.

One major difference between spousal support and APL is that there is no entitlement defense. For example, the higher earner cannot argue that their spouse should be precluded from receiving APL because he/she cheated and as a result of their adulterous behavior, a divorce was filed. So, while the cheating spouse may be precluded from spousal support due to their adulterous conduct, he/she has the option of simply filing for a divorce and then filing for APL to receive financial support.

Alimony refers to payments given from one spouse to another after the divorce has been finalized. Unlike spousal support and APL, alimony is discretionary, and the court would determine the nature, amount, and duration of alimony ifit finds that alimony is necessary. There is no automatic right or entitlement to it. A spouse seeking alimony must affirmatively request it during the divorce process or come to an agreement with the opposing party.

Whether a party receives alimony after the divorce is entirely circumstantial. In making that determination, the court must consider the seventeen factors set forth in the Section 3701 of the Divorce Code. Unlike APL and spousal support, which use the guidelines, alimony is determined by subjective factors. The court will consider things like how long you’ve been married, educational levels of the parties, relative income and expenses of the parties, the standard of living during the marriage, and the role of each spouse in caring for any children and the home. Because alimony is discretionary and there is no fixed formula to calculate, the amount and duration of the alimony payments can be difficult to predict.

The complicated and varied nature of support is why many people going through a divorce or separation choose to seek the expertise of an attorney to make sure they are fully aware of their rights and obligations.

For more information on how to navigate your separation or divorce, or any other issues regarding support cases, divorce matters, pre-marital agreements, adoptions or grandparents’ rights, feel free to contact any of Willig Williams & Davidson’s Domestic Relations and Family Law attorneys at (215) 656-3600.