Three kinds of support between spouses in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has three names for money paid from one spouse to the other.
- Spousal support is support between spouses who are still married and live apart.
- Alimony pendente lite (APL) is paid while a divorce case is pending.
- Alimony is paid after the divorce is final.
Spousal support and APL orders cannot be in effect at the same time (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1(c)). Both follow the same statewide guideline formula, which is what the calculator above applies. Alimony after the divorce has no formula.
The formula for spousal support and APL
Both spouses' income is measured as net monthly income. The formula, in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4, works in four steps:
- Start with the paying spouse's net income and subtract support that spouse pays to people outside this case.
- Take a share of that amount for the paying spouse and a share of the receiving spouse's net income.
- Subtract the second figure from the first. If the result is negative, the amount is zero.
- Adjust for additional expenses the rule allows (Rule 1910.16-6). The calculator stops before this step, so its result is the preliminary amount.
| Situation | Paying spouse | Receiving spouse |
|---|---|---|
| No dependent children | 33% | 40% |
| With dependent children | 25% | 30% |
With children, spousal support is figured first. The incomes are then adjusted by that amount before child support is calculated. The guideline amount is presumed to be correct, but a party can rebut the presumption (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1(d)).
A different method applies when the children live with the spouse who owes spousal support (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4(e)). Spousal support is first figured with the percentages for no children. The incomes are adjusted by that payment, the other spouse's child support for the children is calculated on the adjusted incomes, and the two amounts are offset. If spousal support is larger, the difference is paid as spousal support; if child support is larger, the difference is paid as child support to the parent the children live with. The calculator follows these steps when you say the children live with Spouse A.
Older orders
The formula above applies to orders entered on or after January 1, 2019. It also applies to a change to an older order that includes spousal support or APL when the 2017 federal tax changes to alimony expressly apply to that order. Any other change to an order entered before 2019 uses the older formula of Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4(a)(2). Without children, that formula is 40% of the difference between the paying spouse's net income, less support owed to others, and the receiving spouse's net income. With children, it is 30% of that difference after child support is also subtracted. Net income for those orders follows the older tax treatment, in which spousal support was deductible by the payer and taxable to the recipient. The calculator applies only the current formula; for an older order it says so instead of giving a figure.
Limits on the formula
The paying spouse keeps at least the self-support reserve, $1,255 a month in the current rules. When child support is decided in the same case, two more limits apply (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-2(e)(1)(iv)). If the paying spouse's income after spousal support falls in the shaded low-income area of the child support schedule, no spousal support is awarded and only child support is calculated. Otherwise spousal support and basic child support together may not leave the paying spouse below the reserve. The rule does not say which of the two is reduced to meet that limit; the calculator reduces spousal support first, and says so in the result. There is no income cap and no maximum amount. When combined monthly net income is above $30,000, the formula is only a preliminary analysis, and the court then considers additional expenses, expense statements and the deviation factors (Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-3.1 and 1910.16-5). The rules do not give a duration table. The court must consider how long the marriage lasted, from the date of marriage to final separation, when it decides how long the order runs.
Alimony after the divorce
Under 23 Pa.C.S. §3701 a court may award alimony only if it finds that support is necessary. It then weighs a list of 17 factors. They include the spouses' relative earnings and earning capacities, ages and health, sources of income, the length of the marriage, contributions to the other's education or earning power, the effect of caring for a minor child, the standard of living, relative education and the time needed to train, assets and liabilities, homemaker contributions, relative needs, marital misconduct during the marriage (misconduct after the final separation is not considered, except abuse of one party by the other), tax effects and whether a spouse is unable to be self-supporting.
The judge sets the length: a definite or an indefinite period that is reasonable under the circumstances, with the reasons stated in the order. An order can be modified, suspended or ended after a substantial and continuing change in either person's circumstances, and the recipient's remarriage ends it.
For child support, see the Pennsylvania child support calculator.