The purpose
of alimony is to rehabilitate a
disadvantaged spouse who will
suffer financially following a
divorce if financial assistant
is not provided in the form of
alimony. Generally,
a spouse is disadvantaged when
he or she has unequal education,
work or vocational skills and
experience, or is otherwise
economically disadvantaged when
compared to the other spouse.
In such cases, alimony may be
sought from the other spouse as
a component of the divorce
action. Alimony is not
automatically awarded in a
divorce, but instead, is
dependant upon several factors
such as:
(1)
The relative earning
capacity of each spouse, the
obligations, needs, and
financial resources of each
spouse, as well as income
from retirement, pensions,
and all other sources;
(2)
The relative education and
training of each party, the
ability and opportunities
available to each spouse to
obtain education, training,
and the necessity of either
spouse to pursue and obtain
additional education and/or
training to improve his or
her earning capacity;
(3)
The duration of the
marriage;
(4)
The ages and mental
conditions of each spouse;
(5) The
physical conditions of each
spouse, including
any physical disabilities
and/or any incapacity
resulting from a chronic
debilitating disease;
(6) The extent to
which it would be
undesirable or impracticable
for either spouse to seek
and obtain employment
outside the home due to
children and either spouse
serving as the custodian of
children born of the
marriage (now termed the
primary residential parent);
(7) The separate assets
of each spouse including
real estate (property/land),
and personal property;
(8) The allocation of marital
assets and debt and any
other provisions made by the
court in the divorce action;
(9) The standard of living
created and enjoyed during
the marriage;
(10) The scope and extent
by which each spouse has
made both tangible and
intangible contributions to
the marriage as wage
earners, homemakers, and
contributions made by one to
the other in regard to his
or her education, training,
development of vocational
skills and abilities, and/or
increases to the other
spouse's earning capacity;
(11) The relative fault
of both spouses in causing
the marriage to fail, where
the court in its discretion,
deems the same as relative
and appropriate for
consideration;
(12) Any
other factors necessary to
consider the equities
between the spouses.
There are different types of
alimony. The specific
kind of alimony that may be
awarded is dependant upon
your and your spouse's
specific circumstances.
Alimony is generally awarded
for a specified period of
time in a monthly amount.
At the conclusion of the
designated period alimony
terminates. In certain
circumstances, the specified
period of time may be
extended where circumstances
have arisen and/or changed
and the former spouse
receiving the alimony cannot
be rehabilitated
during the set period for
alimony payments.
Additionally, dependant upon
both the facts and the
discretion of the court,
permanent alimony may be
ordered as opposed to
temporary alimony or alimony
for a specified period.
An award of alimony also may
carry tax consequences and
may terminate prior to the
expiration of the specified
period of time upon the
occurrence of certain
events.
As alimony is a complex and
important issue that can
result in significant
financial benefit or
consequences, we encourage
you to discuss your divorce
and alimony issues with an
experienced attorney.
The attorneys of BNWP&M's
routinely handle divorces
that involve the issue of
alimony. We are
available to address any
questions and concerns you
may have regarding alimony
or any other legal issues
and we invite you to call
upon us at your convenience.
JMMiller@batsonnolan.com
