There are four different types of alimony; permanent alimony, rehabilitative alimony, reimbursement alimony, and limited duration alimony. The specifics of each type of exhaustively discussed in my other articles on this website. A key issue in many divorces of mid-length marriages is whether a dependent spouse should receive a limited duration alimony award, or a permanent alimony award. To many people a permanent alimony award is considered a "life sentence." I have even had a case wherein a payor was unsuccessful in having his alimony obligations reduced/terminated based on the grounds of retirement. My client was 86 years of age. The main point is that permanent alimony can haunt you for the rest of your life!

Limited term alimony was created in 1999. Before the creation of limited duration alimony in most mid-length marriages, most judges awarded the dependent spouse a permanent alimony award. The seminal case was Hughes v. Hughes, 311 N.J. Super. 15 (App. Div. 1998). In the Hughes case, the bright line rule was that in most ten year marriages the dependent spouse was awarded permanent alimony.

In my experience, in the majority of most mid-length marriages, the courts are now only awarding limited duration alimony and not permanent alimony. A review of recent case law conclusively proves that there is a strong judicial trend to limit the length of alimony in most mid-length marriages.

In summary, there is a clear judicial trend to be stingy in determining the length of alimony in mid-length marriages. I always advise clients to make any reasonable financial concession(s) to avoid having a permanent alimony obligation. Moreover, given the conservative approach that most judges have been taking in awarding alimony, a litigant should be very weary of agreeing to a permanent alimony award in a mid-length marriage.