Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Hello

Under Pennsylvania law, there are three categories of payments that the court may require one spouse to pay the other spouse. Spousal support is the obligation to support your spouse that may be required when you are separated but before a divoce complaint is filed. Alimony pendente lite is category of payments that is required after the divorce complaint is filed. Alimony is the type of payment required after the divorce decree is entered. If the parties do not have children together as a couple, spousal upport and alimony pendente lite are calculated, generally speaking, by using the following formula: subtract the payee's net income (in this case--your wife) from the payor's net income (your's) and multiply that net amount by 40%. But there are a number of additonal issues that the court considers in determing the amount of the payment including: do either of you have an earning capacity that exceeds your actual income? what is the amount of taxes that should be subtracted to determine net income? is the amount of the mortgage payments excessive according to a formula the court will use?

The court uses seventeen (17) different factors to determine the amount and length of alimony which is usually paid after the divorce decree is entered.

As you can see, there are many factors that the court can consider in awarding spousal support, alimony pendente lite or alimony. For this reason, I recommend that you consult with an attorney about this issue. An attorney can help you calculate the support amount and may be able to help you settle your case so that you do not have to appear in court. If you do not have an attorney, your local bar association may be able to give you the names of attorneys in your county that practice family law.