Dover Alimony Lawyer

Once you and your spouse have decided to divorce, the question of spousal support may come up. When you want to ensure that you aren’t taken advantage of, work with a Dover spousal support lawyer who can help protect your interests.

If one spouse is better off financially than the other, the spouse who earns less may request alimony for a period of time following the divorce. There are very specific circumstances in which Delaware courts will set an order for spousal support, which we discuss below.

A Dover alimony lawyer at Barros, McNamara, Malkiewicz & Taylor is prepared to advocate for your rights. Whether you’ll be the spouse providing alimony or the spouse requesting financial support, our firm is ready to help you get through this difficult time in your life and reach a solution that will work for you.

Why You Need to Know About Delaware Alimony Laws

The purpose of alimony is to ensure that both spouses are able to walk away from the divorce on relatively equitable financial ground. The lesser-earning spouse may require assistance covering their household expenses and may need that financial support from their soon-to-be former spouse.

In your marriage, you likely shared expenses, and neither party should be expected to completely overhaul their standard of living due to a divorce. There are only certain circumstances and periods of time in which the higher-earning spouse will be expected to provide alimony to their former partner, and an award of spousal support isn’t necessarily guaranteed.

Awarding Spousal Support in Dover

To begin, when you initially file for divorce, either spouse may request interim alimony. This will allow the lesser-earning spouse to obtain financial support to cover household expenses and retain a Dover alimony attorney of their own. This order can remain in effect for the remainder of the divorce proceedings.

Once the divorce has been finalized, this order can be modified to short-term or long-term alimony, depending on the length of the marriage. It can also be permanent if the length of the marriage was a minimum of twenty years. The court will only order alimony if one spouse is able to demonstrate their need for financial support.

For instance, if you are the spouse who stayed home to care for the children and maintain the home while your spouse provided financially for the family, a judge can issue an alimony order so that you can obtain education or job training that will allow you to secure gainful employment.

Other reasons why one spouse may need spousal support include being the primary caregiver of a child with mental health issues or one spouse being financially dependent on the other for the length of their marriage.

After the spouse requesting alimony has established that they require financial assistance, the next step is to calculate what they’ll receive each month. During this time, a Dover spousal support attorney can be particularly useful in making sure you are treated fairly.

How Alimony Is Calculated

The way spousal support is calculated is relatively the same in most divorces. Alimony payments will be calculated on a case-by-case basis by examining certain factors, including the following:

• The income of both spouses
• The expenses of both spouses
• The length of your marriage
• Both spouses’ ages
• The lifestyle you had when married
• Both spouses’ physical and emotional state
• How long the lesser-earning spouse may require financial support

In any case, the spouse receiving alimony will be expected to do their part to provide for themselves financially—without alimony. This means the receiving spouse may need to utilize this time to obtain vocational training or education that can allow them to support their standard of living on their own.

Additionally, alimony is typically paid for no more than half of the amount of time you were married. If you were married for eight years, you can expect to pay or receive alimony for no more than four years. This applies to any marriage that lasted for less than twenty years. A twenty-year marriage can entitle the lesser-earning spouse to alimony indefinitely.

Reach Out to a Dover Alimony Attorney

Divorce is difficult enough without the added stress of wondering whether you are going to receive or have to pay spousal support.

You can make sure you aren’t taken advantage of by working through these issues with the help of a Dover alimony lawyer at Barros, McNamara, Malkiewicz & Taylor. You can schedule your initial case review today by filling out the brief contact form at the bottom of this page or by giving our office a call at 302-734-8400.