ALIMONY/SPOUSAL SUPPORT
Alimony can be integrated into your divorce or your existing Alimony court order can be modified on a post-divorce basis.
Alimony is also sometimes called spousal support. It's designed to provide the lower-income spouse with money for living expenses over and above the money provided by child support, and to allow both spouses, after divorce, to maintain as closely as possible the lifestyles they had during their marriage. Alimony is different from child support in that child support is normally a mathematical calculation based on a state formula, whereas alimony may be computed using a mathematical calculation based on a state formula but will be at the discretion of the judge.
There are several factors a judge considers when deciding whether to grant alimony. These differ from state to state, but they usually involve things like the parties' relative ability to earn money, both now and in the future; their respective age and health; the length of the marriage; the kind of property involved, and the conduct of the parties. In general, about the only time a judge will award alimony in most states is where one spouse has been economically dependent on the other spouse for most of a lengthy marriage.
This generally depends on the court’s discretion and the length of your marriage.
Alimony gets treated differently from child support on your tax return. Alimony is tax deductible to the person who pays it, and included in the taxable income of the person who receives it. Child support, by contrast, is not taxable to the person who receives it and not tax deductible to the person who pays it. That means that when you and your spouse have dramatically different incomes, there may be some tax advantages to using alimony, even if a judge wouldn't ordinarily award it.
We can assist you obtain a modification in your existing court orders due to significant changes in circumstances since your divorce. Significant changes in the income or resources of one of the spouses, or significant changes in the financial needs of the child may justify modification of support payments. Please contact us for additional information.
