Divorce: Who Pays What?
A common question at the outset of a divorce is, for someone who may have been the primary breadwinner or make significantly more than the other spouse, they’ll ask if will I have to pay spousal support (also known as alimony). Spousal support is an issue where the courts have wide discretion. It’s very gray what would be awarded and it varies by judge. Some judges will award spousal support much more freely and others less so.
In spousal support, the discussion usually starts because there is a marriage of a significant duration where one spouse works, pursues their career, maybe advances in their career, and the other stays at home or does not work as much (part-time, perhaps). It’s usually because of the marital arrangement where maybe one party is the homemaker or does the majority of the managing of the children’s day-to-day activities in school, but that’s how they operate. One party’s primarily working, and the other is foregoing or not pursuing career opportunities they may have or may work part-time, but there’s a significant disparity in income between the two.
If there’s a request that you pay spousal support, it’s important to have a divorce lawyer in Bartlesville that’s familiar with the judge in the case.
What is the Purpose of Spousal Support?
The purpose of spousal support is to pay that person who was not working or making less a monthly support obligation over time to help them pay for their reasonable monthly expenses so that they can re-incorporate themself into the workforce over time. Spousal support is not forever. It will be set for a duration of time after the divorce is finalized and broken down into monthly payments, in addition to any child support obligations there might be.
Again, there is a lot of discretion. There’s not a worksheet or a computation like there is in child support – and that makes people uncomfortable – but essentially you would look at the reasonable monthly expenses of the person seeking spousal support and then you would deduct their income and see what deficit they have. How much are they, on the whole – that’s the need. You have to establish a need for the person seeking support.
Then you move over to the person who is being asked to pay spousal support and you do the same thing. You look at their reasonable monthly expenses, subtract their net income, and then you see what excess is left. That is their ability to pay. To the extent they have the ability to satisfy the need, that’s the spousal support that could be awarded.
Consultation with a Bartlesville Divorce Lawyer
There are a lot of moving parts involved in spousal support adjudications. As with any important legal issue, you want to have a good attorney to advise you on what to expect and how to proceed in order to insure the best outcome.
If you would like a confidential strategy consultation with a Bartlesville Oklahoma divorce lawyer, call the Wirth Law Office – Bartlesville today at (918) 213-0950, or fill out the short form at the top right of this page. One of our spousal support lawyers in Oklahoma will contact you promptly.
