Rochester Alimony Attorney

What is Spousal Support in Rochester?

What is spousal support or maintenance in Rochester, Minnesota? It is a payment that a court can order one spouse to pay to the other spouse in a divorce case or in a legal separation case. When one spouse seeks maintenance in a legal separation or divorce case, Minnesota law says that a court can award maintenance if one of the following is true:

• Spouse seeking maintenance “lacks sufficient property, including marital property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for reasonable needs of the spouse considering the standard of living established during the marriage, especially, but not limited to, a period of training or education”; or
• Spouse seeking maintenance “is unable to provide adequate self-support, after considering the standard of living established during the marriage and all relevant circumstances, through appropriate employment, or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it appropriate that the custodian not be required to seek employment outside the home.”

Amount Factors Courts Consider in Rochester Spousal Support or Alimony Cases

Once a court decides that a spousal maintenance or support award is appropriate, then it will consider a range of factors when determining the proper amount and duration of the support award. The court decides on an amount that is fair based on any or all of the following factors:

• Financial resources of the spouse asking for maintenance;
• Amount of time it would take the spouse seeking maintenance to receive an education or training that would be necessary to find appropriate employment, and the likelihood of that spouse finding appropriate employment based on their age and skills;
• Standard of living that was established during the marriage;
• Duration of the marriage, including the amount of time that the spouse seeking maintenance may have taken time away from education or employment to be a homemaker;
• Loss of earnings or benefits that the spouse seeking maintenance decided to forego in order to provide services to the marriage or to the household;
• Age and condition of the spouse who is requesting maintenance; and
• Each spouse’s contribution to the acquisition, appreciation, or depreciation of assets, including a homemaker spouse’s contribution to the other spouse’s job or business.

When courts decide on the amount of spousal support, they do not consider marital misconduct, such as adultery. 

Duration of Rochester Spousal Support

Spousal maintenance or support can be temporary or permanent. The duration of the support award, including whether it is temporary or permanent, will be based on the factors listed above. The duration of the maintenance award will be for a length of time that “the court deems just” based on the circumstances of the parties. Similar to the determination of the amount of spousal support, the court will not consider marital misconduct in deciding the length of time for which one spouse will be paid maintenance by the other spouse.

It is important to know that there is no precise formula for determining the amount or duration of spousal maintenance in Minnesota. Rather, courts consider those factors listed above to decide what type of alimony award is fair based on the parties’ circumstances. To be clear, each spousal maintenance award is determined on a case-by-case basis, and there is no objective calculation to determine the amount or duration of payments.

How Spousal Support is Taxed in Rochester, Minnesota

Whether you pay or receive spousal maintenance after a court awards it in Rochester, how will it be taxed? This is an important issue to know about because the taxation of spousal support shifted relatively recently. Under old laws, the party who paid spousal support could deduct the amount before taxes, while the party receiving the support would be required to pay taxes on the amount received. However, this process has flipped since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). For the last several years — and in years going forward unless the law is changed — the party who is responsible for paying spousal maintenance must pay taxes on the amount, while the spouse who receives maintenance payments no longer has to pay taxes on the amount received.

In sum, the spouse who pays maintenance also pays taxes on those payments, while the spouse who receives maintenance does not have to pay taxes on it and does not have to count the maintenance payments as income on taxes.

Contact a Rochester Spousal Support Lawyer Today

If you have any questions or concerns about spousal maintenance in Rochester or elsewhere in Minnesota, you should get in touch with an experienced Rochester spousal maintenance lawyer who can assist you. At Kohlmeyer Hagen Law Office Chtd., we have years of experience providing family law services to clients in Minnesota, and we can discuss your circumstances with you today. Whether you need assistance seeking spousal support in a Minnesota divorce or legal separation, or you have concerns about being a paying spouse in a divorce or legal separation in the state, our firm can help. Contact Kohlmeyer Hagen Law Office Chtd. today online or call us at 507-625-5000 to learn more about services.