Category Archives: Alimony
How Spousal Support Differs from Alimony in Pennsylvania
When you’re going through a divorce, you’ll be exposed to an array of legal terms and phrases, some of which have specialized meanings that may differ from your common understanding. As an instance of possible confusion, alimony and spousal support are not the same thing under Pennsylvania law. Alimony is paid by one spouse… Read More »
Can a Court Impute Income to a Spouse or Parent Who Is Unemployed or Underemployed?
Child support and alimony obligations can be among the most acrimonious issues in divorce. Often, the party required to pay support doesn’t want to overpay, while the party receiving it doesn’t want to be, in his or her view, shortchanged. When animosity leads to behaviors such as quitting a job or taking a low-paying job… Read More »
Will the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Affect Your Alimony?
People who are new to paying alimony will no longer be able to deduct their payments when they file their federal income taxes, thanks to the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law in 2017. This also means that those who receive alimony no longer have to report it as taxable income…. Read More »
New Tax Law Affects Deductibility of Alimony
The tax reform bill, which Republicans in Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law in December, will make matters slightly more difficult for some divorced people. Under the new law, individuals who pay alimony can no longer deduct those payments on their tax returns, and those who receive alimony payments will not have… Read More »
What Is Alimony and How Is It Calculated?
People use the term alimony loosely to refer to maintenance payments an ex-spouse makes to a former spouse. In Pennsylvania, however, there are three such terms for these payments, and each denotes support at a particular time in the process: Spousal support — Amounts paid after the couple agrees to live “separately and apart,” but… Read More »