Alimony is another way to say spousal support, which means the amount of money that one spouse will be receiving from the other for provision after the two go through their divorce. Depending on the circumstances, the two spouses will either agree together to have alimony payments after their split (either through a prenuptial agreement or simply coming to an agreement during the divorce process) or they will fight for it is court and the judge will be left to decide. Essentially, alimony is an option for couples who are dealing with an unfair economic situation and after a divorce one spouse will be left with little or nothing. What this means is that say for example you are a wife who has been at home with the kids for the last fifteen years raising them while your husband worked full time. This is not to say you don't have the potential to work full time again, however because you do not have you own source of income at the time of the divorce, alimony will help you to maintain your standard of living at least for a time. Or perhaps even you do have a job, you may still need financial support in order to support yourself as a single person again.
These laws apply to both male and females, anyone who is going to have a more difficult time financially after the divorce. How then, is alimony calculated? There are a number of factors that the court will take into consideration, if you two are unable to reach an agreement on your own. First off, the court will take into consideration your current economic status, such as whether or not you have a job or any other source of income on your own. Next, they will take into account your current health, age, and emotional state at the tie of your divorce. In many cases, the spouse who is lower earning has the potential to be entirely self-sufficient, so the court will take into consideration how long it will take them to be trained or to go back to school to start a career.
Another aspect that the court will look at is how the couple current standard of living is in order to determine how much the spouse will receive in alimony. They will look at how long the couple has been married as well in order to determine whether or not the spouse is just trying to get money, or they are actually in need of sustaining help after the end of their marriage. Finally, the court will also take into account the details of the primary earners current income and their ability to support the other spouse while still supporting themselves. If they have a very low income wage, then it will be much more difficult for them to be able to support another person in a different household.
Another aspect of alimony that people are often considered with is the factor of how long they will be required to make these payments. In most cases, the court will want to offer support to the lesser earning spouse until they are able to sustain themselves on their own. There is generally no time limit in these cases, it is simply until the recipient is deemed "rehabilitative." In the event that the recipient chooses to remarry, the court will in most situations terminate the support, as well.
To learn more about spousal support please do not hesitate in contacting your trusted Mission Viejo divorce firm at the Hunter Law Group, today!
