Will You Have To Pay Alimony To Your Ex
Think that you might be on the hook for alimony or spousal support after your divorce? The new tax bill that was signed into law at the end of 2017 states that the spouse paying alimony wont get a tax deduction for the payments. This change applies to all support agreements made after December 31st, 2018. If your alimony agreement was official before December 31st, 2018, then the spouse receiving the alimony will pay taxes on the money and the alimony-paying spouse will get to deduct the sum!
Ladies, we have been making some serious progress when it comes to income over the last few decades, but with great paychecks come great responsibilities! If you are a high earning woman considering divorce, dont be surprised if your soon-to-be ex asks for alimony .
Many of todays women are Leaning In like champs, climbing the corporate ladder, and bringing home big paychecks. A Pew Research study conducted in 2013 found that women are the leading or solo breadwinners in 40 percent of households. Additionally, another Pew Research study found that up to 2 million men in 2012 were stay-at-home dads, raising their children while their wives worked.
Theres even a nickname for it manimony.
Will you have to pay up when you divorce your husband?
Will I Have To Pay Alimony
If you have been the primary financial provider for your family, it is possible that you will have to make alimony payments.
In many states, there is no hard and fast method of calculating alimony payments. And to be quite frank, estimating what a judge may do is often fruitless.
Because the laws of many states allow so much judicial discretion in calculating alimony, the methods and manners for determining whether alimony is appropriate and/or how much alimony should be paid may vary from court to court.
Learn Your States
Let me provide you with a typical case study:
Husband and Wife met in college. Both graduated from college with bachelors degrees in accounting. They married after graduation when Husband was 23 and Wife was 22 years old. Both parties began working in accounting immediately after graduation.
Wife stopped working at the birth of the parties first child and has been a stay at home mom since. Husband is now 35 years old and earns approximately $106,000. Wife is 34 and stays at home with their two young children.
Question: Will Husband have to pay alimony? How much? For how long will have to pay?
Answer: Yes, Husband will likely have to pay alimony and the answers to the remaining questions may vary depending on a number of factors.
The court will generally consider such factors as:
Contributions to the marriage: The courts definitely consider a stay at home spouses work toward supporting the house.
Do I Have To Pay Alimony If My Spouse Commits Adultery
This question was posed to us recently by a potential client and I felt like it would make a great item to include on our site. This is because this is a common area of concern for men and women facing divorce where the other spouse has committed adultery.
This information can certainly translate over and be applicable for wives as well as husbands who are in the same situation.
In Florida, when a divorce judge is considering a claim for spousal support there are many different factors that they will look at including but not limited to a spouses need for alimony, the other spouses ability to pay alimony, the length of the marriage, the standard of living or lifestyle established during the marriage, the delegation of parental responsibilities after the divorce, whether anybody sacrificed or gained in their career or education as a result of the efforts of the other spouse, the division of marital assets, and the list goes on.
For a more detailed look at the factories that divorce records use to consider alimony claims, you can review the Florida statute on alimony.
Included in the list of factors that the courts consider for alimony is whether any marital misconduct occurred which includes adultery. Because the list of alimony factors is so long and complicated it will be important for you to enlist the assistance of an Orange County divorce lawyer to assist you in your situation.
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How Long Will I Have To Pay Alimony
If it becomes apparent that your wife is entitled to alimony, you will undoubtedly want to limit the time you are required to pay that alimony. The good news is that Texas does impose limits on the duration of alimony, as follows:
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If the judge orders a spouse to pay support because of a physical or mental disability, duties as a custodial parent of an infant or young child of the marriage, or another compelling reason, support can continue for as long as the conditions exist. OR
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5 years, if the spouses were married less than 10 years and the supporting spouse was convicted of family violence
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5 years, if the spouses were married more than 10 years but less than 20 years
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7 years, if the spouses were married for at least 20 years but not more than 30 years
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10 years, if the spouses were married for at least 30 or more years.
Texas does require an alimony order to be for the shortest duration necessary for the supported spouse to become self-supporting. In addition, an alimony award could end prematurely if:
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Either party dies
Spousal Support In Arizona
When couples in Arizona file for divorce, either spouse may request the court issue an order for Spousal Maintenance or Spousal Support . Spousal Maintenance is not awarded in every divorce in which it is requested, however. The purpose of maintenance is to help a lower-earning spouse complete education or training necessary to reenter the workforce and to support himself or herself. It is meant to be rehabilitative in nature. Spousal maintenance is often only ordered for a short duration of time following the end of a marriage. It may be ordered for a longer period of time when the marriages are considered to be long-term, which can be defined as lasting for more than 15 years.
