Smith v. Smith

CHARLES, J.,

1. Alimony pendente lite began as a precept of Pennsylvania Common Law, not then discharged his lawyer and filed a as a matter of right. It was addressed to the sound discretion of the court, and the court could refuse it where cause against it was shown. The controlling element in granting an allowance was the wife’s necessity for it, the husband’s ability to pay and all the circumstances of the particular case. The destitute condition of the wife was a necessary prerequisite to an order for alimony pendent lite. Her want of pecuniary *535ability had to be shown affirmatively before…