As we explained previously, the Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act of 2011 prescribed durational limits for alimony payments. These limits cap alimony based on the length of the parties’ marriage. The limits are imposed at the time the marriage is over—but what exactly does that mean? In the case of multiple filings and counter-filings, for example (as tends to be the case with many divorces) just when is the marriage “over”?
Background:
The Appeals Court addressed this issue in a recent case, Sbrogna v. Sbrogna. In that case, the parties married in 1973. The husband first filed a complaint for divorce in 1990 on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage; however, no record of service of process on the wife existed. A few months later, the husband filed some motions related to the case. No one ever acted on those motions; two years later, the case was marked “inactive,” though not dismissed or otherwise formally closed by the court.
In 1994, the parties filed a joint motion to amend and a joint petition for divorce based on the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. The motion to amend was allowed, and the case proceeded as a joint action for divorce. The judgment of divorce was entered in 1994.
In 2016, the husband filed an action seeking to modify his alimony obligations. To do so, he attempted to use the 1990 filing date as the end date of the marriage, as opposed to the 1994 filing date of the joint petition. The husband argued that because of the 1990 filing, the parties’ marriage was more than fifteen years but less than twenty years, making his alimony obligation modifiable. The wife filed a motion to dismiss, which the court granted. The husband appealed.
Appeal:
The Appeals Court explained the durational limits imposed by the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. Under those limits, a marriage lasting more than 15 but less than 20 years is capped at 80% of the duration of the marriage for purposes of alimony payments. However, those caps do not apply to a marriage lasting more than 20 years; that’s why the husband wanted the original 1990 filing date signifying the end of the parties’ marriage.
The Appeals Court then explained that for purposes of alimony, it defines the length of the marriage as the number of months from the date of legal marriage to the date of service of a complaint or petition for divorce. However, the Court noted, the relevant pleading is that which results in a valid judgment of divorce. “To read the statute otherwise would lead to the nonsensical result that service of a pleading that leads neither to a valid divorce nor to an alimony award could nonetheless serve as the basis for calculating the length of the marriage and the duration of alimony, even if the parties reconciled and lived together for decades before ultimately divorcing,” the Court stated.
It’s common to have multiple complaints and petitions in divorce cases; any other reading of the statute would therefore be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce, the Court said. As a result of this interpretation, the Court noted that for alimony purposes, the 1994 joint petition must be used as the date for calculating the length of the Sbrognas’ marriage. As such, the husband did not have entitlement to modification of his alimony payments, because the marriage lasted longer than twenty years, thereby falling outside of the Act’s durational limits on general alimony.
Contact us:
Are you looking for an experienced Newburyport or Andover divorce lawyer or family law attorney? If you have any questions about alimony or any other issues regarding family law, please contact our firm. You may schedule a free consultation with an experienced family law lawyer today. Call our offices at 978-225-9030 during business hours or complete a contact form online. Do not hesitate to call our offices today.