I am a lawyer and my business is going down the tube. What are my chances to prevail if I file a motion to reduce my alimony?
Every case stands on its own merits. A recent case is Donnelly v. Donnelly, A-2389-07. The main point of the Donnelly case is that the court offered a simple warning: Don’t take on a lifestyle you can’t pay for and then try to make your former spouse feel the pinch. Here, Gregory Donnelly, of Wayne, N.J.’s Donnelly and Warner, had a law pracice that focused on commercial and residential real estate, personal injury and matrimonial work. During his 2003 divorce, his annual income was estimated at $185,000 based that was averaged on a five year basis five years. The parties eventually settled. The PSA required him to pay $1,000 a week in alimony to his wife Elizabeth and $350 a week in child support for their three children. In 2005, Mr. Donnelly applied to Superior Court Judge before the well respected Michael Diamond in Passaic County for a reduction in payments. He argued that that his income was reduced to $80,000 a year. His income had in fact been falling before the divorce, from $
