A. The alimony statute lists 14 factors that the court must consider. They are:
1.The actual need and ability of the parties to pay;
2.The duration of the marriage or civil union;
3.The age, physical and emotional health of the parties;
4.The standard of living established in the marriage or civil union and the likelihood that each party can maintain a reasonably comparable standard of living, with neither party having a greater entitlement to that standard of living than the other;
5.The earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills, and employability of the parties;
6.The length of absence from the job market of the party seeking maintenance;
7.The parental responsibilities for the children;
8.The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment, the availability of the training and employment, and the opportunity for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;
9.The history of the financial or non-financial contributions to the marriage or civil union by each party including contributions to the care and education of the children and interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities;
10.The equitable distribution of property ordered and any payouts on equitable distribution, directly or indirectly, out of current income, to the extent this consideration is reasonable, just and fair;
11.The income available to either party through investment of any assets held by that party;
12.The tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a non-taxable payment;
13.The nature, amount, and length of pendente lite support paid, if any; and
14.Any other factors which the court may deem relevant.
B. For any marriage less than 20 years in duration, the total duration of alimony shall not, except in exceptional circumstances, exceed the length of the marriage or civil union.
C. Determination of the length and amount of alimony shall be made by the court pursuant to consideration of all of the statutory factors set forth above.
D. In addition to those factors, the court shall also consider the practical impact of the parties' need for separate residences and the attendant increase in living expenses on the ability of both parties to maintain a standard of living reasonably comparable to the standard of living established in the marriage, to which both parties are entitled, with neither party having a greater entitlement thereto.
E. Exceptional circumstances which may require an adjustment to the duration of alimony include:
1.The ages of the parties at the time of the marriage and at the time of the alimony award;
2.The degree and duration of the dependency of one party on the other party during the marriage;
3.Whether a spouse or partner has a chronic illness or unusual health circumstance;
4.Whether a spouse or partner has given up a career or a career opportunity or otherwise supported the career of the other spouse or partner;
5.Whether a spouse or partner has received a disproportionate share of equitable distribution;
6.The impact of the marriage on either party's ability to become self-supporting, including but not limited to either party's responsibility as primary caretaker of a child;
7.Tax considerations of either party;
8.Any other factors or circumstances that the court deems equitable, relevant and material.
F. An award of alimony for a limited duration may be modified based either upon changed circumstances, or upon the nonoccurrence of circumstances that the court found would occur at the time of the award. The court may modify the amount of such an award, but shall not modify the length of the term except in unusual circumstances.
G. In determining the length of the term, the court shall consider the length of time it would reasonably take for the recipient to improve his or her earning capacity to a level where limited duration alimony is no longer appropriate.
H. Rehabilitative alimony shall be awarded based upon a plan in which the payee shows the scope of rehabilitation, the steps to be taken, and the time frame, including a period of employment during which rehabilitation will occur. An award of rehabilitative alimony may be modified based either upon changed circumstances, or upon the nonoccurrence of circumstances that the court found would occur at the time of the rehabilitative award.
I. This section is not intended to preclude a court from modifying alimony awards based upon the law.
J. Reimbursement alimony may be awarded under circumstances in which one party supported the other through an advanced education, anticipating participation in the fruits of the earning capacity generated by that education.
An award of reimbursement alimony shall not be modified for any reason.
K. With few exceptions, the Court may award open durational alimony, limited duration alimony, rehabilitative alimony or reimbursement alimony, separately or in any combination, as warranted by the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case.
L.The court may consider also the proofs made in establishing the grounds for divorce in determining an amount of alimony that is fit, reasonable and just.
"Open durational alimony"--meaning alimony that was entered after a marriage of at least 20 years and therefore does not have a pre-set end date--can be ended by a Judge based upon a "substantial change in circumstances."
The three most common "substantial changes in circumstances" that can lead a judge to TERMINATE OPEN DURATIONAL ALIMONY are retirement of the payor, reduction of income of the payor, and cohabitation of the recipient of alimony.
Let's take a look at each of these CHANGES OF CIRCUMSTANCES and show you what must be shown to a judge in order for the judge to consider ending alimony.