Marie A. Gonzales - Page 8




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          divorce suit or after final judgment.  See N.J. Stat. Ann. sec.              
          2A:34-23 (West 1987) (amended 1998).  The obligation to pay                  
          alimony ends at the recipient's death, see Jacobson v. Jacobson,             
          370 A.2d 65 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 1976); Sutphen v. Sutphen,             
          142 A. 817 (N.J. Ch. 1928), overruled in part by Williams v.                 
          Williams, 281 A.2d 273 (N.J. 1971), while the obligation to pay              
          child support survives the death of either spouse, see Kiken v.              
          Kiken, 694 A.2d 557, 561-562 (N.J. 1997); Jacobson v. Jacobson,              
          supra.  Moreover, a parent's duty to support a child terminates              
          when the child is emancipated.  See Bowens v. Bowens, 668 A.2d               
          90, 92 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1995); Mahoney v. Pennell, 667             
          A.2d 1119, 1121–1122 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1995); Thorson v.            
          Thorson, 574 A.2d 53, 54 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 1989).                    
               Under the New Jersey Rules of Court, courts are required to             
          "separate the amounts awarded for alimony or maintenance and the             
          amounts awarded for child support, unless for good cause shown               
          the court determines that the amounts should be unallocated."                
          N.J. Ct. R. 5:7-4(a).  Thus, while courts are encouraged to make             
          specific allocations of support, they are authorized to award                
          combined spousal and child support.  Although New Jersey statutes            
          do not say whether unallocated support payments terminate on the             
          death of the payee spouse, a New Jersey case helps reveal the                
          unlikelihood of that result’s occurring.                                     







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