Various factors can affect how couples negotiate the terms of a divorce settlement. One critical factor is how long the marriage lasted.
A divorce settlement is an agreement that resolves the critical issues of the divorce that the spouses have worked out themselves without having to ask a trial court for a decision that they cannot control. As such, the goal is to come to an agreement about issues like child custody, property division, and spousal support/alimony in a way that both spouses can live with. Critically, they must consider how the court would rule on their case when negotiating the terms of a divorce settlement, as they will have to present it to the court for approval and incorporation into the divorce judgment.
How the Length of Marriage Affects Property Division
In most divorce cases, couples negotiate divorce settlements to resolve the question of the division of marital property and debts. Pennsylvania uses an equitable distribution system for property division in divorce. The equitable distribution system seeks to divide marital property fairly between spouses, although a division may not always involve an equal split of property. Instead, courts called upon to decide property division must consider various factors to determine a “fair” division, including the length of the marriage.
The length of the marriage can affect property division, as shorter marriages may involve returning the spouses to their pre-marital financial positions. In contrast, longer marriages may support a presumption that a couple has jointly accumulated property.
Length of Marriage and Alimony/Spousal Support
Courts also consider the duration of a marriage when called upon to decide alimony or spousal support obligations. For example, the longer that a spouse has spent out of the workforce serving as a homemaker during the marriage, the greater the need for alimony/spousal support, either as rehabilitative support to help the spouse return to the workforce or as support to help a spouse unable to return to work maintain a standard of living.
Other Factors That Work Alongside the Length of the Marriage
When evaluating how a court may rule on financial issues in a divorce case, couples should also consider factors like:
- Whether either spouse has had prior marriages
- The age, health, financial situation, vocational skills, employability, and needs of each spouse
- The contribution of one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse
- The opportunity of each spouse to acquire future assets or income
- The sources of income of each spouse, including medical, retirement, or insurance benefits
- The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, or depreciation of marital property (including contributions as a homemaker)
- The value of each party’s separate property
- The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage
- The tax consequences of a specific division of property
- The expense of selling, transferring, or liquidating an asset
- Whether a spouse will serve as the parent of primary custody of any children of the marriage
Additional factors that courts consider when deciding alimony/spousal support include:
- The relative earning capacity of the spouses
- The expectancies and inheritances of each spouse
- The extent to which a spouse’s role as the parent of primary custody will affect their earning power or expenses
- The relative education of the parties and the time necessary to allow a spouse seeking alimony to obtain appropriate employment
- The property brought to the marriage by either spouse
- Any marital misconduct by either spouse
- Whether the spouse seeking alimony lacks sufficient assets, including those from the property division, to support themselves
Contact a Divorce Lawyer Today
Are you going through a divorce in Pennsylvania? If so, you deserve seasoned legal guidance to protect your rights and interests. Contact The Law Offices of Dawn K. Gull today for a confidential consultation with a divorce attorney about your case.