Alimony

 

The terms alimony and spousal support are used interchangeably in New Jersey. Thus, a party that requests an award of spousal support is requesting alimony. To determine if such an award is warranted, or, if warranted, what amount is equitable, New Jersey’s alimony statute (NJS 2A:34-23) requires courts to consider a specific list of factors. Should a court find one or several factors more important in any given case, they are required to provide a written explanation of their reasoning.

 

The alimony factors under NJS 2A:34-23 are as follows:

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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, with neither party having a greater entitlement to that standard of living than the other;

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. The nature, amount, and length of pendente lite support paid, if any; and

14. Any other factors which the court may deem relevant.

 

Since 2014, when the alimony statute was amended, courts will review and analyze additional factors to determine the duration and amount of alimony. In addition to the factors above, courts must “consider the practical impact of the parties’ need for separate residences and the attendant increase in living expenses on the ability of both parties to maintain a standard of living reasonably comparable to the standard of living established in the marriage or civil union, to which both parties are entitled, with neither party having a greater entitlement thereto.”

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Under the amended statute, open durational alimony (alimony with no termination date, otherwise colloquially known as "permanent alimony") is impermissible for marriages of less than 20 years. Alimony may not exceed the length of the marriage except in the following “exceptional circumstances”:

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1. The ages of the parties at the time of the marriage or civil union and at the time of the alimony award;

2. The degree and duration of the dependency of one party on the other party during the marriage or civil union;

3. Whether a spouse or partner has a chronic illness or unusual health circumstance;

4. Whether a spouse or partner has given up a career or a career opportunity or otherwise supported the career of the other spouse or partner;

5. Whether a spouse or partner has received a disproportionate share of equitable distribution;

6. The impact of the marriage or civil union on either party’s ability to become self-supporting, including but not limited to either party’s responsibility as primary caretaker of a child;

7. Tax considerations of either party;

8. Any other factors or circumstances that the court deems equitable, relevant and material.

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