How Do Bills Get Paid During Divorce? Understanding Pendente Lite Support

Divorces in New Jersey can sometimes be protracted and there is often a need to establish support orders to ensure that bills get paid during the divorce.  This is called pendente lite (latin for “awaiting the litigation”) support, which is support for a spouse and children during the divorce process.

Pendente Lite support, also known as temporary support, is a type of financial support ordered by a court in New Jersey during the pendency of a divorce or separation action. The Court’s authority to order this type of support is found at N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23 which provides:

Pending any matrimonial action brought in this State . . . the court may make such order or maintenance of the parties. . . as the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case shall render fit, reasonable and just, and require security for the due observance of such order.

This type of support is intended to provide financial assistance to the dependent spouse and children while the divorce proceedings are ongoing.

Specifically, New Jersey Courts have found that the purpose of pendente lite alimony is to provide support for the dependent spouse while the divorce action is pending and to maintain the status quo as it existed at the time the action was instituted." - Lepis v. Lepis, 83 N.J. 139 (1980)  This support can consist of child support, spousal support, the payment of certain bills and expenses including the mortgage, utilities and private school or college tuition.

In New Jersey, pendente lite support is determined based on the needs of the dependent spouse and the ability of the supporting spouse to pay. The court will consider various factors, including the income and assets of both parties, the standard of living during the marriage, and the needs of any children involved.

The purpose of pendente lite support is to ensure that the dependent spouse can maintain their standard of living while the divorce proceedings are ongoing. It is also intended to ensure that the dependent spouse has the resources necessary to participate in the divorce proceedings and to hire an attorney if necessary. "Pendente Lite support orders are subject to modification at any time upon a showing of changed circumstances," Mallamo v. Mallamo, 327 N.J. Super. 597 (App. Div. 2000).

It is important to note that pendente lite support is not the final determination of support.  The court will make a final determination of support at the conclusion of the divorce proceedings, taking into account the same factors considered when determining pendente lite support. The Court even has the power to modify the pendente lite support including adjusting the amount of support at the time of the Final Judgment of Divorce to correct any errors in pendente lite awards. 

It is important to consult with a qualified family law attorney in New Jersey when seeking pendente lite support. An attorney can help you understand your rights and obligations, and can assist you in presenting your case to the court in the most favorable light. If you are thinking of divorcing your spouse or are worried about receiving appropriate support during a divorce please contact Georgia Fraser, Esq. of Fraser Family Law Office at (609(223-2099 to schedule a consultation.

Resilience: Getting Through

When I was in college I conducted an oral history of the Holocaust. I interviewed women and men who had survived the most unthinkable and unspeakable things. The overwhelming and amazing lesson was not what they had tragically endured, but how they had endured it.  How their spirits had survived when maybe others had given up hope.  Resilience.  Resilience is defined as essentially the ability to get back up when you get knocked down. And in study after study researchers have come to learn that resilience is the single biggest predictor of future success. 

So like my previous post on resolve, I ask the question, where does resilience come from? Is it a skill that we can learn or something innate to who we are? There are people that I meet as a Family lawyer who have the most indomitable spirits; who survive abuse and tragedy, who negotiate daily living under impossible circumstances and who re-bound from set-backs big and small.  There are others who get deeply stuck and are unable to move on.  So how do we cultivate resilience to get through life, to deal with divorce or other hard family law issues?

The poet David Whyte has said that “the cure for exhaustion isn’t always rest, its wholeheartedness.”  To live with wholeheartedness is to search out what makes us feel deeply alive. As we know that when we lose connection to our own spirit – we feel numb to the world around us, we lose resolve, and oftentimes we become physically weakened and sick.  Brene' Brown describes wholeheartedness as embracing our vulnerability and uncertainty, and that the path to wholeheartedness is ultimately about the “care and feeding of our spirits.”

I realize that a lot of time what is asked of individuals going through divorce or family law issues is to come up with a plan for the future when they are emotionally and mentally exhausted and have not yet connected with a sense of hope, or courage, or wholeheartedness. And what I learned from those survivors and all of the survivors that I meet everyday is that resilience is not necessarily about making big changes or crafting far-reaching plans, but rather is the steady commitment to a habit of staying present, of holding gratitude, and doing the things that make us feel wholehearted. I encourage you to start there.

If you’re ready to talk about getting through a divorce or another family law issue, please contact Georgia Fraser, Esq. at Fraser Family Law Office LLC, 609-223-2099

When Can an Application to Terminate or Modify Alimony due to Retirement be Made?

Since the modification of the New Jersey alimony statute in September 2014 litigants and attorneys have been grappling with how Courts will address many of its new provisions.  NJSA 2A:34-23(j)  provides that “alimony may be modified or terminated upon the prospective or actual retirement of the obligor,’ but up until recently there was no guidance in case law as to when a Court might consider such an application based upon a “prospective”future retirement date.

In August 2016, the case of Mueller v. Mueller (an Ocean County Chancery Division case) was approved for publication.  This case establishes a standard for what might be considered the timing of such an application. Judge Jones indicates in this case that a prospective retirement five years in the future was too far in advance for the Court to consider an application to terminate alimony.  However, the Court suggests that 12 to 18 months prior to actual retirement is the more appropriate timing of such an application.

For more information on applications to terminate or modify alimony, or other family law issues, please contact Georgia Fraser, Esq. of Fraser Family Law Office LLC at (609)223-2099.