Learn what factors a judge may consider when deciding to award spousal support in a divorce case.
During a marriage, two spouses pool their efforts to maintain their household and care for one another and their children. While having two working spouses is more and more common, in many cases one spouse stops working for at least a few years in order to raise children. This can put that spouse at a disadvantage career-wise, and they may deserve compensation for their sacrifice in the form of spousal support. There are many different factors that inform the spousal support order that may be incorporated into your divorce decree. Often, divorcing couples are able to reach an agreement regarding support or alimony on their own. Divorce attorneys may help with the negotiation process to help ensure the agreement the divorcing spouses present to the court is fair and accounts for both spouses’ rights, but a judge will still have to sign off on it. Here are some of the main factors that a judge has to consider when creating a spousal support order.
Supported Spouse’s Earning Capacity
If the spouse requesting support has the ability to support themselves after the divorce, the judge may be reluctant to order permanent alimony. They may instead order transitional alimony to help the unemployed or underemployed spouse support themselves until they get a new job. In order to assess the supported spouse’s ability to support themselves the judge will look at their marketable skills, the state of the current job market for those skills, and the extent to which their contributions to the marriage (such as staying home to raise children or care for the home) affected their career.
Length of the Marriage
The law provides for spousal support to be ordered for any length of time the judge deems appropriate. Typically, judges have seen half the length of the marriage as a reasonable amount of time for support to last. One exception is for marriages lasting 10 years or more. In such cases, judges often issue spousal support orders with no end dates.
Domestic Violence
Finally, a judge must consider any history of domestic violence between the two divorcing spouses. If the supported spouse was the victim, the judge might consider their emotional distress as a reason to award support. If the supported spouse was the abuser, the judge could reduce or even deny support, especially if there was a conviction for domestic violence.