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Increases Or Decreases In Alimony
Unlike child support, which has occasional cost-of-living increases, an alimony order tends to stay the same from year to year. Even if the ex-spouse has a large increase in taxable income or receives large bonuses at work, the former spouse is not going to benefit from that increase like a child might with an increase in support.
On the other hand, if a paying spouse were to have a significant drop in income to the point where they can no longer afford alimony, they may petition the court to reduce their alimony payment. A review of their tax returns may convince the family court judge to reduce alimony â or they may not.
Spousal Support In Washington State
Getting ordered to pay alimony can be frustrating. But it helps to know that spousal support is almost never something thats ordered at random.
The divorce court can seem unfair. But that doesnt mean the judge is pulling orders out of thin air.
In most cases, you should not get a divorce without an experienced attorney. Thats doubly true if you think you could get ordered to pay alimony.
Our firm has offices in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla. Contact us with questions about alimony, child support, or any other aspect of divorce.
Read Also: Move Out Of State To Avoid Alimony
How Is Spousal Maintenance Calculated
Judges are given broad discretion in whether to order spousal maintenance as well as the amount of the payments. It is not guaranteed. Instead, judges consider a number of different factors that are outlined in A.R.S. 25-319 when they are weighing whether to grant a request for maintenance.
Some of the factors that a judge will consider include the following:
Courts do not take marital misconduct into account when they are determining whether to award spousal support. Maintenance is also not meant to be punitive, so a judge will not order a spouse to pay maintenance simply to punish him or her. The statutes do not provide guidance for how much maintenance that judges should order when they do grant a maintenance request. After weighing the factors and taking them into account, judges can grant maintenance in an amount and duration that seems fair under the circumstances.
Finally, under A.R.S. 25-530, courts may not consider veterans disability benefits awarded for service-connected disabilities as a part of the income of spouses when they are determining whether to award spousal maintenance.
How To Divorce A Husband Who Wont Work
When your husband wont work and you want to file for a divorce, there are two main options available. You can either complete divorce papers and file for a divorce yourself, or appoint a divorce attorney to complete the paperwork on your behalf and guide you through the legal process.
If the separation is amicable and you think the divorce will go through smoothly, divorcing a husband with no job without legal support can help to save costs. However, if the husband is not happy with your decision to file for divorce, things can get messy. It is advisable to appoint an attorney in these cases so you achieve the best settlement. In particular, consider hiring a lawyer if there are children involved since this can impact child custody and child support decisions.
An interesting & very useful legal newsletter
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An Overview Of How Remarriage Or Cohabitation Will Affect Ongoing Alimony Obligations
Alimony refers to financial support payments one spouse makes to the other, either during or after a divorce. When married couples split, there are various types of alimony courts can award, including:
- temporary alimony, which is paid only while the divorce is pending
- short-term alimony, which is for short-term marriages and lasts only a few years, and/or
- rehabilitative support, which is paid until the supported spouse can get back into the workforce and become self-sufficient.
All of these types of spousal support have a clear end date, which is set forth in the couple’s marital settlement agreement and/or the final divorce judgment.
Courts can also grant long-term or permanent alimony, which is reserved for long marriages, where the supported spouse has little chance of becoming self-supporting. Permanent support can continue until the death of either spouse.
But what happens when the spouse receiving alimony remarries or begins cohabitingliving with someone else? If you’re paying support, do you have to continue making alimony payments? Check your settlement agreement and divorce judgment, which may state that alimony ends if your spouse remarries. Or, you may have agreed that your supported spouse’s remarriage will not terminate spousal support.
If your judgment contains specific language about how remarriage affects your alimony obligation, you’re likely bound by those terms. If it’s not addressed, then you’ll have to look to your state’s laws.
Texas Is One Of The Hardest States To Get Alimony In Divorce
It is extremely difficult to get alimony in Texas. Compared to other states, Texas law severely restricts who is eligible for alimony or spousal maintenance after a divorce. However, it is always an option for the divorcing parties to negotiate a contract for the payment of alimony. They may even include terms that are more generous than a judge would be allowed to order under Texas law. The grounds for spousal maintenance in Texas divorce law are extremely narrow. Therefore, negotiation of alimony as a contractual obligation can be an important consideration when Texas spouses divorce.
