As you make your way through a divorce, there could come a point when you begin to wonder if you’re able to receive alimony from your ex-spouse. Conversely, you may believe that you will be required to make this type of payment in the future.
It’s important to understand how the court calculates the amount of alimony to be paid from one person to the other.
Here’s the most important thing to remember: Unlike child support in which there are guidelines the court will follow, there is much more discretion with alimony. Some of the many factors that may be taken into consideration include:
— The physical health, emotional state and age of both individuals
— The financial condition of both individuals
— The length of time it would take the person receiving alimony to obtain training or an education to become financially self-sufficient
— The length of the marriage
— The standard of living during the marriage
— The ability for one individual to pay alimony but still support him or herself
These are all factors that can come into play as the court attempts to decide if and how much alimony will be paid.
If you are going through the divorce process and have reason to believe that you deserve to receive alimony in the near future, you should learn more about your legal rights. There is no guarantee that the court will agree with you, but there are steps you can take to make your case and to put yourself in position to get what you believe you deserve.
Source: FindLaw, “Spousal Support (Alimony) Basics,” accessed June 06, 2017