Every professional field has its own jargon; when you talk shop with your coworkers or other people who work in a similar industry to yours, it might be hard for your family and friends from outside work to catch the nuances of the conversation. In the legal profession, there are a lot of Latin words and phrases, only a few of which have entered common English usage, such as affidavit, meaning a written statement that the writer swears is true, and bona fide, meaning “in good faith,” or sincerely. If you are going through a divorce, your lawyer might have used the terms pendente lite alimony and temporary alimony interchangeably. In fact, pendente lite alimony is only one out of several types of alimony that is not meant to last forever. To find out more about what kind of alimony, if any, you are eligible to receive, contact a Clintwood divorce attorney.
How Pendente Lite Alimony Works
The Latin phrase pendente lite means “while a court case is pending.” Therefore, pendente lite alimony refers to monthly payments that the higher-income spouse must pay to the lower-income spouse after a divorce petition has been filed but before the court has issued an order dissolving the marriage. In most cases of pendente lite alimony, the lower-income spouse is out of the workforce or has only recently reentered it, but in some cases, both spouses have worked throughout the marriage, but they have a large disparity in income.
The lower-income spouse usually also has possession of the marital home, at least temporarily. Whether or not the court will eventually award possession of the marital home to the lower-income spouse, it is the higher-income spouse’s responsibility to contribute enough money to cover the mortgage payments and household bills each month. Pendente lite alimony always ends when the divorce becomes final. Depending on each party’s financial situation and on the division of marital property, the court may or may not order additional alimony to be paid after the divorce.
Virginia Courts Sometimes Order Pendente Lite Parenting Plans and Child Support, Too
Every divorced couple who has minor children together must have a parenting place that covers issues of parenting time and transportation from one parent’s house to the other. In most cases, the court also orders the higher-income parent to pay child support to the lower-income parent, unless the higher-income parent has the vast majority of parenting time. If the divorce case takes a long time and the parents cannot agree on time-sharing for the short term, the court can also order a temporary parenting plan and a child support order based on it. When the divorce becomes final, the court will issue a permanent parenting plan and child support order, which may be the same as or different from the temporary one.
Contact Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC About Alimony and Child Support
The lawyers at Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC serve the southwestern Virginia community in family law cases and other areas of the law. Contact Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC to set up a consultation.