Many spouses are looking toward uncontested divorces as a way to save money and time. In an uncontested divorce, the spouses agree on all of the major terms of the divorce, including alimony, child support, and the division of property and debt. When the spouses can agree on whether alimony should be paid and how much alimony should be paid, they can work with attorneys to draft a divorce settlement. They can present the settlement to a judge who can finalize the divorce, avoiding the need to have a drawn-out court proceeding.
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Will I Have To Pay Alimony To My Husband In Florida
Will I have to pay alimony to my husband in Florida? The answer to this loaded question is maybe. The answer depends on your current and prior income, if you were employed during the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, the other spouses income, either spouses career sacrifices, and a host of other factors as provided in Florida Statute 61.08. Attorney Jonathan Jacobs is an alimony attorney in Orlando and all throughout Central Florida. When you have questions about alimony and the equitable distribution of your marital assets and liabilities, we are ready to help. Call us for answers to your alimony questions at 407-335-8113.
Strategy : Prove Your Spouse Was Adulterous
Laws about paying alimony vary from state to state. Even with these variants, many do not allow unfaithful spouses to vie for alimony payments. This is going to require more than your word indicating that your spouse was unfaithful during your marriage. You must bear the burden of proof. This may come in the form of showing photographs and video to the judge of your spouse.
You should get started immediately on collecting witness statements and any other incriminating evidence you can think of that shows your spouse was undoubtedly having an affair.
The judge will have the final say about whether or not your evidence counts as proof to support the claims of adultery, and how it will affect any alimony payments.
Also Check: Difference Between Alimony And Spousal Support
Can I Get Alimony For How Many Years Would I Get The Payments
Your spouse can be ordered to pay you alimony if the judge finds that you were financially dependent on your spouse during the marriage . You can prove you were dependent if all of the following apply:
- you relied on your spouse for financial support
- you dont have sufficient property, including marital property, to provide for your needs and
- you are unable to support yourself through work or you cannot work due to caring for a child whose condition makes it inappropriate for you to work.1
Even if you can prove you are the dependent party, there are still many factors a judge will consider when deciding if you will get alimony and how much you will get. See What factors will a judge consider when deciding whether or not I get alimony? for more information.
Alimony payments can be ordered to start while the divorce is still pending in court, which is known as interim or temporary alimony,2 and for a period of time after the divorce is finalized. The court will determine how long you or the other party will receive alimony. If you have been married for 20 years or longer, there is no limit to how long you can receive alimony. However, if you were married for less than 20 years, you cannot collect alimony for more than 50% of the length of the marriage.3 For example, if you were married for 10 years, you could only collect alimony for up to five years.
1 13 Del.C. § 1512, 2 13 Del.C. § 1512
How Long Must One Pay Alimony
For longer-term relationships, as well as in cases where the parties have children, the courts generally do not place a time limit on alimony. This does not mean youll need to pay spousal support forever or that youll receive spousal support forever. It just means that courts do not want to engage in an exercise of gazing into a crystal ball too many years ahead to see what each spouses financial situation will be in the future. If you or your spouses financial situation changes materially for instance when you retire, it is always open to you to go back to court to end spousal support or change it to a different amount of alimony.
In short-term relationships where there are no children, particularly when the couple is young, alimony is normally time limited.
A type of spousal support order that is becoming more common is known as a review order. Under a review order, the court will say that the amount of alimony can be reviewed after a certain number of years. This gives you the opportunity of going back to court to modify your spousal support order without the necessity of showing that your or your spouses financial situation has changed. However, its not a guarantee that spousal support will be changed a review order simply opens the door to allowing a court to looking at the alimony situation again.
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What To Do When Court
If a judge has ordered alimony, it must be paid, and the payer can be held accountable for failing to pay.
If your spouse has been ordered to pay alimony but is refusing to do so, you can file a motion in court, and the spouse could be held in contempt. This can result in fines and penalties.
Your spouse could also be required to make up for missed alimony payments by paying retroactively what was due in the past but not paid.
After you file a motion notifying the court that your spouse has failed to pay alimony, the court will schedule a hearing during which a judge will speak to all parties to determine why one spouse is refusing to pay alimony and to decide upon the best course of action.