Questions About Spousal Support? I Can Provide Answers.
Alimony is established after looking at both spouses’ needs versus their abilities to pay alimony. There are a number of factors that judges and juries take into consideration, including:
- Marriage duration
- Age of each spouse
- Cause or causes of the divorce or separation
- The couple’s standard of living
- Shared and separate financial resources, including debts
- Each spouse’s earning capability
- A need to obtain additional education or training to return to the workforce (if applicable)
- Contributions to the home, including child-rearing and taking care of the home
I sit down with clients and look at tax returns, past earning history, budgets, current expenses and future expenses separate from a spouse, and then I help guide you on a realistic alimony claim. There are several forms of alimony – monthly payments or periodic; in kind or paid in the form of another expense, such as health insurance; and lump sum, which is received in a large payment or short increments.
Modifying Or Terminating An Alimony Award
A court order determines the initial alimony award based on circumstances at the time of divorce. But if the needs or financial resources of either spouse change significantly, either can petition the court to increase, decrease or eliminate the alimony award. One of the most common reasons people seek an end to an alimony award is that the receiving spouse has gotten remarried or has entered into a romantic cohabiting relationship with another partner.
Contact My Firm For Case-Specific Advice And Representation
Whether you need help with an initial support order or a modification, at my firm, Candace M. Williams, P.C., I am here to advocate for your needs. To learn more about how I can help, call my office in Gainesville, Georgia, at 470-705-5442 or send me an email.
