Though divorce is part of marriage sometimes, that does not mean that the process is enjoyable. It can be so hard to figure out how the court determines monetary amounts that are to be handed out to each party. Alimony is also part of a divorce. For those going through a divorce, great Hackensack alimony lawyers can help you learn all about the process to determine alimony payments.
What Is Alimony?
It is important to first take a look at what alimony is and what its purpose is as well. Alimony is also called spousal support, it is a monetary amount that is awarded from one spouse to another after the dissolution of a marriage. This money is then used by the other spouse to carry on living their life. Much like child support for children, alimony is meant to help support the other spouse after the marriage has ended. Not all marriages are going to be assigned alimony after they have ended.
The court does take different factors into account to determine if there is a cause for alimony or if there is no cause and both parties should leave the marriage and support themselves after the fact. In some cases, both parties will agree to alimony payments and may even settle them before they get to the final stages of the divorce, in these cases, the court is not needed to decide the amount that will be awarded.
How Is Alimony Calculated?
There are a number of different factors that go into determining alimony rather than a set formula that is used. Factors like how long the marriage lasted, how much money each party needs to support themselves, how long a person is going to be able to pay support, and so on are all taken into consideration.
The court will look at the ability of the party in question to pay the alimony and for how long based on their job and situation following the end of the marriage. They will also look at any job skills or earning potential that the other party has after the marriage has ended. Say for instance that one party has never held a job and has no education that would make it easy for them to get a job and support themselves after the end of the marriage, in this case, alimony is more likely.
The court will also consider how much money it is going to take to keep both spouses in the same quality of life as they were used to when they were married. They will look at things like contributions by both parties to the marriage and how long the marriage lasted as well. There is no real set time frame that a couple must be married for alimony to stick, however, the longer you are married the better chance you have at getting an alimony amount set.
Why Is Alimony Important?
Alimony is much like child support for the spouse that receives it. In some cases, one spouse is drastically unprepared to care for themselves, or perhaps they cannot as they have duties like taking care of children and dependents. In these cases, if one spouse is not able to make money to support themselves following the end of a marriage, the other spouse is likely going to be asked to pay alimony, at least for a time, to help keep their former spouse from being destitute.
Alimony is a sum of money that can be used for any expense that the other spouse may have. From car payments to house payments, to rent and groceries, this money is not earmarked for any one specific use and can be used to help sustain and keep that former spouse from falling on hard times. If the two agree to a set amount prior to the divorce going to court, it can do a great number of things for the proceedings.
For starters, if the alimony amount is agreed upon prior to the divorce moving forward, it can help to move the proceedings along faster making it easier to get the divorce over and done with. It can also help reduce stress for both parties. The amount of alimony can change over time as can the term that it is paid. In many cases, alimony is only paid so long as the other spouse does not remarry or their overall financial status does not change.
In some cases, the party paying alimony can take the other party back to court to terminate payments and to change the terms as well if they see fit. A good example might be a couple that has split where one was being paid alimony by the other. The one being paid alimony suddenly comes into a great deal of money and pays off their house and their major debt, they may not need the alimony payments anymore and the other party has the right to appeal the judgment.
Alimony is a necessary part of divorce for some couples. Taking the time to find out more and to truly learn about what alimony is and how it works can help you better understand this part of a divorce proceeding. With the help of a great lawyer, you can get your alimony hearing taken care of and you can get a fair payment, either to you or to your former spouse. There are tons of wonderful attorneys out there that can explain the alimony process and that can help you figure out what payments you may have to pay or may be entitled to.
