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A parent who cohabited with her children’s father sued for child support and spousal support in 2007. The parents lived together but never got a marriage license or held a formal marriage ceremony. Nevertheless, the children’s mother considered herself to have a common law marriage to the father. Her request for child support was granted in 2007, but the hearing officer denied her request for spousal support, finding that she […]

In Kent v. Kent (March 18, 2011), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania rejected a parent’s argument that she should be entitled to collect alimony for a period of eleven years so that she could continue to homeschool the parties’ minor children. It was undisputed in this case that the mother had withdrawn from the workforce five years earlier in order to home-school the parties’ children, which she continued to do up […]

In business, they say, cash flow rules. The same principle is true, I find, in divorce. I have been brainstorming a set of cash flow “rules” for divorcing spouses. Here is part one: 1.  Never run out of cash. My #1 divorce rule is the as Inc Magazine‘s #1 business rule. In divorce, there is a period of time immediately following separation when a divorcing spouse’s cash flow may be […]

In Balicki v. Balicki, 2010 PA Super. 134 (July 30, 2010), the Superior Court considered the husband’s argument that the alimony order provided more income to his ex-wife than she could spend (as shown by her budgetary expenses). The trial court in its opinion justified the alimony award by noting that the wife would pay income tax on her alimony award, thereby reducing the after-tax dollars available to her. The […]

The value of a spouse’s share of marital property and the income it generates, the income and earning capacity of each spouse, and the reasonable budgetary needs – these factors remain the most influential in Pennsylvania alimony cases.

Italian prime minister and TV-network billionaire Silvio Berlusconi may be facing an alimony obligation as great as $65 million per year.