As you prepare for your divorce proceedings in Matawan, many may be telling you (if you were not the primary wage-earner in your marriage), that you should expect to receive alimony payments from your soon-to-be ex-spouse for an indefinite period of time. Many that our team here at Robin Jill Schneider have worked with come to us with this expectation. Like them, you might be disappointed to learn that is not always the case (in fact, an award of alimony should not even be assumed to be a given in a divorce case).
Per Section 2A-34-23(b) of New Jersey’s code of Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice, the state actually recognizes four different types of alimony:
- Open durational alimony
- Limited duration alimony
- Rehabilitative alimony
- Reimbursement alimony
In the case of you being awarded rehabilitative alimony, you are required to present a plan detailing the steps that you need to take to get to the point of being able to secure gainful employment (to support a standard of living comparable to that which you enjoyed while married), as well as how long that process might take. Reimbursement alimony may be mandated if you worked to support your spouse as he or she pursued advanced education or training (in which case, he or she will be obliged to repay an amount equal to that which you generated for his or her benefit).
If your marriage lasted less than 20 years, the court will only impose a limited duration alimony obligation equal to the amount of time you were married. Only an open durational alimony award may approach being indefinite, and that ends if and when you choose to remarry.
You can learn more about New Jersey’s alimony guidelines by continuing to explore our site.