is there definate rules on how long a husband should pay a wife alimony. i was told half the lenth of marriage

Question

am waiting to be served with papers for divorce married 24 yrs husband wants to only pay alimony for 5 yrs. have an exising mortgage and a 2nd mortgage totaling 90,000 will have to refinace to keep house he feels equity in home is enough to live on and i make half of what he does

Answer 1

Alimony, if it was awarded by the courts should be stipulated within those court papers, and within your divorce decree (including effective dates). You should read those papers thoroughly and contact the attorney with whom you worked and who drew up your papers to verify if you cannot find the stipulation within your court documents.

Answer 2

I agree that it will vary based upon all the facts, including your and his age and earning capacity, the other assets and debts and the health of all the parties. The court will also consider whether you contributed in other ways to the marriage i.e. staying home to care for kids. While there is an often quoted rule of thumb of maintenance for 1/2 the length of a marriage, the facts are so individual that it is almost impossible to predict unless you know all the facts and how the particular judge feels about alimony.

The problem with just awarding you the equity in the house is that you cannot eat equity. The judge could order the house sold and that you get the cash instead of alimony (also called maintenance). If you have a good reason the house cannot be sold (stability for young kids for example) that may affect the award as well.

The Court should also consider what assets each party may have or be awarded for retirement. Many times wives are really behind in this area as they have less Social Security or other retirement funds. This is a good reason for some alimony so that the other spouse can catch up.

Alimony is one of the areas where judges have the most discretion to decide based upon the individual facts of each case. In your case 5 years seems a bit short. See a lawyer once you are served, it could save you literally thousands of dollars. Do not sign any agreement without at least speaking to an attorney.

Answer 3

They HAVE, NEED and SHOULD pay alimony in cases where the wife was a homemaker/stay at home mom due to this being the agreement during the marriage and/or the husband betrayed the family by having an affair. Even then no amount of money can really make up for the betrayal. I once heard someone say this one guy was getting screwed because he had to pay his x-wife so much money but the real truth was he screwed her and his children by being very selfish and not realizing and appreciating what he had.

Answer 4

First of all, Spousal Support is based on the disadvantage of one party to the other. As you have been told there is no set length of time in any state UNLESS you are awarded PERMANENT support, which, under the few details you provided, is highly unlikely.

At best, you may be awarded REHABILITATIVE support which is for a fixed period and based on articulated need and disadvantage.

Also, if you are awarded an inequitable share in the marital property he has a very good case for asking the court to deny spousal support.

For example, if you have $200,000 in equity in the home and you are awarded the property, even if you are required to refinance to remove his name from the mortgage, you have gained $100,000 in disproportinate assets.

Even if you only earn $1,000 a month, as you said he would then earn $2,000 which breaks down to more than 10 years of spousal support (an award to bring your income to his level at $,1000 a month divided into the $100,000 extra equity you realized in the home).

Of course, every situation is different and it depends on how much equity you have in the home, your situation before the marriage and the contributions both parties made to the marriage to arrive at an award.

However, what I can tell from your situation is that if the equity in the home is sufficient based on the above formula, you will have a hard time making a case for spousal support.

Answer 5

Sometimes a judge will order it for X amount of years and some judges will order it until the woman remarries. Some states also do not give alimony, talk to a lawyer and see what they say they would be your best bet for a good honest answer based on your states laws.

Answer 6

The laws are different in each state but it usually goes by whatever the papers say (which is decided by the judge in most cases). Mine is until my divorce is final...and so far it's been 9 months. This would be a great question to bring up next time you visit your lawyer. Good luck through it all.

Answer 7

Most courts nowadays do not award alimony for any lengthy period of time. Even 5 years is too long these days. Nowadays if the "displaced" spouse is able bodied and can work then it is expected she/he look for work and alimony is paid to her/him until they have become employed. The only time courts award alimony indeffinatly is if the displaced spouse is totally disabled and can not work. You obviously are able to work since you indicated you have a job. Maybe it's time to downsize your living quarters.

Answer 8

Doesnt much matter what he wants. The Judge has the final say so in this mattr and thats all he needs to know. If your husband is trying to settle out of court,dont agree or sign anything from himor his attorney unless you absolutely agree 100% with it as the courts cant undo whats been done. So let him threaten or whatever he wants to do, and the Judge know this, and the Judge will decide. Good luck

Answer 9

There is no set length of time or about. It is decided on a case by case basis by the court. Sometimes it is a set time frame, or just until the ex-spouse remarries or co-habitates.

Answer 10

the equity will not be enough to live on. The lawyers will hash out the details, but you might want to consider moving