When is a party entitled to maintenance (alimony)?
The law acknowledges that marriages are partnerships and even though one party may not have worked at a wage paying job, he or she is presumed to have contributed equally to the marriage in other ways. These other ways can be contributions such as child rearing, managing a household and providing physical and emotional support to the wage earning spouse.
A divorced party is not automatically entitled to alimony or maintenance. The party asking for maintenance must have a need for it and the other party must have the ability to pay. If both side's criteria exist then the court will look at a number of factors to determine not only the amount of maintenance to be paid but also for how long it is to be paid.
The factors included would be (1) length of marriage, (2) age and physical and emotional health of the parties, (3) the division of property, (4) educational level of each party at the time the action is commenced, (5) the earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to find appropriate employment, (6) the feasibility that the party seeking maintenance can become self supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage, and, if so, the length of time necessary to achieve this goal, (7) the tax consequences to each party, (8) any mutual agreement made by the parties before or during the marriage, according to the terms in which one party has made financial or service contributions to the other with the expectations of reciprocation or other compensation in the future, where such repayment has not been made by the parties before or during the marriage concerning any arrangement for the financial support of the parties, (9) The contribution by one party to the education, training or increased earning power of the other, (10) Such other factors as the court may in each individual case determine to be relevant.
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