Millville, NJ asked in Divorce and Family Law for New Jersey

Q: Does a provision in a PSA requiring me to pay “permanent alimony” for the rest of my life invalidated by statute?

The statute, 2A:34-23b, enacted prior to the PSA replaced “permanent alimony” - the outmoded term used in the PSA - with “open durational alimony,” along with various equitable factors to be considered in determining alimony.

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: In September of 2014, the alimony statute in NJ was changed to delete the word "permanent" and replace it with the words "open durational", so I start off with the presumption that the statute controls as to termination events as long as the language in your agreement does not say anything different - BUT a divorce lawyer needs to read the actual agreement to see what the agreement says about termination.

My suggestion is that you schedule a consultation with a family law specialist to review the language of your agreement to see what the agreement says about retirement.

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