Get the Support You Need
In many instances, when you are dealing with a spousal support issue, you need a lawyer, right from the beginning. During the initial stages, you will negotiate for a support recommendation, and the amount of this recommendation will remain with you throughout the process. It is essential to be represented from the very start.
A Multi-Step Process
Spousal support is the financial support paid by one spouse to the other during a separation. It requires that the parties be separated but not divorced. After divorce, the support is called alimony. It is possible, under Pennsylvania law, to be separated while still living under the same roof.
Although the process is slightly different in each Pennsylvania county, filing for spousal support generally involves the same basic steps:
- First, file a complaint with the Domestic Relations Office.
- Second, usually four to eight weeks after the initial filing, a conference is scheduled with a conference officer. At this conference, the parties attempt to work out an agreement.
- Third, if an agreement was not reached with the conference officer, the officer looks at the parties' incomes and expenses, and assigns a monthly net amount to each party. Then the officer places these numbers into the statutory guidelines to generate a support recommendation.
- Fourth, if the parties do not agree with this recommendation, they will appear before a master and a recommendation is then issued.
- If either one of the parties disagrees with the master's recommendation, he or she can file exceptions (an appeal) to a judge.
We can represent you throughout this process. If you are considering filing for spousal support, it is crucial to have representation from the beginning of this process. The support recommendation decided upon in the earliest negotiations may become the recommendation upon which later stages are based on.
Contact Us
We represent you from the mind and the heart. Call one of our three Pennsylvania offices or contact us online to schedule a consultation with Attorney Nealon.
