Democratic Underground - Earnings power and needs can both contribute to calculating alimony

Can I get it?/Will I have to pay it?

...There are several factors a judge considers when deciding whether to grant alimony. These differ from state to state, of course, but they usually involve things like the parties' relative ability to earn money, both now and in the future; their respective age and health; the length of the marriage; the kind of property involved, and the conduct of the parties. In general, about the only time a judge will award alimony in most states is where one spouse has been economically dependent on the other spouse for most of a lengthy marriage....

http://www.divorceinfo.com/alimony.htm

...Spousal support calculations will be made based on many marital and divorce factors. While the laws in each state can vary, the following are some factors which may affect spousal support calculations: the length of the marriage, the age and health of each spouse, the qualify of life established during marriage, each party's current income and earning potential, each party's needs, the sacrifices made by one spouse for the sake of the marriage or to further the other partner's education or career, custodial parent status, and more. Because men still earn a higher income on average than women, ex-wives are awarded spousal support more often than ex-husbands....

http://www.divorce-lawyer-source.com/html/law/spousal-support-calculations.html

What factors can be used to determine the amount of alimony?

Some of the factors (which vary from state to state) used to determine the amount of alimony to be paid by one spouse to the other include:

the ability to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, considering the respective earning capacities of the spouses

the marketable skills of the supported spouse, the job market for those skills, the education or training needed to develop marketable skills, and the need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment

the impairment of present or future earning capacity due to periods of unemployment during the marriage devoted to domestic duties

the contribution of the supported spouse to enable the other spouse to the attain education, training, a career or a professional license

the ability of the payer to make support payments taking into account his/her earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living

the needs of each spouse based on the standard of living established during the marriage

the obligations and assets of each spouse

the duration of the marriage

the ability of the supported spouse to be employed without unduly interfering with child care responsibilities

the age and health of the respective spouses

http://family-law.freeadvice.com/spousal_support/factors_amount_alimony.htm

3. How do we determine how much alimony is fair?

A key factor for the two of you to consider is the ability of the moneyed spouse to pay. If one of you is considerably more prosperous than the other, it is more likely that alimony will be a possibility. The actual amount must be negotiated.

Some of the factors you will want to think about in the course of agreeing on alimony include:

The assets, debts, and income of each of you
Does the person seeking alimony have other assets which can provide significant income, such as investments, trusts, pensions?
Are there marital debts that either of you will be paying after the divorce?

The future earning capacity of each of you
Did one of you put the other through school? As a result, does one of you have a greater future earning capacity?

The length of the marriage
Have you established a standard of living during a long marriage that the less moneyed spouse will be unable to maintain?

A prenuptial agreement, if any
Is there a valid prenuptial agreement, and does it prohibit or limit the amount of alimony? Have circumstances changed? Would it be fair to mediate a change in the arrangement?

Age of children
Are there very young children at home? Will one of you need to stay home to care for them? Can you afford child care, or do you need to pick up your children after school? How will that affect your future career? Your retirement savings?

Special circumstances such as advanced age, disability
Are there reasons one of you cannot be self-supporting?

The tax advantages and disadvantages to each of you
Alimony is tax-deductible to the payer and taxable to the recipient. There are various ways to pay alimony which have different tax consequences.

http://www.divorcehq.com/articles/alimonysupport.html#ques3

Reply #45: Earnings power and needs can both contribute to calculating alimony [View All]