Alimony is when one spouse supports the other financially after the divorce. Spousal support or spousal maintenance are all words for the same thing, Alimony. Generally, a less-earning spouse gets alimony. A Huntsville divorce lawyer can help you determine if you qualify for alimony, how much you can get and for how long.
Alimony is designed to help a spouse who is not working or earning due to family responsibility of kids till the time they start earning and are self-supporting.
What are the conditions for receiving Alimony?
Now times have changed, and alimony is less popular in courts. Alimony is provided only in a few cases with as short a duration as possible.
-If both the spouses are employed, and there is not much of a difference in the earnings, then it is unlikely that the court will provide any alimony law. In some cases, even the tenure is not considered for awarding Alimony if both the spouses are employed.
-Some states have a limiting time period for alimony, and in some others, it automatically ends when the spouse receiving it remarries.
-Some states also include the termination date for alimony in the divorce agreement itself.
The sole purpose of Alimony is to ensure both the spouses are financially able to pay daily living expenses during and after divorce. If one earns higher pay, the court may order to support the spouse for a specific time period. Huntsville state law awards temporary, periodic, and permanent alimony arrangements; however, permanent alimony law demands strict guidelines.
Interim or Temporary Alimony during divorce proceedings
To get alimony from a spouse, the petitioning party must provide with the court the following
-the need for support
-spouse ability to provide it
-marriage is valid
Interim support ends with the court’s final order.
Periodic Alimony
Periodic alimony comes into play when one spouse is not employed to raise children, household responsibilities etc. It is to provide rehabilitative support, and once the spouse becomes self-sufficient, the alimony stops.
Permanent Alimony for a disabled spouse
Permanent alimony happens in very rare cases when a spouse is permanently disabled or too old to start working or become self-sufficient.
Permanent alimony is provided to a spouse if the marriage is over 20 years and if the spouse can prove the need for support in court.
To conclude, alimony is now also phasing out in states where permanent alimony was common.
