In Pennsylvania, alimony paid pursuant to a court order is modifiable upon a showing of substantial and continuing changed circumstances. This differs from alimony provisions contained in an out-of-court agreement that is incorporated into a divorce decree. In such an instance the alimony provision is governed by the terms of the contract and may only be modified if the contract provides the same. In the recent superior court case of McKernan v. McKernan, 135 A.3rd 1116 (Pa. Super. 2016), an alimony obligation existed pursuant to a court order and the issue of whether the alimony obligation could be modified because of Teresa McKernan’s eligibility for social security benefits, which she elected not to take, qualified as a substantial and changed circumstance warranting modification. The Superior Court held that it did not.
The facts of the McKernan case, in part, are as follows: after a 24-year marriage, the parties divorced and the court entered an order distributing the parties’ marital property and ordered Gerald McKernan to pay Teresa McKernan alimony in the amount of $1,106.77 per month. Thereafter, according to the opinion, Gerald McKernan filed a request to downwardly modify his alimony obligation because of his decreased earnings. Pursuant to his request, the trial court reduced his alimony obligation. Approximately three years later, Gerald McKernan again sought modification of his alimony obligation. At issue in Gerald McKernan’s modification petition is that he claimed that his income decreased because, though he began collecting social security benefits early, his rental income decreased and that loss offset his pension income and social security income. Because of his decreased earnings and the fact that Teresa McKernan was eligible for early retirement Gerald McKernan claimed that his alimony should be downwardly modified. After a hearing, the trial court denied Gerald McKernan’s request for modification.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
