Law Lessons from THOMAS D. JACKSON V. RANDI B. JACKSON, App. Div., A-4868-07T1, December 9, 2009:

Limited duration alimony is not intended to facilitate the earning capacity of a dependant spouse or to make a sacrificing spouse whole, but rather to address those circumstances where an economic need for alimony is established, but the marriage was of short-term duration such that permanent alimony is not appropriate. [Cox v. Cox, 335 N.J. Super. 465, 476 (App. Div. 2000).]

Limited duration alimony is awarded “to a dependent spouse who made ‘contributions to a relatively short-term marriage that . . . demonstrated the attributes of a “marital partnership”‘ and has the skills and education necessary to return to the workforce.” Gordon v. Rozenwald, 380 N.J. Super. 55, 65-66 (App. Div. 2005) (quoting Cox, supra, 335 N.J. Super. at 483). “All other statutory factors being in equipoise, the duration of the marriage marks the defining distinction between whether permanent or limited duration alimony is warranted and awarded.” Ibid.

By today’s standards, a ten-year marriage is not considered short-term. Hughes v. Hughes, 311 N.J. Super. 15, 31 (App. Div. 1998). “However, the length of the marriage and the proper amount or duration of alimony do not correlate in any mathematical formula.” Lynn v. Lynn, 91 N.J. 510, 518 (1982).

See related Blog Post, published in the New Jersey Family Law blog.

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to Polish-speaking and other clients in Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Essex, Hudson, Bergen, and Morris counties in NJ.

Technorati Tags: , and easy technorati tags for wordpress plugin