How Are Alimony Payments Determined ?
Alimony payments exist not just in the US, but also in England and majority of the countries of the European Union. However, each country has its own law and requirement when it comes to making a decision on alimony payments. Several aspects are taken into consideration, and these include income, the duration of the marriage and the standard of living. |
The notion for alimony comes from the principles of the Common Law pertaining to marriage where the working spouse has the obligation to financially support the domestic spouse. And this obligation does not cease after the marriage is dissolved or terminated. So, when calculating alimony, the court takes into consideration whether the alimony would be sole source of income, or whether the spouse receiving alimony suffered from direct or indirect reduction of earnings on account of the marriage.
Some of the main criteria looked upon by the court while determining alimony are whether the spouses have the ability to make a living, how much does each spouse earn, the standard of living that the couple was maintaining while being married, the duration of the marriage, and whether there are any children from the marriage. Usually the spouse who earns considerable more is the one who has to pay alimony. This can be the husband or wife.
Alimony is completely separate from child support. But if a spouse has been awarded child support, it can have a negative impact on the alimony as the paying spouse may not have sufficient money to make both payments. The court views the interests of the children higher than the spouse's, and hence, child support is viewed more important than alimony.
The duration of the marriage has a serious impact on how alimony payments are determined. For instance, if a couple has been married for 10 years and the marriage is terminated thereafter, then the receiving spouse will get more spousal support than a receiving spouse whose marriage lasted for less than 10 years.
All the above factors are taken into consideration and only then the court determines how the alimony is calculated. This calculation changes from couple to couple after taking all the above factors into consideration.
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How Are Alimony Payments Determined ?
