Alimony or spousal support is financial compensation that one spouse pays to the other after a divorce. While it can be a sore subject to some, alimony is greatly beneficial in ensuring that the divorce does not financially ruin either spouse or their standard of living. Many factors including children can affect the amount of alimony that is awarded. Work with a trusted Oakland County alimony lawyer for skilled legal counsel.
How is Alimony Calculated?
Alimony is typically a stress point during divorces and can be a complex issue. Courts calculate alimony based on what is most fair to both parties involved. Generally, the court will compare the higher-earning spouse’s income with the lower-earning spouse’s income, considering the difference. Alimony will be based on a percentage of the higher-earning spouse’s income which will factor in the following.
- How long the couple was together for
- Each spouse’s earning capacity
- The age of each spouse
- The mental and physical health of each spouse
- The property that was awarded to each spouse during the asset division
- The standard of living that was established during the marriage
- The financial needs of each spouse
- The parental responsibility of each spouse
When one spouse sacrifices a lot for the good of the marriage or family it can greatly affect the amount of alimony they are awarded. For example, one spouse may have a considerably lower income than the other because of contributions they made to the marriage. They may have put off their own education to work and financially support the other spouse while they pursued higher education. They also could have left their job to raise their children. All of these are important factors when determining alimony.
How Does Having Children Impact Alimony Payments?
If you and your former spouse share children it can potentially impact the amount of alimony that a court orders.
When alimony is calculated it is based on the aforementioned factors, the main one being each spouse’s income. If the two spouses have children together one spouse probably pays child support to the other. If the spouse who pays child support is also going to be paying alimony, it can impact the calculation. Courts will usually deduct the amount of child support being paid from the paying spouse’s income before making their calculation. This could result in a slightly lower amount of alimony as payments are calculated as a percentage of the higher-earning spouse’s income. If their income is lower, the payments will be lower.
However, sometimes when the lower-earning spouse is the custodial parent the alimony payments could increase. Having full or majority custody of one or more children can make it more difficult for the parent to obtain full-time employment or increase their income by dedicating more time to their career. Because of this obstacle, the court may award more spousal support.
It is important to remember that the higher-earning spouse may also become the custodial parent. In this case, alimony payments to the lower-earning spouse may decrease. Parental responsibility is one of the factors included in alimony calculations. The court may decide that the higher-earning spouse needs to retain more of their income to spend supporting the children.