If you are facing divorce after a long marriage, one fear tends to rise above all others:
How long am I going to be paying alimony?
Or…
How long will I be able to receive it?
In New Jersey, long marriages often lead to a form of support called:
Open Durational Alimony
And for many people, that phrase alone is terrifying.
Open durational alimony used to be called “permanent alimony.”
Some people still call it “lifetime alimony.”
That name alone causes panic among those who pay alimony.
But open durational alimony does not automatically last forever.
It continues unless and until a court changes it, based on new circumstances.
That is a critical difference.
Under current New Jersey law, marriages of 20 years or more qualify for open durational alimony.
For divorces entered after September 2014, New Jersey law created a critical protection:
There is now a presumption that when a payor reaches full retirement age, currently 67, they are entitled to retire and seek termination or modification of alimony.
That does not mean payments automatically stop.
It means the court must carefully examine:
• Whether retirement is reasonable
• The financial condition of both parties
• Whether the dependent spouse still has legitimate need
For divorces before September 2014, this presumption does not apply.
The law is very different depending on your divorce date.
• No lawyer can guarantee how long alimony will last
• No lawyer can promise it will end at retirement
• No lawyer can guarantee an exact dollar amount
Judges decide these issues based on evidence.
What can be controlled is:
• How your financial position is analyzed
• How carefully each parties' lifestyle is framed
• How your case is presented
For 37 years, I
I understand the fear on both sides.
I understand how courts truly analyze long-term support.
And I understand how these cases must be built from the very beginning.
If you are facing divorce after a long marriage, what you do next can affect you financially for the rest of your life.
I get it.
And I am here to help.
If you want to understand:
• Whether open durational alimony may apply to your marriage
• How long-term exposure is evaluated
• What happens at retirement
• And what realistic outcomes may look like
I invite you to begin with education.
My free NJ Divorce Course explains alimony, custody, money, and strategy in plain English.
There are no guarantees in court.
But there is knowledge, preparation, and leverage.
And sometimes, that changes everything.
Steve
Steven J. Kaplan, Esq.
Specializing In Divorce
Throughout New Jersey
5 Professional Circle
Colts Neck, NJ 07722
(732) 845-9010
www.KaplanDivorce.com