Divorce Case Studies

 

Wife Obtains Permanent Spousal Support Based on Disability

A wife retained us after her husband, a professional engineer, filed for divorce. The couple had no children, although they had been married for approximately twenty-five years. The wife had initially continued her schoolteacher employment during the first part of the marriage but had suffered a degenerative neurological disease that disabled her from that employment. She had modest disability payments for her own support but depended largely on her husband's income for housing, medical insurance, transportation, and other household and life expenses. The couple owned their marital home and a second much-smaller vacation home without a mortgage. They also had no other debt. The husband maintained that the wife should provide for her own support out of her disability income and should receive the small vacation home in which to live. Our assessment was that our client needed and, under the law and equities, deserved substantial permanent spousal from her husband. Our proof showed that the husband had earned his graduate engineering degree during the marriage while our client had worked as a schoolteacher and provided their health insurance. Our proof further showed that our client's medical condition would worsen rather than improve and that her disability was permanent, making her unable to earn an income. Our proof further showed that only the marital home was appropriate for our client's disability needs. We called medical, social work, and vocational expert witnesses at the hearing to confirm this position and offered substantial corroborating exhibits. The judge agreed with our client's position, awarding her the marital home and substantial support at nearly the level our client had claimed.

Contact a Family Law Attorney Today!

Attorney Joseph D. Lento has more than a decade of experience practicing Family Law in New Jersey. If you are having any uncertainties about what the future may hold for you and your family, contact our offices today. Family Law Attorney Joseph Lento will go above and beyond the needs for any client and fight for what is fair.

This website was created only for general information purposes. It is not intended to be construed as legal advice for any situation. Only a direct consultation with a licensed Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York attorney can provide you with formal legal counsel based on the unique details surrounding your situation. The pages on this website may contain links and contact information for third party organizations - the Lento Law Firm does not necessarily endorse these organizations nor the materials contained on their website. In Pennsylvania, Attorney Joseph D. Lento represents clients throughout Pennsylvania's 67 counties, including, but not limited to Philadelphia, Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Schuylkill, and York County. In New Jersey, attorney Joseph D. Lento represents clients throughout New Jersey's 21 counties: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren County, In New York, Attorney Joseph D. Lento represents clients throughout New York's 62 counties. Outside of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, unless attorney Joseph D. Lento is admitted pro hac vice if needed, his assistance may not constitute legal advice or the practice of law. The decision to hire an attorney in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania counties, New Jersey, New York, or nationwide should not be made solely on the strength of an advertisement. We invite you to contact the Lento Law Firm directly to inquire about our specific qualifications and experience. Communicating with the Lento Law Firm by email, phone, or fax does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Lento Law Firm will serve as your official legal counsel upon a formal agreement from both parties. Any information sent to the Lento Law Firm before an attorney-client relationship is made is done on a non-confidential basis.

Menu