Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania

Hi, Thank you for your question,

In Pennsylvania, there is no "permanent alimony" and is not granted automatically at the end of a divorce. It depends on 14 factors listed in the Pennsylvania Divorce Code which I need not go into.

If the divorce ended a long term marriage and the wife had no skills and had been a "stay at home" mom, raising the children, the Court would enter an award of temporary alimony for several years. The length of time and the amount of the alimony award would depend on the length of the marriage, the standard of living the couple had maintained during the marriage, and 12 additional factors listed in the Pennsylvania Divorce Code. However, in any case where there is an award of alimony, it would be only for a temporary period of time and the wife would be expected to use the alimony payments to acquire skills and enter the work force as quickly as possible.

If the marriage was of relatively short duration and the wife was relatively young, it is questionable if alimony would be awarded for even 2 years. But, even in this situation, the wife would be expected to use the alimony payments to acquire skills and enter the workforce as quickly as possible.

Kindest regards,

ANDREA G. TILLIS