Marriage is a physical and emotional partnership, but it is also a financial partnership for most couples. Not only will married couples share their homes, beds, and hearts — they may even share bank accounts, mortgages, and credit cards. Unfortunately, if the marriage ends, the physical, emotional, and financial partnership will end, too.
There are many steps involved with the process of ending a marriage. From designing a separation agreement and custody plan to dividing assets equally, the process can be quite overwhelming. Even though it is a necessary aspect in most divorce cases, alimony is not understood well by most people. This guide and
your attorney
will help you understand why and how alimony is paid.
Before you can learn how and what is paid, you need to know why alimony is paid.
Alimony, also known as spousal support or spousal maintenance, is financial support that must be paid from one spouse to the other if the legal agreement must be put into force. This financial support will help one spouse continue the lifestyle they had while married until a certain period of time or until they are able to support themselves financially.
Many people confuse alimony with child support, but they are two very different types of financial support. Alimony provides financial support to the spouse who is in most need while child support is paid to support the child and the child's specific needs financially.
The type of alimony paid will depend on a few factors including you and your spouse's past/current relationship and current lifestyle. Surprisingly, there are five different types of alimony, however, rehabilitative and permanent are the most common forms of alimony.
Rehabilitative alimony payments are paid until the financially-weaker spouse is able to support themselves and their child/children. The spouse who receives the rehabilitative alimony will have the time needed to acquire skills to obtain and maintain employment that will bring in a sufficient amount of income.
With permanent alimony, the payments are made indefinitely. In most agreements, permanent alimony payments continue until the spouse dies, remarries, or begins living with another person.
Permanent alimony is common in cases where one spouse left their job to care for children and the home as well as for spouses who were never able to gain work experience, decreasing their ability to be hired for a job that will financially support them and their children.
Reimbursement alimony is also a possibility for many couples who are divorcing. This type of alimony is paid to one spouse if they paid for the other spouse's education or a course/program to benefit their career.
Many couples agree to a lump-sum alimony payment. This is ideal for a spouse who would rather have an alimony payment in one lump sum instead of receiving property that was shared during the marriage.
Finally, separation alimony is a type of spousal support paid while in the separation stage of the divorce. When the divorce is finalized, separation alimony can be changed to another version.
Just like there are many factors that determine if and what type of alimony payments are paid or received, several factors can influence the amount of the alimony payments. In most divorce cases, the courts will base the alimony payments on the income and expenses of both spouses.
In addition, the courts will base the alimony amount on the standard of living that was established while the couple was married. This determines if the alimony amount will allow both spouses to continue a similar lifestyle they had while married.
Proper understanding of how alimony works can be helpful if you are considering or in the actual process of divorcing. For more information, contact Hoffman & Hoffman today.
