Alimony and Child Support
In order to award alimony the Court must find that one party has a need for alimony and that the other party has the ability to pay the alimony. The purpose of alimony is not to equalize income. Rather, the purpose of alimony is to provide for the needs of the lesser-wage-earning spouse.
The factors the Court will consider in determining whether to award alimony include:
The factors the Court will consider in determining whether to award alimony include:
- the standard of living established during the marriage
- the length of the marriage
- each party’s age and physical and emotional condition
- each spouse’s financial resources, including non-marital and marital assets and liabilities of each spouse
- the earning capacities, educational levels, vocational skills or each spouse
- each spouse’s contributions to the marriage
- the responsibilities of each party after the divorce regarding caring for minor children
- the tax treatment and consequences to both spouses of any alimony award
- all sources of income available to either spouse
- and any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.
