Spousal support, also known as alimony, is a form of support that one spouse must pay to another when their marriage has endured a certain length of time and when one spouse gave up their financial independence for the mutual benefit of the marriage household. It's not awarded or asked for as much as it used to be, as women have generally accepted a bigger role in earning money toward the household. There are still instances today where spousal support will be part of the divorce agreement.
Spousal support law can be very confusing to those who aren't familiar with it. That's what us lawyers are here for. We can make some very vague or confusing laws perfectly clear to you and help you get the spousal support you'll need to go on with your life after the divorce.
Spousal Support Laws
Many spouses wonder at the beginning of a divorce filing whether or not they're going to be entitled to spousal support by law. In general, spousal support is awarded in cases where one spouse is not going to be able to meet their financial needs after the divorce. If this is the case, the primary earner may have to agree to pay a certain amount of alimony each month.
If you are wondering if you will be entitled to spousal support after your divorce, a good place to start is a basic spousal support calculator. This allows you to assess your financial situation as it will look after the divorce, and you can also go over if you meet the criteria as someone who might be awarded spousal support.
Herein lies the problem: Just because you might be entitled to spousal support doesn't mean that your soon to be ex-spouse will automatically agree to pay it. In best case scenarios, they will look at the laws and the guidelines for spousal support and then agree, without a court order, to pay the amount monthly. This rarely happens. That's why if you believe you're entitled to spousal support, you need to get in touch with our legal team. We can help.
How We Can Help You
If a spouse who owes you spousal support refuses to pay it, then we can step in to intervene. Sometimes mediation will be a sufficient tactic to encourage your spouse to pay spousal support. More commonly, we'll need to go to court and have a judge order alimony payments be made. Every alimony arrangement is different and asking for it is not enough. The court needs to make it clear, even during the divorce, what kind of alimony needs to be paid, if any.
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Many spouses don't work during the marriage not because they couldn't or because they don't want to, but because one spouse believes the other should stay home and take care of the household. This is very convenient IF you're in a good marriage and while you're in that good marriage. When the marriage turns sour and turns into a divorce battle, things change. The spouse that gave up years of income and retirement benefits suddenly finds themselves unable to depend on the primary breadwinner. In this instance, you need a lawyer to step in and defend your right to spousal support. We are a tough legal team with combined decades of experience and we're passionate about the kind of work that we do. If you're afraid you won't be able to receive alimony and need a push in the right direction, call us for a free consultation and let us help.