How to Get Alimony in a Divorce

Alimony, also called spousal support or maintenance is granted to one spouse by the courts in many divorce cases. Alimony is especially likely after a long marriage or if one spouse gave up career plans to support the other spouse or care for kids. Alimony is designed to help a lower-earning spouse make it through the divorce and the transition into a new single life. Depending on the length of the marriage and the degree to which one spouse was financially dependent on the other, support can last for many years. However, the nationwide trend is for courts to award spousal support in fewer and fewer situations, and for shorter times when they do award it, because it’s so common for both spouses to work or at least be able to return to work. The question of need is the starting point in determining whether one spouse is entitled to support from the other after the divorce. There’s no hard and fast rule, but in general the longer the marriage, the stronger the presumption that support is appropriate. The court will consider many factors while deciding the issue of alimony. These include including the length of the marriage, the division of marital property, the income and earning capacity of the spouses, the amount of time one spouse has not worked since the marriage and any other factor that the court may consider as relevant. In some states, the courts will also consider fault. In these states, if the higher earning spouse committed adultery or is other at fault for the divorce, the alimony payments will generally be increased. Similarly if the receiving spouse is at fault, then the alimony payments will be reduced. If you are seeking alimony payments from your spouse, consult with an experienced family lawyer.



Alimony falls into two broad categories: short-term support and long-term or permanent support. "Reimbursement" support is a kind of long-term support. A spouse may also get temporary support before the divorce is final. In some cases, you may receive more than one kind of support at the same time. If a spouse receives rehabilitative and short-term support, then the rehabilitative support will cease when the spouse is employed again. The short-term support would continue until its termination date. If the marriage itself was quite short, then generally short-term support is granted. Short-term support lasts only a few years, and its precise ending date is set in the court order. Rehabilitative support, sometimes known as "bridge the gap" support, is a specific kind of short-term support, meant to help a dependent spouse get retrained and back into the workforce. It usually lasts until the recipient is back to work. In case of long marriages, generally over 10 years, if the judge concludes that the dependent spouse most likely won’t go back into the workforce and will need support indefinitely, then permanent support may be granted. Some state laws do not permit permanent support. Permanent support does eventually end when either the recipient or the payor dies. An experienced family lawyer can get you the alimony you rightfully deserve.