Determining how much spousal support you need to pay or receive can come with all kinds of nuances and challenges. The Mankato spousal support lawyers at Kohlmeyer Hagen, Law Office Chtd., have a deep understanding of how Minnesota views and determines these spousal support payments in accordance with family law matters and can help you figure out how much you need, how long you’ll need it and when you can request adjustments in the amount you pay or receive.
Spousal support and spousal maintenance (formerly called “alimony”) is a murky issue in Minnesota, to say the least. With these types of family law matters the court looks at so many different factors that it can be difficult for inexperienced attorneys to predict an outcome. If you are facing a divorce, child custody, child support, and spousal support and maintenance are likely issues that may arise. Make sure you work with our experienced Mankato lawyers who can help you understand your rights and make sure you get the most favorable outcome possible for spousal support.
At Kohlmeyer Hagen, Law Office Chtd., we have been handling family law matters like spousal support and maintenance for a long time. We can help you get a clearer understanding of what support you may be entitled to or what you are going to be obligated to pay for maintenance. Our alimony attorneys are focused on solving any family law dispute.
Unfortunately, in Southern Minnesota, unlike some other states, we don’t have a calculator that determines the amount one might pay in spousal support. Spousal support or alimony is really dependent upon the experience and skill of your attorney to make sure your interests are covered throughout the entire divorce process and to get you the best deal possible.
Throughout the divorce proceedings, the court looks at all of the facts of the case to determine the most equitable arrangement for spousal support. Some of the important factors that the court considers in this regard include:
Our Mankato lawyers have a wealth of experience in spousal support matters, with a thorough understanding of how the court will approach these factors. We will help you get the most favorable results possible in your case.
If you are divorcing and are required to pay support to your ex-husband or ex-wife, then you likely want to know how long your support obligation will last. The answer to this question is different depending upon the type of support you’ve been ordered to pay and the financial issues that were involved in your divorce. The best way to learn the answer to this question is to schedule a consultation with a divorce attorney who can advise you of your rights and obligations when it comes to spousal support and who can help you to make sure that any spousal support order is fair to you.
The amount of time that you are going to have to pay support to your ex-spouse will depend upon whether the alimony award (or spousal support award) is permanent or temporary.
If your spouse has the ability to be self-supporting and to earn an income that is reasonably comparable to yours but just needs a little time to get on his or her feet, then your spousal support order will likely be temporary. For example, if your spouse left the workforce to care for your children but has good skills and credentials and can go back to work, then you may have to pay temporary support that lasts long enough to give your spouse time to renew any job qualifications necessary and to find a new job.
On the other hand, if the earning disparity is not likely ever to be resolved and/or if your spouse does not have the ability to be self-supporting, then the alimony or spousal support order may be permanent. This means you would have to continue to pay spousal support on an ongoing or indefinite basis.
Even permanent spousal support, however, does not always mean you will be paying alimony for the rest of your (or your spouse’s) life. Typically, your alimony payments would stop if your spouse got remarried and in some cases would also cease if your spouse began to live with a romantic partner.
Your alimony payments can also sometimes stop when you retire, although this is not always the case. Once you have retired, the determining factor in whether the spousal support payments will stop is whether you have enough income coming in to continue your support obligation. Retirement funds earned during marriage won’t count in assessing retirement income because those funds are dealt with and divided during the divorce settlement. If you have enough income to keep paying during retirement, then you will have to continue to pay alimony even after you are no longer working for a living.
There have been trends away from permanent alimony in recent years, so the number of situations where you’ll have to pay support until death are relatively rare. You should, however, make sure that you do everything to protect your rights during a divorce so you don’t end up paying more spousal support than is reasonable under the circumstances. An experienced lawyer can help you to make sure that you get a fair spousal support deal in Mankato.
To talk with one of our Mankato spousal support lawyers, call (507) 200-8959 or e-mail us.
