Opinion ID: 1961489
Heading Depth: 1
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Heading: The Elements of Changed Circumstances

Text: The supporting spouse's obligation is mainly determined by the quality of economic life during the marriage, not bare survival. The needs of the dependent spouse and children contemplate their continued maintenance at the standard of living they had become accustomed to prior to the separation. Khalaf v. Khalaf, 58 N.J. 63, 69 (1971); see Bonanno v. Bonanno, 4 N.J. 268, 274 (1950). [3] The amount is not fixed solely with regard, on the one hand, to the actual needs of the wife, nor, on the other, to the husband's actual means. There should be taken into account the physical condition and social position of the parties, the husband's property and income (including what he could derive from personal attention to business), and also the separate property and income of the wife. Considering all these and any other factors bearing upon the question, the sum is to be fixed at what the wife would have the right to expect as support if living with her husband. [ Bonanno, 4 N.J. at 274 (quoting Dietrick v. Dietrick, 88 N.J. Eq. 560, 561-562 (E & A 1917)] In accordance with this general principle, courts have recognized changed circumstances that warrant modification in a variety of settings. Some of them include (1) an increase in the cost of living, see Martindell, 21 N.J. at 353; (2) increase or decrease in the supporting spouse's income, Martindell, 21 N.J. at 355; Traudt v. Traudt, 116 N.J. Eq. 75 (E & A 1934); Acheson v. Acheson, 24 N.J. Misc. 133 (Ch. 1946); (3) illness, disability or infirmity arising after the original judgment, e.g., Kirshbaum v. Kirshbaum, 129 N.J. Eq. 429 (E & A 1941); Limpert v. Limpert, 119 N.J. Super. 438 (App.Div. 1972); see Ostrow v. Ostrow, 59 N.J. Super. 299, 305-306 (App.Div. 1960); (4) the dependent spouse's loss of a house or apartment, Jackson v. Jackson, 140 N.J. Eq. 124 (E & A 1947); McLeod v. McLeod, 131 N.J. Eq. 44 (E & A 1942); (5) the dependent spouse's cohabitation with another, [4] Wertlake v. Wertlake, 137 N.J. Super. 476 (App.Div. 1975); Garlinger v. Garlinger, 137 N.J. Super. 56 (App.Div. 1975); Eames v. Eames, 153 N.J. Super. 99 (Ch.Div. 1976); Grossman v. Grossman, 128 N.J. Super. 193 (Ch.Div. 1974); (6) subsequent employment by the dependent spouse, Ramhorst v. Ramhorst, 138 N.J. Eq. 523 (E & A 1946); Kavanagh v. Kavanagh, 134 N.J. Eq. 358 (E & A 1944), see also Lavene v. Lavene, 162 N.J. Super. 187, 203 (Ch.Div. 1978); and (7) changes in federal income tax law, Acheson, supra . Courts have consistently rejected requests for modification based on circumstances which are only temporary or which are expected but have not yet occurred. Bonanno, supra; McDonald v. McDonald, 6 N.J. Super. 11 (App.Div. 1949); Sassman v. Sassman, 1 N.J. Super. 306 (App.Div. 1949). When children are involved, an increase in their needs  whether occasioned by maturation, the rising cost of living or more unusual events  has been held to justify an increase in support by a financially able parent, see Shaw v. Shaw, 138 N.J. Super. 436 (App.Div. 1976); Testut v. Testut, 34 N.J. Super. 95 (App.Div. 1955); Clayton v. Muth, 144 N.J. Super. 491 (Ch.Div. 1976). Their emancipation and employment may warrant reduction in their support, see, e.g., Kavanagh v. Kavanagh, supra ; Rufner v. Rufner, 131 N.J. Eq. 193 (E & A 1942); see also Grotsky v. Grotsky, 58 N.J. 354 (1971). This review of New Jersey decisions [5] reveals the factors that a court of equity must assess when determining whether the former marital standard of living is being maintained. When support of an economically dependent spouse is at issue, the general considerations are the dependent spouse's needs, that spouse's ability to contribute to the fulfillment of those needs, and the supporting spouse's ability to maintain the dependent spouse at the former standard. The decision to modify child support requires a similar examination of the child's needs and the relative abilities of the spouses to supply them. Our analysis makes clear that changed circumstances are not limited in scope to events that were unforeseeable at the time of divorce. This is particularly obvious in cases involving modification of child support orders, where maturation is cited as justifying an increase in support by a financially able parent. See, e.g., Shaw v. Shaw, supra . The supporting spouse has a continuing obligation to contribute to the maintenance of the dependent spouse at the standard of living formerly shared. So long as this duty continues, objective notions of foreseeability  what the parties or the court could or should have foreseen  are all but irrelevant. The proper criteria are whether the change in circumstance is continuing and whether the agreement or decree has made explicit provision for the change. An increase in support becomes necessary whenever changed circumstances substantially impair the dependent spouse's ability to maintain the standard of living reflected in the original decree or agreement. Conversely, a decrease is called for when circumstances render all or a portion of support received unnecessary for maintaining that standard. After finding that the dependent spouse cannot maintain the original standard of living, the court must consider the extent to which the supporting spouse's ability to pay permits modification. If the existing support arrangement has in fact provided for the circumstances alleged as changed, it would not ordinarily be equitable and fair, Smith, 72 N.J. at 360, to grant modification. For example, although a spouse cannot maintain the marital standard of living on the support payments received, this would not ordinarily warrant modification if it were shown that a single large cash payment made at the time of divorce was included with the express intention of meeting the rising cost of living. [6] In other cases, the equitable distribution award  which we have recognized is intimately related to support, id.  might have been devised to provide a hedge against inflation. The same might be true with respect to child support. A lump sum payment or a trust established for the benefit of the children could be shown to have been designed to cover the certain eventuality of increasing needs.