Who Gets It, Who Pays It

Alimony is money paid to a former spouse for his or her support.  With more women working at better jobs in the market place and holding professional and managerial positions, it’s not unheard of for a husband to be granted alimony.  If a party has a need for a contribution to their support from their husband or wife who can afford to pay it, spousal support is going to be a factor in the case.  The basic test is simple: What are the needs of the spouse seeking support and what is the ability of the other party to pay it.

How much can a spouse expect to receive?  The criteria to be considered include: the length of the marriage; the prior standard of living; each party’s age and mental and physical condition; each’s financial resources; each’s education and career building services rendered in homemaking and child rearing.  If a party has rarely worked out of the home, they will need more support than a spouse who worked for most of the marriage.

Let’s assume that the wife is the recipient.  How much can she expect to get?  The criteria to be reviewed are:  The length of the marriage, the husband’s income and assets, the wife’s education and whether she has worked outside of the home during the marriage.  Her earning record, assets, health and age are also important factors.  If she has rarely worked outside the home during the marriage, she will need more support than a wife who has held down a job for most of the marriage.

Can this “needs and ability to pay” test be stated in dollars and cents?  YES.

One of the most important aspects of your divorce will be the preparation of truthful, accurate financial affidavits by each party.  The affidavit is a written statement of each party’s gross income, assets, tax obligations, net income and monthly living expenses.  The court will scrutinize these affidavits as well as the testimony of the parties.  Because child support is based upon the Florida’s Uniform Child Support Guidelines, the affidavits are also important in terms of how much child support will be paid.  With the numbers for income and legitimate expenses pinned down, your lawyer should be able to give you a fairly accurate range of how much child support and alimony the court may award.

The hard work is getting the numbers down and having backup documentation so that the judge feels neither party is going to end up passing from prosperity to misfortune.