What You Should Know About Spousal Support
by Katherine Weiss, Esquire
SeniorLAW Center Staff Attorney
“We’ve been married for 43 years, and now this divorce
is happening!”
“I got a protection order and the police put him out
of the house, and now I can’t afford to pay the bills by myself.”
“He gets a big pension plus Social Security, but keeps
it all – my check is too small to buy much except food- that’s not
right!”
These are some of the things you might hear from
individuals who need help getting spousal support. Spouses
have a legal duty to support each other according to the amount of
their income, whether they reside together or not.
The first questions you will be asked by your attorney concern
“entitlement” to receive this support. That is, if you and your
spouse are separated, do the circumstances under which you
separated warrant an order of support against one of you and in
favor of the other?
An order for spousal support is proper when one spouse deserts the
other without reasonable cause, and, although having sufficient
financial ability, neglects or refuses to provide suitable
financial maintenance for the one with lower income.
To make out your case, you must be able to show that there is a
valid marital relationship that has not been dissolved by
divorce. Pennsylvania law does recognize common law marriage, so
you may be able to establish a legal marriage even if you never
obtained a marriage license, but the standards for establishing a
common law marriage are high. A common law marriage exists when
there is a “present agreement” to be married; merely “living
together,” even for a long time, may not be enough to create a
common law marriage. This is an area of law which is complex and
you should consult an attorney to determine whether your specific
situation qualifies as a common law marriage.
A kind of support called alimony pendente lite is available to a
spouse who is going through a divorce and does not have enough
income to pay bills until the order is final. A spouse also needs
to show that there aren’t “fault grounds,” such as would be
considered for a divorce. For example, these fault grounds could
be indignities, abuse, or adultery.
A spouse who has wrongfully moved out of a marital home (abandoned
the other) and did so without adequate legal cause may be required
to pay support. A spouse who left the marital residence
voluntarily, with the consent of the spouse who remained, or who
left with “adequate legal cause,” such as to avoid abuse, may also
be eligible to claim support.
You must prove that your spouse has refused or neglected to
provide suitable maintenance. When there is no physical
separation of households of the husband and wife (you may still be
in the same house, but living “separate and apart”), then this
refusal to support requires a clear showing of neglect. The court
will not get involved in the budget disputes between a husband and
wife.
The court must also be satisfied that the spouse you are
requesting support from actually is financially capable of paying
a support obligation. Any person whose income is less than
$550/month cannot have an order entered against him.
While spousal support does not always get paid to wives, in
reality, it is husbands who often receive larger Social Security
checks, pensions, etc., than their wives do. The person with the
greater income and is responsible to pay support to the other is
the “obligor”; the spouse who receives the support is the “obligee.”
Spousal support awards are based upon statewide guidelines so
people will be treated the same all over the state. The
guidelines are based on “reasonable needs” of the person seeking
support, and the ability of the other person to pay it. Again, by
law, no one whose income is less than $550/month would have an
order entered against him.
To begin the spousal support process, the person seeking support
must file a petition at Family Court – Domestic Relations. The
clerk’s office is now located at 1133 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia (next to the PGW office). The filing fee is $5.00.
The matter is then scheduled for a conference date in about four
weeks. Both parties receive notice of the date, will receive
Income and Expense Statements to fill out, and told to bring proof
of income to the conference.
At the support conference, the conference officer determines the
net income of the parties. Net income is the amount received,
minus federal, state, and local income, and Social Security taxes,
as well as any other support obligations (for families of other
marriages). Any unusual needs and extraordinary expenses which a
senior citizen may have will also be considered.
Each case is dependent upon its specific facts and parties.
However, the individual who is entitled to receive spousal support
commonly receives approximately 40% of the difference between the
net incomes of the spouses. For example, if the husband’s total
net income is $2,000 and wife’s social security is only
$435/month, the difference between the two is $1,565. Forty
percent of that is $626 and the husband would be ordered to pay
$626/month. This would bring the wife’s income up to $1,061 and
the husband would retain $1,374.
Those interested in seeking spousal support should discuss their
situation with an attorney. SeniorLAW Center
provides legal services and representation to older
Philadelphians, focusing on those most in need. If you are a
senior citizen in need of assistance, SeniorLAW Center may be able to
assist you. For more information, contact SeniorLAW Center’s intake line,
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at (215) 238-6361.
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