Factors That Help Determine If You Are Eligible For Collecting Alimony

If you are in the middle of a divorce right now, you may want to talk to your lawyer about alimony. Alimony is not the same thing as child support, but it is a form of financial support paid from one spouse to the other. If you want to find out if you are eligible to receive alimony after your divorce, you should begin by looking at some common factors that can affect this decision.

How long have you been married?

Unlike child support, there is no set procedure in place that determines whether a person is eligible to receive alimony. There is also no set schedule used to determine how much alimony payments will be. Instead, courts typically view each situation uniquely to determine the outcome.

One of the factors used in this decision is length of the marriage. If you have only been married for a year or two, you will probably not qualify to receive alimony. On the other hand, if you have been married for 10 or 20 years, this would constitute a reason to look further into the subject of alimony. Every state has different rules relating to this, so you will need to talk to an attorney, like Bergermann Law Firm, to find out what the rules are in your state.

Do you currently have a job or education?

The second factor that can play a role in determining alimony is whether you have a job or the ability to earn money. If you were a stay-at-home parent during your entire marriage and do not have an educational degree, a judge might be more prone to awarding you with alimony payments.

If you work or have a degree that would allow you to work and earn a decent living, the judge might feel that you are capable of supporting yourself. In this case, your request for alimony might be denied.

Are you suffering from any health problems?

The third factor that courts consider is the health of the person asking for the alimony payments. If you are healthy and can work, it will be harder to get alimony approved than if you are suffering from a major health problem.

These are some of the factors that will affect your ability to collect alimony from your spouse during and after your divorce. If you are interested in learning more about how alimony works, contact a family lawyer in your area today.

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