Spousal Support in New Jersey

The four types of alimony

Open durational alimony has no fixed end date. Courts typically consider it for marriages of 20 years or longer. It remains modifiable based on future circumstances, such as retirement or cohabitation. Limited duration alimony runs for a set term. A court can modify the amount based on changed circumstances. But it generally cannot extend the length of the term, except in unusual circumstances.

Rehabilitative alimony supports a spouse through a specific plan to return to the workforce. That plan shows the scope of rehabilitation, the steps involved, and the time frame. It can be modified if circumstances change or the plan does not happen as expected. Reimbursement alimony compensates a spouse who supported the other through an advanced education. The idea is that both spouses expected to share in the resulting earning capacity. By statute, reimbursement alimony cannot be modified for any reason.

The 14 statutory factors

N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(b) lists 14 factors. No single factor automatically outweighs the others. The court looks at the actual need of each party and the other's ability to pay. It weighs the duration of the marriage or civil union, along with the age, physical health, and emotional health of the parties. The judge considers the marital standard of living and each party's likely ability to maintain a reasonably comparable one. Earning capacities, education, vocational skills, and employability all factor in.

The court also looks at how long the requesting spouse has been out of the job market, and at each party's parental responsibilities for the children. It considers the time and cost needed to gain training or education for employment. The history of financial and non-financial contributions to the marriage matters too, including career or education interruptions.

Equitable distribution of property, and any payouts from that distribution, come into play. So does income available through investment of assets, and the tax treatment of the award. The court reviews the nature, amount, and length of any pendente lite support already paid, and it may weigh any other relevant factor. If the court finds certain factors more or less important than others, it must explain why in writing.

The 20-year line and exceptional circumstances

For any marriage or civil union under 20 years, the statute caps total alimony duration at the length of the marriage itself. The only way around that cap is exceptional circumstances that the court identifies. Those circumstances can include the parties' ages at marriage and at the time of the alimony award. They can include the degree and duration of one spouse's dependency on the other, or a chronic illness or unusual health circumstance.

Courts also weigh whether a spouse gave up a career or supported the other's career, or received a disproportionate share of equitable distribution. They look at the marriage's impact on a party's ability to become self-supporting, including as a primary caretaker. Tax considerations and any other factor the court finds equitable and material can matter too.

Retirement, cohabitation, and other termination events

New Jersey law creates a rebuttable presumption. Alimony terminates once the paying spouse reaches full retirement age. That presumption can be overcome. Factors include the parties' ages, the duration of the recipient's economic dependency, and the recipient's ability to have saved for retirement.

Alimony may also be suspended or terminated for a different reason. If the paying spouse proves the recipient is cohabiting with another person in a mutually supportive, intimate relationship, the court can act. Courts weigh factors like shared finances and living arrangements to decide whether cohabitation exists.

Separately, one narrow rule applies to a small set of cases. A person convicted of murdering, or attempting or conspiring to murder, certain family members after the marriage is barred from receiving alimony from the intended victim.