INDUSTRY INSIGHT
S
taying at home with the
kids is a huge sacrifice and
the rewards are great, but
is this experience priceless? With
the divorce rate at 40-50%, some
parents would argue that they
paid the price on the back end.
Mothers and fathers have given up
their careers and paychecks only
to find out in court that they are
not getting the security they once
thought they would have.
In Pennsylvania divorce cases,
the courts consider a parent’s
contribution as a homemaker or a
custodian of minor children as one
of 11 factors in deciding how to
divide the marital estate, and one
of 17 factors in deciding whether
that parent should receive
alimony. This is not welcome news
for professional men and women
who left a good job for diapers,
playdates, PTA and sleepless
nights caring for a sick child.
For example, in 2000, “Jane” was
an advertising executive for a big
firm. It took Jane approximately 10
years in total to prove herself and
rise to the executive level of the
firm. “John” was in medical school
when they met, and became a
doctor in 2000. They got married
in 2001 and both of them earned
approximately $100,000 per year.
Jane continued to work at that
level until she gave birth to “Jack”
in 2003. John and Jane agreed
that Jane would stay home with
Jack so he can have the same
upbringing that they benefitted
from. However, in 2016, John and
Jane decided to divorce.
They tried to handle their
divorce amicably, but Jane is
disappointed with John’s offer of
two years of alimony and 50% of
their marital estate. In 2016, John
is making $400,000 per year. He
asserts that Jane can go back to
work as an advertising executive
making the same salary she did 13
years ago. However, at this point
Jane would essentially have to
start from scratch in advertising,
making $35,000-$40,000 per year,
and it would take her at least eight
years to be able to make $100,000
per year. She is eventually awarded
FAMILY LAW
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SHOULD STAY-ATHOME PARENTS HAVE
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four years of alimony at $4,000 per
month, $1,200 per month in child
support and 50% of the marital
estate. The alimony is designed
to give her time to get the
education she needs to get back
into advertising or another field
of her choosing, and to cover her
medical insurance for that period
of time. Jane is bitter that she gave
up her future because of what she
and John thought was important
— raising their son.
Things could have turned out
differently if both John and Jane
made a conscious decision to
provide security for Jane in the
form of a postnuptial agreement.
Postnuptial agreements are
helpful in these situations because
they can structure a financial
arrangemen