During a marriage, every couple decides how to handle finances and income. Whether you agreed that one spouse should stay home to raise your family or both spouses worked to earn an income during your marriage, if you’re concerned that you can’t support yourself or your family on your own after a divorce, you will need to request spousal support.
Spousal support is financial assistance one spouse pays to the other after a divorce. Depending on where you live, the court may refer to spousal support as alimony or spousal maintenance. In most cases, spousal support is not an automatic right, meaning you’ll need to ask the court to determine whether you qualify, but the law doesn’t require a judge to award it to you.
Courts typically reserve spousal support awards for spouses who need the financial assistance, either permanently or temporarily, to support themselves after a divorce. Contrary to popular belief, the court can award spousal support to either spouse, not just women. For example, if a couple is in an opposite-sex marriage, and the wife holds a prestigious position at an accounting firm, the husband may stay home to raise the couple’s children. If the couple divorces, the court will consider awarding the husband spousal support to ensure that he can financially support himself and the children.
If you believe you need spousal support and that your spouse can pay, you’ll need to request it when you file for divorce. If your spouse filed the legal papers to start the divorce process, you'd need to ask for spousal support in your answer to the divorce complaint. If you have questions about how to request support, consult with an experienced family law attorney.
It depends. Every state has different rules for how the court determines if a spouse needs financial assistance after the divorce. Many states reserve spousal support for couples involved in a long-term marriage, so if you were married for only two years, it's unlikely you'll receive long-term alimony. If you were married for 10 years or more, and earn substantially less than your spouse, the chances are much higher that you'll receive spousal support for some period of time, until you can become self-supporting.
The goal of spousal support is for both spouses to continue enjoying the marital standard of living they became accustomed to during the marriage—or as close to this as possible. In order to accomplish this, a court may award spousal support to the lower-earning spouse to cover necessities and give that spouse the chance to get a job or develop new skills to begin a career that will provide a better income in the future.
The court may also award spousal support if one spouse is unable to work due to a disability or in order to provide care for very young children or a special needs child.
Depending on your situation, the court may award temporary, lump-sum, permanent, or rehabilitative spousal support.
Temporary Spousal Support. Temporary spousal support helps spouses maintain the financial status quo during a divorce. It’s common for couples to separate and begin dividing assets before the court finalizes the divorce. But what happens to the stay-at-home parent, who doesn’t have an income while the divorce is pending?
In most states, divorce can take six months to one year, so the courts allow couples to request temporary spousal support at the beginning of the divorce to ensure financial protection for both spouses during the process. For example, if you’re a one-income family, and the breadwinner typically paid the mortgage, utilities, and grocery bills each month, you can ask the court to require your spouse to continue making payments until the judge finalizes your divorce.
Lump-Sum Spousal Support. There are some circumstances where a lump-sum spousal support award is most appropriate. For some couples, the property division award is unequal, meaning one spouse will receive a higher settlement due to having more separate property or some other circumstance specific to their case. The goal in every divorce is for the spouses to walk away with a similar award, so if that can’t happen through the property settlement, the judge may order one spouse to pay the other a lump-sum amount as alimony that matches the other spouse’s property award.
In some cases, if the court awards spousal support but knows that the paying spouse’s income is unreliable, the judge may require a lump-sum payment upfront that covers most, if not all, of the spousal support award.
Permanent Spousal Support. The court typically reserves permanent spousal support for long-term marriages where there is a large discrepancy in income between the spouses. Permanent spousal support continues until one or both spouses die or the recipient remarries (or sometimes, when the recipient cohabitates with another partner.)
If permanent alimony is being considered in your case, you’ll need to decide if spousal support should be modifiable in the future, which is essential especially if you’re the paying spouse. Most awards qualify for a modification if the paying spouse’s income decreases due to loss of employment, retirement, or illness. The rules governing modification of spousal support vary by state, so you should consult with an attorney before you agree to the final spousal support terms.
Rehabilitative Spousal Support. The most common type of spousal support is rehabilitative support, which the court awards for a specific period. Rehabilitative support allows the recipient spouse time to gain the skills necessary to enter the workforce, obtain employment, and become self-supporting. Typically, rehabilitative support ends on a specific date, but if the recipient still needs assistance, the supported spouse can ask the court to extend or modify the award.
Each state has varying rules for how judges decide alimony payments. Most states don’t have a one-size-fits-all calculation, like they do for child support, so judges typically have broad discretion when it comes to the type and amount of spousal support.
Some states provide the judges with specific factors to consider, which may include:
The laws surrounding spousal support vary depending on where you live and your specific situation. An experienced family law attorney can help you understand your state laws and requirements before you file.
