Alimony
New Jersey Court of Appeals affirms Family Court's decision to deny plaintiff's motion for an increase in alimony due to a change of circumstances. The change in circumstances is that the plaintiff suffers from severe depression and her ex-husband's income or ability to pay alimony has increased.
If a wife was able to work & would have made a salary comparable to their spouse's, however chose to only work part time (and there are no chidren), do they legally have grounds to ask for half of their husband's salary in alimony?
To try and answer your question, there are numerous factors which go into the alimony analysis such as the duration of the marriage, the marital standard of living, career interruptions to raise children, etc.
One such factor is the earning capacity of the person seeking alimony. Thus, a person's "underemployment" would be considered in conjunction with all other factors. Since every case is fact-specific, it's impossible to give a general answer -- the law and facts work together toward the result. There are no formal alimony guidelines such as in the case of child support. Good lawyering is the key to a good result.
John Eory
Stark & Stark
Here is a situation. Both parties were working when they married. She was laid off and they decided to have a child instead of returning to work. They both agreed that when the child was of school age, she would return to work. Unfortunately that was not what happened, instead she involved herself with daily television programs and did not maintain the house. The spouse was working, doing laundry, food shopping and came home to an untidy house. (untidy being nice) They tried to work things out even suggesting marriage counseling. There was no intimacy and the spouses friends and family were not welcome into his home. He stayed in the marriage to try to make things work for the sake of the child. So after 14 years of trying he asked for a divorce to which she refused. But she eventually gave in but she wanted the house, alimony and child support. He gave her the house, alimony for 7 yrs (half of the marriage) and child support. It is now 3 yrs later and she is hinting of going back to court to continue alimony. She has made no attempt at gaining employment and has told the spouse that he is going to get what is coming to him and she is going to get what she deserves. Is it possible that she can take him back to increase and or continue alimony or should he try to get her to sign off on a lump sum? One other thing, they did not use an attorney for the divorce, does that matter?
I would need to see the Agreement to see exactly what the parties bargained for . There are different types of alimony; permanent, limited duration, rehabilitative and reimbursement. Assuming the parties bargained for limited duration alimony, which is for a term of years, pursuant to the statute, the term could not be increased. However, the amount paid during the term may be modified if there is a substantial change in circumstances. If the circumstances are the same as they were at the time of the agreement, there should be no modification. The fact that attorneys weren't used to draft the agreement should make no difference unless the wife can argue that she didn't understand the agreement and her husband at the time pressured her into signing it. Whether he should offer a lump sum to buy her out is an alternative, but the pros and cons must be weighed. Any further agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties.