Bucks County Alimony

Alimony in Bucks County divorces is an order by a court for support of a former spouse once there is a final divorce decree.  Its purpose is not to punish the person providing support but to ensure equal economic/financial  justice for both parties.  Unlike spousal support and alimony pendent lite, there are no specific guidelines/calculations used to determine the support to be paid.  Rather, in Pennsylvania the court considers a list of 17 factors and from these determines what amount is appropriate.  Therefore, every case is different.  

Other Issues with Alimony

Here is the list of factors to be considered: length of marriage, assets and debts, current and future incomes, age, physical and mental health, homemaker’s contribution to the marriage, possibility of inheritances, income benefits such as retirement, pension, and insurance,standard of living during the marriage, specific financial needs of each spouse, level of education and need of alimony to secure advanced education, property each spouse had prior to the marriage, marital misconduct during the marriage (not after the separation), effect of minor child custody expenses on custodial parent, affect of alimony on both spouses’ federal, state and local taxes, ability of spouse who would receive alimony to be self supporting, determination of how much the spouse seeking alimony contributed to the other spouse’s advanced education or training, determination of whether the spouse seeking alimony has sufficient property (either from before or during the marriage)to meet his/her specific needs. 

These are issues that everyone must confront in a Bucks County divorce.  It is vital to determine where you stand in the Bucks County divorce process and how much you may be receiving or paying.