How is alimony and spousal support calculated in New Jersey?
Alimony in the state of New Jersey is calculated not by formula. Most people think that you’re just going to come up with this equation and poof, you’re going to have this number, but that’s not how it works. Alimony in the state of New Jersey is determined based upon a significant number of statutory factors, some of which are the length of the marriage, the age of the parties, the health of the parties, earning capacities of the parties, your history of earnings, as well as your education histories, your degrees and so forth, childcare taking responsibilities. These are some of the elements that the court looks to in determining and considering what the actual alimony needs will be of one party, and how much the other party can actually, in fact, pay. So when you’re thinking about alimony, don’t think that you’re just going to sit down, punch a couple of numbers into a calculator, and come up with a magic number. That’s not how it’s determined. It’s much more intricate analysis than that.