Man With Lifetime Alimony Gets Jail Time

A New Jersey man is so far behind in his lifetime alimony payments that he routinely gets sentenced to jail time for not paying his ex-wife her alimony and his child support payments. The Bergen county man worked as a portfolio manager at a major investment group and at one time made as much as $1 million a year. He and his ex-wife divorced after 17 years of marriage and was ordered by a New Jersey court to pay alimony and child support. As of August, 2013, the man has been sent to jail at least eight times in the span of two years for missing his court-ordered alimony obligations. The reason he has been missing his alimony payments is because, like so many people throughout New Jersey, his salary and job security has been the victim of the unstable national economy. In order to keep up with his court-ordered alimony and child support payments he has exhausted his life savings. His court-ordered annual alimony and child support obligation total almost $100,000 a year. The man feels that the laws of the state of New Jersey with regard to lifetime alimony are completely unfair because if a payer’s life circumstances changes and he or she cannot continue to pay the amount of alimony that the court ordered, they can be jailed for contempt of court for missing payments – even if they are out of work and out of resources to make the payments. Although, New Jersey law does allow post judgment modification of alimony and child support in some cases where a party can show a significant “changed circumstance” that would necessitate court intervention, many law makers are pushing to change the archaic laws concerning lifetime alimony in New Jersey. Currently, there are two bills before the New Jersey Legislature focused on this goal. Getting the court to modify alimony and child support amounts could be difficult and require paying an attorney to carry out the process. If you need to petition the court to modify your alimony or child support payments you should seek out the advice and counsel of an attorney who has experience in his area of the law. For more information about alimony, child support or other family law matters in New Jersey visit HeatherDarlingLawyer.com and NJCivilUnionLaw.com. This blog is for informational purposes and in no way intended to replace the advice of an attorney.