Spouses often earn different incomes but enjoy one standard of living during their marriage. One spouse may have earned less than the other spouse so that they could take care of the children, home, and family needs, for example.
When the spouse’s divorce, the lower-earning spouse is at a financial disadvantage. The court may correct this disadvantage by awarding alimony, or spousal support, for a certain amount of time or until the spouse receiving alimony remarries.
How the Court Decides on Spousal Support
Each divorce is unique. However, for all Michigan divorces, the court will consider the following factors to determine whether alimony should be awarded and the fair amount of alimony payments:
- The length of the marriage
- The age of each spouse
- The health of each spouse
- The needs of each spouse
- The ability of each spouse to get and maintain a job
- The income of each spouse
- How property will be divided in the divorce
- Whether either spouse has the ability to pay spousal support
- The standard of living the spouses had during the marriage
- The conduct of each party
- Any other factors that the court decides will equitably and fairly decide the issue of spousal support
Spousal support may be:
- Temporary. Temporary alimony payments are due while the divorce is pending and before the divorce decree is final.
- Short-term. Short-term spousal support is awarded for a certain amount of time to allow the spouse receiving the payments the necessary time to find a job or gain employment skills.
- Long-term. Long-term spousal support is typically granted when the receiving spouse has significant needs and the spouses were married for many years.
Spousal support may be a one-time lump sum payment or divided into multiple payments over a period of time.
Talk to a Michigan Divorce Lawyer About Alimony
Spousal support is a critical aspect of your divorce agreement, but there are many different things to work out during divorce proceedings. Our goal is to set you up for a successful future. Call us or text our Michigan family law attorneys today for a complimentary consultation about your rights.