What Is The Nature And Purpose Of Alimony?
What Is The Criteria In Determining The Amount Of Alimony?
If the parties cannot reach an agreement as to what alimony is to be paid, at a final trial, the judge (or jury) is granted a wide latitude in evaluating the evidence and determining the amount of permanent alimony, if any. The rationale for this discretion is that the facts and circumstances in each case are different, and it is impossible to fix any rule for a precise mathematical calculation of the amount of permanent alimony to be awarded. Alimony is different from child support where there are guidelines to determine a presumptive amount of child support based upon the parties’ incomes.
The following factors must now be considered in determining the amount of permanent alimony, if any, to be awarded:
- The standard of living established during the marriage;
- The duration of the marriage;
- The age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties;
- The financial resources of each party;
- Where applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable him/her to find appropriate employment;
- The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party;
- The condition of the parties, including the separate estate, earning capacity, and fixed liabilities of the parties; and
- Such other relevant factors as the court deems equitable and proper.
The needs of a spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay are the foremost factors that are generally considered in making an award of permanent alimony. Furthermore, the facts associated with the separation, including the conduct of the parties towards each other, may now be taken into consideration in determining the amount to be awarded as alimony.
How Is Alimony Paid?
The following examples will help illustrate what a court may order one spouse to do for the support of the other:
- The standard of living established during the marriage;
- The duration of the marriage;
- The age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties;
- The financial resources of each party;
- Where applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable him/her to find appropriate employment;
- The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party;
- The condition of the parties, including the separate estate, earning capacity, and fixed liabilities of the parties; and
- Such other relevant factors as the court deems equitable and proper.
How Long Does Alimony Get Paid?
Once it is determined that one spouse should receive alimony, it must then be determined in what form permanent alimony is to be paid or transferred, including the manner and terms of payment. Permanent alimony may be awarded in cash, either from the spouse’s earnings, or from the spouse’s estate, to be paid in a lump sum or periodic payments over a period of time.
Additionally, the death of the obligated party terminates his/her obligation to pay future alimony, unless there is a clear expression of intent to the contrary. As previously discussed, support payable in form as a “lump sum” or “property settlement” are not “periodic alimony, and thus may be collected from the decedent’s estate.
Subsequent to a divorce awarding periodic alimony for the support of a spouse, the voluntary “cohabitation” of such former spouse with a third party in a meretricious relationship is grounds for the termination of alimony payments. However, such conduct does not require termination or a revision of the alimony; it only provides that the judge, or jury, may modify and revise the previous judgment. “Cohabitation” means dwelling together continuously and openly in a meretricious relationship with another person regardless of the sex of the other person. The cohabitation must go beyond mere periodic, physical interludes.
