standard of living

Does it matter if a party’s income increases between the cut off date (usually the date of Complaint) and the time of the divorce?  What about the argument that this income does not reflect the marital lifestyle so it should be ignored?  These questions were answered by Ocean County Family Part Judge Lawrence Jones, who, in his brief time on the bench, has become a prolific writer contributing a number of reported decisions.

Judge Jones addressed these issues in the reported case of Dudas v. Dudas released on November 1, 2011.  While trial court opinions do not have to be followed by other trial courts or the Appellate Division, Judge Jones’ analysis of the issue was interesting.

In this case, the wife was primarily a stay at home parent.  During the marriage, the husband’s income grew to the mid-$40,000 range, with a one year high of $59,000 by the end of the marriage.  After the Complaint, the husband’s "… W-2 income … sharply jumped to a personal high of $64,000 in 2009, and then ballooned again to $76,000 in 2010. In 2011, defendant is on pace to earn $68,000." 

Not surprisingly, the wife sought alimony based upon this higher income.  The husband argued, "… that his post-complaint earnings are irrelevant because, (a) alimony should be based upon the parties’ marital standard of living, and (b) that standard of living was never based on the heightened level of earnings he presently enjoys."    Judge Jones disagreed with the husband.Continue Reading The Impact of a Post Complaint Substantial Increase in Earnings – Marital Momentum or Much Ado About Nothing?

While the Appellate Division’s in the case of Tannen v. Tannen (addressed in another blog by Larry Cutler), primarily ruled that income paid to the divorcing wife as the beneficiary of a discretionary trust (the “WTT”) cannot be considered an asset available to fund alimony, that discussion naturally begged the question which was addressed in the second part of the case; namely – what effect does the actual income disbursed from the trust have on a determination of the needs of the parties in setting the alimony and child support obligation of the supporting spouse?

It is well-settled in New Jersey that the “marital standard of living” serves as the touchstone for the initial alimony award in a divorce. The standard of living during the marriage is the way the couple actually lived, whether they resorted to borrowing and parental support, or if they limited themselves to their earned income. The Court examines the couple’s “lifestyle expenses” in order to determine how much support is required by the dependent spouse to maintain that lifestyle support.

In Tannen, the trail judge sought to apply his conclusions regarding the parties’ lifestyle expenses to the calculation of the amount of support required by the dependent spouse to maintain that lifestyle. The judge acknowledged that the lifestyle expenses included those incurred by the parties and their children, however did not give any analysis as to the costs associated with the wife’s actual needs post-divorce in light of the fact that income was paid to her at least monthly by the WTT. He also failed to consider at all the husband’s post-divorce needs. The Appellate Division took issue.Continue Reading Tannen Continued: Income from Discretionary Trust Not Income, But Does it Reduce Need?