When a married couple is separated, the court awards alimony or spousal support to one of the former spouses. The decision is based on the agreement between a couple, who may take spousal support lawyer help or the court decides the matter. Spousal support is different from the marital property division. The matters depend on each case.
Many cases show that the ex-husband pays for the spousal support. It was in the past, but now the alimony trends have shifted. The husbands were the breadwinners. Today, two wage earners are less dependent on each other and are considered the primary parents. Courts and spousal support laws are changing with time. The judge has made several orders of alimony payments from ex-wife to ex-husband. There's a rise in such cases. Also, same-sex divorce cases have at least one higher-earning spouse. The alimony proceeds can be less dependent. The trends are shifting.
People have questions about alimony's association with child support. Well, alimony is different from child support payments. The latter is only used for child support who are in custodial parent's care. The following will make things easy for you to know about alimony.
First, let us know what alimony is. Alimony is the continuing income a former partner provides to the income less or less wage-earning spouse. The reason for child support is that the ex-partner who will receive alimony may have dropped out of work to take care of the family. And the ex-partner did not get the time to develop job skills. Another reason to pay for alimony is to let them continue living to the same high standards at the time of marriage.
What
Will be the Alimony Amount?
Unlike child support, many mandates are set for monetary guidelines. The courts have broad discretion to award spousal support. The judge will decide how much and how long the support will be provided. The courts consider many things in determining the alimony amount like the marriage age, financial condition, education, standard of living, and the ex-spouse's ability to pay the amount.
Change in Alimony Increase or Decrease?
The alimony ordered stays the same. Even though there's an increase in the ex-spouse's taxable income or work bonuses, the spouse who receives the maintenance will not benefit from that increase, unlike the child support case who will. Also, if the paying spouse loses the ability to pay alimony, they must petition the court to reduce the alimony payment. The tax returns can be shown as proof to convince the judge.
Duration of Alimony?
Men and women are in college now. So do they are in the working industry. The pay gap may be different, so the judges order more alimony. The duration of the alimony depends upon the recipient's need for it and the conditions. It does not mean the court cannot order long-term spousal support. It can be if the spouse is ill or disabled. Also, if the recipient remarries, the support may end.
Enforcing Alimony
Alimonies are hard to put to force. That's why court orders are necessary. Alimony enforcement is not like child support, which can lead to punishment or arrest when not paid. However, in the case of non-alimony payment, a recipient can take a court's assistance.
Alimony issues come up in divorce negotiations. It's difficult to find out who will be involved. Discussing it with an experienced spousal support law can make the issues at peace.
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