What to Know About Alimony When Going Through a Divorce

If you are going through a divorce, you will want to be aware of how alimony will be determined, and how these decisions will impact your finances after your divorce ends.

Alimony is a form of spousal support that is paid by one member of a divorced couple to the other. Decisions concerning who pays alimony and how much is paid are determined either by the couple and their lawyers or by a judge. Alimony is paid when one member of a couple needs financial support after a divorce, and the other member of the couple has the means to provide financial assistance.

Determining alimony

Several factors play into how much alimony is paid from one spouse to another. Typically, the duration of the marriage and differences in earning potential are the two key factors in an alimony decision. Longer marriages and greater differences in earning potential are likely to result in a larger alimony amount.

Other factors that may come into play when determining spousal support is the couple’s standard of living, the physical and emotional wellbeing of each member of the couple and the payer’s ability to provide financially for themselves and their spouse at the same time. Alimony can last for any duration of time, and in New York may last for some couples until the recipient dies or remarries.

Sometimes, one member of a couple may suspect that their spouse is under-reporting his or her income to make it appear as though they are not able to provide alimony due to their partner. In other situations, a spouse may earn less than his or her potential to avoid hefty alimony payments. In either of these cases, you may wish to speak with a lawyer about how to properly prove your spouse’s income.

To learn more about spousal support, speak with a trusted Long Island alimony attorney at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates, P.C.