Spousal support may be awarded to spouses who have made sacrifices during the marriage, such as staying home to care for children or paying for higher education expenses of their partner. When making these decisions, judges consider various factors to determine if and how much spousal support should be awarded.
These factors include the length of marriage, current incomes for both partners, assets such as investments and property owned.
What is spousal support?
Spousal support (known in New York as “alimony”) is court-ordered money paid from one former spouse to the other after divorce or legal separation to help maintain a reasonable standard of living after such proceedings have ended. It may be temporary or even continue long after court has adjourned.
Judges can award spousal support in any legal action that involves former partners. Spousal support payments may also be included as part of any property settlement during divorce, separation, or domestic violence restraining order proceedings.
Judges consider many factors when awarding spousal support and its amount. They consider both parties’ financial needs, including ability to pay, as well as length of marriage and property division considerations.
How is spousal support calculated?
Judges take several factors into account when awarding spousal support, including length of marriage. A short marriage is unlikely to result in permanent spousal support payments unless special circumstances exist such as health conditions that prevent one spouse from working.
Age can also play an important role. A younger spouse who has not worked long will require more spousal support than one living on fixed income from investments and being over retirement age.
Spousal support payments are determined by a court in accordance with their individual needs and circumstances. Usually, it lasts for as long as it would take the recipient former spouse to reach an income level comparable to what was available during their marriage.
What are the different types of spousal support?
Spousal support may take many forms depending on the circumstances of each case, with judges considering multiple criteria in deciding if, how much, and for how long spousal support should be awarded.
Interim or pendente lite support is money awarded during a divorce case in order to maintain your standard of living, and general or permanent spousal support may also be awarded after your divorce has been finalised as needed to help ease into a new lifestyle and may be paid as one lump sum payment or installments such as monthly or yearly.
Reimbursement spousal support is often granted as compensation for expenses related to marriage, such as educational or professional training expenses. Sometimes reimbursement support can even be ordered to ensure a fair outcome of your divorce judgment.
How long will spousal support last?
Divorces take time, and in the interim one spouse may require financial support from the other party. A judge can order temporary spousal support (also known as pendente lite support) to help cover expenses during legal proceedings.
In deciding spousal support eligibility and amounts, judges consider several factors when making their determinations. One such consideration is how long it would take your spouse to acquire new skills and pursue career opportunities or become self-supporting.
A judge may award nondurational or permanent alimony payments, which are taxed as income for the party receiving them. Payments typically stop when either of the supported spouses dies, remarries, retires or cease working; or when both parties agree to modify their existing support order.
How can I get spousal support?
Judges typically order one partner to pay spousal support during a divorce case, which may last either permanently or intermittently and last until either party dies or the supported spouse remarries. These orders can last from several months up to several years or until an event takes place such as death of either party or remarriage of either.
Family law judges have considerable leeway when deciding whether and how much alimony to award. They take several factors into consideration, including previous standards of living, access to assets and earning potential of each former spouse, as well as whether any former spouse can seek any form of legal support at no or low-cost costs in their area. If you need help regarding spousal support payments, it may be beneficial to speak to a lawyer as free legal services may be available nearby.
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