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Divorce and Alimony Formula
By: Jean Mahserjian, Sat Nov 12th, 2005
In divorce, a common question is, "what is the alimony formula".
Well, there really is no set alimony formula for divorce. This
is in complete contrast to child support, which is decided based
upon a specific formulas in each state. Alimony is based on
factors and those factors are decided through divorce
negotiation or by a divorce judge. But, there is no alimony
formula available to your divorce attorney or you to determine
in advance what alimony will be paid in your case.
What does a divorce court look at to determine alimony? Those
issues do vary by state. But, there are also many alimony
factors that are common from state to state. So, although there
is no specific alimony formula for you to rely on, there are
alimony factors that you can look at to help you determine what
the alimony might be in your case. In divorce, some of the
alimony factors that a judge might look at include the
following. First is the length of your marriage. If the parties
have been married for one year, the court's attitude towards a
request for alimony will be very different than if the parties
have been married for twenty years. Because the lenght of
marriage varies so much in all divorces, it is not possible to
plug this factor into an alimony forumla to determine the
alimony amount.
Another factor affecting the award of alimony is employment
status. Obviously, if the spouse seeking alimony has been
unemployed or underemployed for a number of years to care for
young children, the home, or the spouse, that is a factor that
will militate in that spouse's favor if he or she is seeking
alimony. On the other hand, if that spouse has the ability to
obtain employment that will more than adequately meet his or her
needs, the court might think a little differently about awarding
alimony to that party. Other factors that are considered closely
with this factor include level of education, job experience, the
age of children in the household, and work history.
A major factor that can affect an award of alimony is the amount
of property to be retained or divided by the parties. If the
spouse seeking alimony has been a stay at home parent, but will
have signifcant assets after divorce or has separate assets,
like a trust fund, the court's attitude towards the award of
alimony will be affected. The court will certainly view a
request for alimony under these circumstances much different
than a request made by an individual who is receiving no assets
in the divorce or who does not have any separate property.
The health of the party seeking alimony is a major factor that
can impact a court's decision in awarding alimony. If the spouse
seeking alimony has a debilitating physical condition that
impacts whether or how much they can work, the court will not
want to impoverish that party after divorce and the court will
be more likely to use alimony to address at least basic living
needs.
One other factor that should be considered by the divorce court
and by the parties, is the taxability of the alimony payments.
In most instances, if there is no specific provision to the
contrary, spousal support payments are taxable to the recipient
and tax deductible to the payor. The tax benefit obtained by
spreading out economic wealth in this fashion can be significant
and should be discussed in depth with your divorce attorney.
One issue that is not always considered by the court, but should
be discussed with your divorce attorney, is that alimony
payments are, in general, not dischargeable in bankruptcy. If
there is any possibility that the party who is to pay alimony
will be filing for bankruptcy, the divorce attorneys will
negotiate very hard on both sides to maximize the final benefit
to their client in divorce.
It should thus be apparent that in divorce, there can be no easy
alimony forumla, no matter what state you live in. It is
impossible to plug these and other factors into a mathematical
equation to arrive at a "correct" alimony formula. It is
necessary that the divorce court, or the divorce attorneys
review how these varied and different factors affect both
parties in the divorce and then arrive at a solution that
encompasses all of the divorce issues, including property
settlement and alimony. They cannot simply set up an alimony
formula that would work for all parties.
About the author:
Attorney Jean Mahserjian is the author of numerous websites and
books devoted to helping consumers through the process of
separation and divorce. To download free excerpts from her
family law books, visit: http://www.millenniumdivorce.com
