Pittsburgh Spousal Support Lawyer - Allegheny County Spousal Support
Our Pittsburgh spousal support lawyers handle spousal support cases throughout Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. Our attorneys can assist with filing for spousal support or a modification
of spousal support. We handle spousal support conferences and spousal support hearings
for legal matters arising in Allegheny County and the surrounding areas. If you have questions about Pennsylvania spousal support law we would be happy to speak to you.
Law Offices of Scott L. Levine, LLC
425 1st Ave - 6th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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Spousal Support
Spousal support refers to
monetary amounts paid by the primary wage earner to the dependent spouse. In Pennsylvania, there are several types of spousal support. The payments
are each unique in nature and further differentiated by when the payments are made (i.e. before, during or after
divorce).
The first type of spousal support is available to the dependant spouse following separation
and prior to the filing of a complaint in divorce. Infidelity by the dependant spouse may be the basis for an entitlement
defense (they are not entitled to receive it) to spousal support and/or alimony.
Alimony
Pendente Lite - APL
Once a complaint
in divorce has been filed, support received by the dependant spouse is called Alimony Pendente Lite or "APL" which
essentially means alimony pending litigation. This is used to put the spouses on a relatively level playing field during the
pendency of a divorce action. The interim support allows the dependant spouse to pay their bills and maintain some amount of parity in their standard
of living while they adjust to the loss of the income and support of the primary wage earner.
Alimony
Following
the entry of a divorce decree, spousal support is referred to as Alimony. Alimony is a monetary award on a monthly or biweekly basis to a dependant spouse for a defined period of time, based on
multiple factors including: the length of the parties marriage, the respective ability of each party to seek gainful employment,
and whether the dependant spouse will require any training before being able to rehabilitate and re-enter the workforce, if
previously not employed. Also the ages and health of the parties will be considered. Generally a short marriage may result
in little or no Alimony, while a long marriage where the current earning capacity of each party is disproportionate, may be
more likely to produce a longer and higher award. If
you need to talk to a lawyer about how to obtain spousal support, the amount of interim spousal support you may receive or owe, or the factors considered in determining whether spousal support is
awarded we would be more than happy to speak to you. We can also explain how APL is calculated. For more information about Spousal Support in Pennsylvania, call Scott L. Levine at 412.303.9566.
