What is spousal maintenance?
When a couple gets divorced, there are a number of different factors that must be addressed. Some of these include whether one spouse will be required to pay support to the other spouse. This form of support is often referred to as spousal maintenance or alimony. The primary goal of spousal support is to allow each spouse to maintain the same standard of living they had during the marriage after the divorce. That being said, not all divorces require an award of spousal support. There are some cases in which both spouses are completely financially self-sufficient and can have a similar quality of life without the help of spousal maintenance. Other times, one spouse will put their career on hold to stay at home with the family or take classes to advance their career and therefore, do not have the means to maintain their quality of life after the divorce. There are different forms of spousal maintenance for each situation where it may be needed.
Most of the time, spousal maintenance is temporary. Typically, longer marriages have longer spousal maintenance obligations. When trying to determine a suitable spousal maintenance award, the court will take a number of different factors into consideration. They will consider the length of the marriage, the custody arrangement, and each party’s income.
If you have questions about spousal maintenance, contact our firm today.
Robert Pollack is an experienced divorce and family law attorney in Long Island, New York. Contact The Pollack Law Firm, P.C., to set up a free initial consultation.
