No one gets married with the expectations that their marriage will fail. Unfortunately divorces happen very often between married couples and this process can become very stressful and emotional. Also such factors like division of the property, child custody or other financial issues can make things more tense.
Today we are going to discuss one of the financial sides of the divorce, in particular spousal support. This is also called alimony or maintenance. Spousal support is referred to a monthly payment made buy one spouse to the other following a divorce, when the spouse is unable to meet his or her needs without financial assistance.
Spousal support can be of two types. It can be temporary or in other words rehabilitative in cases when a former spouse needs time to:
- get back into the job market
- brush up on skills
- complete an educational program
- raise the children
The second type of spousal support is called permanent or reimbursement. It is paid to a former spouse in cases when he or she may never become self-supporting due to age, illness or disability.
An alternative to a monthly spousal support payments can be a lump-sum alimony. This is a large and fixed sum of money, that is paid just once, so both parties can avoid future issues related to paying and collecting support.
The amount of the alimony usually depends on
- the age, physical condition, emotional state and financial condition of the former spouses
- the length of time to become self-sufficient
- the couple’s standard of living during the marriage
- the length of the marriage
- the ability of the payer spouse to support the other and still support him/herself.
Divorce can be difficult not only from emotional but also from financial point of view. Let your lawyer deal with it’s financial part because each state has its own procedures determining the amount of the spousal support.