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Pennsylvania Spousal Support, Alimony pendente lite (APL) &
Alimony Laws |
By Lisa Marie Vari , Esquire
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Types of Support in Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania Spousal Support
Prior to the filing of a divorce complaint, support payable to a Pennsylvania spouse is called "spousal support." Spousal support is generally only available if the parties live in separate residence or if one spouse fails to contribute to household expenses if the spouse continue to reside in the same home. In Pennsylvania, the amount payable for spousal support is based upon a percentage of the difference of after tax monthly incomes of the parties after consideration of other support obligations. Pennsylvania law provides that if the spouse receiving spousal support has committed one of the fault-based grounds for divorce, the court has the right to refuse to award spousal support. The payor spouse's 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, 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 Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, after a divorce complaint has been filed, support awarded to the other spouse is called alimony pendente lite, or APL for short. The amount payable for APL is based upon a percentage of the difference of after tax monthly incomes of the parties after consideration of other support obligations. Pennsylvania 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, APL payments 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 is 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 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 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 court. 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 when the recipient spouse begins residing with another person in a marriage-like relationship or when the recipient spouse remarries or dies.
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.
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 both former spouses. Employer provided health insurance plans will only covers the employee-spouse after a divorce decree is entered by the court.
A federal law requires most employer-sponsored group health plans to offer divorced spouses of the employees 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.
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Marie Vari, has focused her legal efforts in the family law field for over ten years. Attorney Vari handles the most complicated aspects of the firm's divorce,
equitable distribution, support and child custody matters. Ms. Vari is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association,
including the family law sections of both organizations, and the Allegheny County Matrimonial Inns of Court.
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