Alimony

When a marriage is dissolved, the court may order alimony payments but does not have to do so. Alimony is money or other assets that one spouse may be ordered by the court to pay to the other spouse. The purpose of the alimony may be either to meet a financial need for one of the spouses or to help achieve a fair division of the assets of the two spouses.

Alimony may be rehabilitative, permanent or lump sum in nature.

Rehabilitative alimony is usually used to help rehabilitate or support the receiving spouse for a fixed period of time until that spouse can renew old skills or obtain new skills with which to support him or herself. In deciding whether to award rehabilitative alimony, the court will consider whether or not there is a real probability of rehabilitating the person requesting alimony. At the end of the fixed period of time, it will automatically stop without further court action unless you ask the court to extend or change it.

Permanent alimony, on the other hand, is a payment which continues indefinitely until the remarriage of the spouse receiving it or until the death of either of the parties. It is used to provide the needs and the necessities of life for a former spouse as they have been established during the marriage of the parties. The two primary elements to be considered when determining permanent alimony are the needs of the receiving spouse for the funds and the ability of the paying spouse to provide the necessary funds.

The needs of one spouse for the funds are determined by the court's consideration of each of the parties' earning ability, age, health, education, as well as the length of the marriage, the standard of living enjoyed during its course, and the value of the parties' estates.

The ability of the other spouse to provide the necessary funds is determined by the court's consideration of both parties net income, net worth, past earnings and the value of each of the parties' assets. Any responsibilities to other dependents--for example, the need for support of children from a former marriage or aged parents--may be considered when determining a spouse's financial ability to pay alimony.

In considering the health of the parties, the court may wish to consider not only the physical and emotional health of each of the parties but also any limitation of activities imposed on either of them. The court will almost certainly want to consider whether the other party had anything to do with causing this problem or any aggravation of it.

The third type of alimony is lump sum alimony. Lump sum alimony is a payment of a set amount. Lump sum alimony creates a right that survives the death of both parties and cannot later be changed or cancelled. Lump sum alimony may consist of money, property or other things of value. It may be payable all at one time, such as the transfer of a car, house, or household contents, or in payments over period of time, such as $10,000 payable at the rate of $100 per week.

The basic requirements for an award of lump sum alimony are that there is a justification for the award and there is a financial ability of the paying spouse to make such payment without substantially endangering his or her economic status.

In determining whether any type of alimony is to be granted in a case, the court may consider the adultery of a spouse and the circumstances thereof or any other factors causing the break up of the marriage in determining whether alimony will be paid at all, and also the amount and type which will be paid.

There are several things the court takes into consideration in making the decision to award alimony. First, the court takes into consideration the assets and liabilities each party has been awarded in equitable distribution. The court considers the standard of living that the parties enjoyed during the marriage, the duration of the marriage, the age and physical and emotional health of each of the parties, the wealth of each of the parties as well as the time necessary to obtain education or training to enable a party to find appropriate employment. In addition, the court considers the contribution to the marriage by each party whether by way of work and income or by way of raising the children and keeping house.

Generally, all these things determine whether alimony will be paid as well as the amount and type of alimony that the court will order. For example, the more a spouse earns, the more support he or she may be required to pay. A spouse with a small income would not be expected to pay as much as one whose earnings are very high. The court attempts to be as fair as it can to both parties.

Alimony may entail large sums of money or transfer of substantial wealth over the years. Legal representation to protect your rights will be a good investment.

You should note that in 1988 a new law came into existence defining what are and what are not assets of the marriage, providing the courts with guidelines as to the distribution of these assets and as to other issues relating to income and property in the marriage as well as to alimony in general. The details are too lengthy and complicated for a brief discussion here. If you believe that you have assets that may be subject to litigation in a dissolution, you are again reminded that obtaining legal counsel in these complicated issues may be worth the effort and the money.

Because of the complicated procedures involved in a divorce and the fact that divorce law is changing and evolving, it is very important to consult an attorney if you are contemplating a divorce.