Alimony

Alimony

Alimony is court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated. Alimony is money to “level the playing field” between the parties. Alimony is determined based on a party’s ability to pay and the other party’s needs. The type of alimony that one party may receive is based on several factors including: the length of the marriage, the standard of living, the relative financial resources of the parties, and the spouse’s employment.

The Court has the ability to award different types of alimony, such as permanent alimony, durational alimony, rehabilitative alimony, bridge the gap alimony, temporary alimony and lump sum alimony. The length of a party’s marriage can substantially increase one party’s likelihood of receiving or paying alimony.

A marriage of one to seven years in duration is considered a short term marriage and there is no presumption in favor of permanent alimony. A marriage of seven to seventeen years in duration is considered an intermediate marriage and there is no presumption in favor or against permanent alimony. A marriage of seventeen years or more in duration is considered a long term marriage and there is a presumption that one party is entitled to receive permanent alimony.

Durational alimony is oftentimes half the length of the marriage (five years of alimony in a ten year marriage). However, the Court is not able to award alimony for a period of time longer than the length of the marriage. If you have been the primary income earner for the family during the marriage, you could be ordered to pay significant sums of money to your former spouse in alimony payments. The attorneys at Collin Basit Law Group will aggressively advocate a fair resolution and will not let you get taken advantage of.

Contact Collin Basit Law Group today at 954-414-4644.