Alimony: What You Need To Know Before The Divorce

 

Alimony is a financial obligation that requires one spouse to pay support to their former spouse after a divorce is finalized. Men or women are entitled to receive spousal support payments based on the circumstances of their marriage. This type of support is more common in marriages that lasted over 10 years, but can be required for short term marriages.

Alimony is granted to one of the spouses based on the following factors:

• Length of marriage
• Age of ex-spouse at time of divorce
• Ability for ex-spouse to support themselves or be trained for employment
• Income of ex-spouse at time of divorce

Other conditions may apply. Your Oklahoma, OKC divorce lawyer will explain how alimony applies to your specific divorce case.

Spousal support can be granted by the court as a lump sum amount at time of the divorce, signing over specific assets to the ex-spouse, or as monthly maintenance payments. Monthly payments are the most common form of support.

Support may be granted for a specific amount of time, or may be granted permanently. If granted permanently, the only thing that can legally stop the payments is the death of either ex-spouse, the remarriage of the spouse receiving support, or if the ex-spouse cohabitates with another person and is living as a couple.

A person paying spousal support can seek modifications to the support if there are changes in circumstances. However, they will need to use an OKC divorce lawyer to approach the Court and show cause as to why the support should be changed. The Court will usually only grant changes based on income changes of either party.

Because this is such a serious issue from either side of the divorce, it is important to work with an experienced attorney during spousal support negotiations. This ensures that both parties are protected and that any support that is given is fair and complete.