Spousal Support
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Through our online and in person services, we are committed to help you obtain the outcomes you want and need in order to move forward with your life plans and goals. Ideally, we would like to help you move through a peaceful and rational divorce process. Although this doesn’t always end up being the case, we will give you our very best so you can work towards a healthy, sustainable future.
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What Is Spousal Support?
Spousal support is also referred to as alimony. Alimony is a vital program for many single mothers who, during the period of their marriage, typically made less-than or no employment earnings. It allows the income-dependent party to survive and get back on their feet without sinking into poverty.
A court will determine your eligibility for these payments during your divorce proceedings, depending on your individual case. If granted alimony rights, you can collect the payment from your ex-spouse according to the terms of the court agreement.
How Does Spousal Support Work?
Alimony or spousal support are both terms used to refer to one partner’s financial payments to another. Think of it as the income you relied on during the course of your marriage. Payments can be made during or after divorce proceedings. They are commonly issued by courts when there are cases of income discrepancy.
For example, when one of the spouses earns significantly more than the other, the greater paycheck is typically what pays for shared living expenses. It can be a vital lifeline for many partners seeking a divorce but have sacrificed their careers to stay at home during their marriage. After divorce, it is unlikely they will be able to continue living solely off of alimony payments, but will serve as a financial aid for a set period of time. In most cases, this financial flexibility helps the previously dependent partner to find a job and establish a stable, sustainable lifestyle for themselves and often their children.
What To Know About Alimony
It may sound complicated when you first hear about these spousal supportive programs. However, with the proper legal counsel and guidance, the process can be fairly straightforward. With a few key concepts under your belt, you will be well on the way to securing your alimony payments for the proceeding months.
What Different Types of Alimony Exist?
A few types of alimony payment programs exist in your state. We will divide them into three separate categories that include short term programs, long-term programs, and permanent payment programs. The main difference is in the length of time that they are established.
Short Term
Short term agreements are commonly issued during the divorce process. At the onset of a case, courts have not had the time necessary to evaluate the circumstances to determine long-term payment details. In order to provide a fair outcome for the verdict, they issue a short-term agreement initially. These are often served as a temporary solution.
Long Term
Long Term: Once your divorce has been finalized and the details are drawn up in your documents, you will often be set up with a long-term agreement. Typically, these will last until any children you have come of age, for a strategically assigned number of months, or until the recipient establishes a stable income and lifestyle. After that, it is common for the payments to eventually stop. Do not plan to rely on alimony payments for rest of your life.
Permanent
In rare or extraneous circumstances, permanent alimony payments can be awarded to spouses. In these cases, you do not need to be concerned with spousal support ceasing due to your children coming of age, or by a given date. Permanent alimony payments will only cease when one party passes away or in result of a mutual agreement that spousal support is no longer necessary.
What Factors Affect Alimony Allocation?
Courts will consider many factors when determining the level of alimony payments you should receive. They may even determine that you should not receive them at all. Every case is different and the details will be considered with care and sensitivity, but in general, most courts will examine both spouse’s incomes and overall net worth. Any shared and sole property that you have should be taken into account when going forward with one of these proceedings.
Your ability to produce income in the future will also be a factor taken into consideration by the court. Any mental or health complications might hinder your ability to earn a comparable income and will be taken into consideration. However, depending on the history of the marriage, individuals that have high earning capacity could potentially be awarded lower levels of alimony support.
Who Qualifies for Spousal Support?
In separation or divorce, either party can request a court to determine their eligibility to receive alimony. However, that does not mean that the court will grant the request. Court authorities will consider several factors when determining your eligibility such as your living situation and financial or income status during or after your legal separation. Even though it is hard to predict what the outcome of any court proceedings will be before they happen, you can rely on a good chance of being approved for one of these programs if your spouse significantly makes more money than you.
What Happens if a Payment is Missed?
Sometimes circumstances get in the way of receiving your payment on a regular schedule. Several different payment methods can be used to collect your alimony each month depending on your situation. This flexibility helps accommodate such unnecessary fluctuations in earning capacity. When a spouse fails to make an agreed-upon payment for alimony or spousal support, they can be hit with an enforcement motion. This will allow the spouse who missed the payment to add additional interest charges to the total amount owed. They may also use it to extend the total duration of support to which they are entitled.
In most circumstances, direct payments will be sufficient. As long as your spouse makes their payments on time, you should never need to take it to court once you begin to receive these again. The most common method of enforcing payment whenever one of the spouses fails to regularly make their payments is to garnish their wages. This circumvents their ability to withhold the payments entirely. It has the payments deducted from their wages the same way that payroll taxes are deducted from paychecks.
If spouses consistently fail to make their support payments on time, they can be hit with severe consequences such as jail or massive fines. Often the mere threat of these consequences being enforced is enough to motivate the spouse to make their payments again.
In extraneous circumstances, courts will allow the garnishment of other sources of income outside of typical wages. This can include tax returns. If the individual making support payments is entitled to a tax return for the given year, this could be redirected to alimony recipient to compensate for any missed payments. If you believe that you should be entitled to a portion of your spouse’s earnings, you can file a motion of enforcement if they have failed to make a payment in the past.
Should You Contact a Lawyer About Alimony?
Anytime you have a legal matter that requires a skilled and trained eye, you should consider working with our legal professionals here at Racine Divorce. Any legal matter must be handled with attentiveness to detail and sensitivity to your unique situation. Our team can guide, advise, and walk you through the process from start to finish. Rather than attempting to navigate these unknown waters yourself, rely on their expertise. This stops you from making a mistake that could potentially cost you your valuable time and money.