Guild to alimony, maintenance, spousal support

To support a spouse with less financial resources a person will have to pay alimony, maintenance or spousal support. The court will look at a person’s need and the others ability to pay when deciding the amount to be offered. Here is a general guide to alimony, maintenance, and spousal support.

Rehabilitative support – This is support from one spouse to help the other in the areas of obtaining an education, job training or returning to school to complete a degree. The ultimate goal is to make the other spouse become self-supporting. Often this support is given to a spouse who had to leave his/her job to assist the other’s career, to raise a child or help with family duties. Areas the court will look into including the length of the marriage, the age of the spouse, earning capabilities of the spouse and the length of the spouse’s absence from the job market.

Permanent Support – This form of support is rarely awarded but will be considered upon the age, disability, and health of the recipient spouse. These same areas will also be considered when dividing property. Most often this support will only cease if the recipient spouse remarries or cohabitates.

The laws pertaining to spousal support will vary from state to state. Therefore to receive a beneficial settlement, it is important to consider the differences in terms of the amount and length of time, as these will differ from state to state.