On July 29, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that trial judges handling divorce cases in which alimony is sought must consider all thirteen (13) statutory factors in determining what type of alimony is to be awarded: permanent alimony, rehabilitative alimony, limited duration alimony, and reimbursement alimony. The initial decision in the case of Gnall v. Gnall, was decided prior to the amendment of the alimony law effective September 10, 2014 and thus the amendment is not considered in the Supreme Court’s decision for Mr. and Mrs. Gnall.
The new alimony statute provides that an award of alimony to be made for parties in a marriage or civil union of less than twenty (20) years in duration, shall not exceed the length of the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances. That generally means that people who are married for 13 years, should not receive and/or pay alimony for longer than 13 years (but it could be more or less depending on special circumstances or agreements). All of the alimony factors should be considered, together with additional factors implemented with the new alimony statute, to determine the type of alimony to be awarded, i.e., open durational, rehabilitative, limited durational or reimbursement – as well as the amount.
If you have any questions about what amount of alimony you should receive or should pay and the type of alimony that is applicable to your family situation, contact one of our family law attorneys for a consultation.
Monmouth And Ocean County Family Lawyers 