Next to custody and parenting time issues, alimony can be the most controversial and difficult matter to resolve in a divorce case. This is because there is no “formula” for alimony. There are certain “factors” (according to state law) for a court to consider in making the award, which are the following:
[C]ircumstances of the parties, duration of the marriage, a history of the contributions to the marriage by each party, including contributions to the care and education of the children, and interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities, and the ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without interfering with the interests of any minor children in the custody of such party. These “factors” are often difficult for non-lawyers to interpret or understand. Almost all states give trial judges tremendous discretion in awarding alimony, and many states vary significantly in their approach to the issue. This has led to arbitrary results and makes alimony a difficult issue to resolve. Alimony, as a concept, is criticized because it does not have a readily understandable rationale and lacks standards by which to predict the outcome of the award. At Kinney Law, we focus on the issue of monthly expenses. If the marriage is of significant duration and there is some disparity in earning power, we analyze the expenses of the spouse seeking alimony to see if there is a “shortfall” each month, after factoring in net income and any child support award.
