Child Support & Spousal Support (Alimony)

Pennsylvania uses income-based guidelines to calculate child support and spousal support. The guidelines create a presumptive amount — the court can deviate from the guidelines based on specific circumstances, but the guideline amount is the starting point.

Child Support Guidelines

Based on the combined net monthly income of both parents and the number of children. The support obligation is allocated between the parents in proportion to their respective incomes. Additional expenses — healthcare premiums, unreimbursed medical expenses, childcare costs, and private school tuition (if agreed or court-ordered) — are added to the basic obligation and apportioned.

Key considerations:

• Support continues until the child turns 18, or graduates from high school, whichever is later (but not beyond age 19 for high school completion)
• College costs are not included in the guidelines — but the court can order contribution to post-secondary education under certain circumstances
• Income includes wages, self-employment income, bonuses, commissions, rental income, and imputed income (if a parent is voluntarily underemployed)
• Deviation factors include: unusual needs, extraordinary expenses, other support obligations, and the best interests of the child

Spousal Support & Alimony

Spousal support: Paid during the marriage before divorce is finalized. Calculated using the guidelines: 40% of the difference in net incomes (without children) or 30% (with children, after subtracting child support).

Alimony pendente lite (APL): Similar to spousal support but designed to enable the lower-earning spouse to maintain or defend the divorce action. Calculated the same way.

Alimony: Post-divorce support. Not based on guidelines — determined by the court based on 17 factors in § 3701(b), including relative earning capacity, duration of the marriage, standard of living, contributions as homemaker, and marital misconduct (fault can reduce or increase alimony). Alimony is not guaranteed and is much harder to obtain than spousal support.