Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Hi, and Thank you for your question,

1. Child support is the obligation of both parents. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has established "Child Support Guidelines" so that the amount of child support is determined by the combined income of both parents. The percentage of that amount which is payable by each parent is determined by a percentage. For example, assume that their combined income is $1,500 with your sister earning $500 per month and her husband earning $1,000 per month.. Your sister's income of $500 equals one-third of their combined monthly income of $1,500 and her husband's income of $1,000 equals two-thirds of their combined monthly income. The Child Support Guidelines show that where the combined income of both parents is $1,500, the amount of child support is "X". Since your sister's income represents one-third of their combined income, the amount of her obligation of the child support amount will be one-third of "X" and her husband's obligation will be two-thirds of "X".

2. There is also a schedule for support. Although the same schedule is used for both spousal support and Alimony Pendente Lite ("APL"), whether or not the spouse seeking the support will receive it will depend on the type of support being sought. If divorce proceedings have not been commenced, the party seeking support would file a Petition for Spousal Support and would have to prove "entitlement", i.e., that he/she is not at fault, that they are "entitled" to support., and that they earn less than the other spouse. So, if your sister's husband did not commence divorce proceedings, but filed a Petition for Spousal Support, he would have to first prove that he is not at fault, that he earns less than your sister, and that he is, therefore, entitled to spousal support.

If, on the other hand, the husband commenced divorce proceedings and wanted support, he would have to file a Petition for APL. In this instance, "fault" is not an issue and he would only have to show that he earned less than your sister.

Kindest regards,

ANDREA G. TILLIS