After a divorce, many people are happy to break all ties with their ex, especially if there are no children from the marriage. Spouses expect they can go their separate ways and never cross paths again.
However, this may not be the case if you must pay alimony. In these situations, it could be months or years until your obligation to your ex ends. As such, it can be helpful to know if and for how long a person may need to pay post-marital support.
Who receives alimony?
Alimony helps economically disadvantaged spouses make the transition from marriage. Alimony may be necessary if one spouse stopped working during the marriage and became financially dependent on the other spouse. If one person needs support and the other has the means to provide it, Georgia courts may approve petitions for alimony.
Factors that can affect the court’s decision include:
- The length of the marriage
- Each party’s financial resources
- Contributions to the marriage by both parties, both financial and non-financial
- The marital standard of living
- Parties’ ages and health statuses
- Amount of time and effort it would take for the petitioning spouse to become financially independent
These and other details will determine if a person is eligible for alimony, how much, and for how long he or she should receive it.
Will I have to pay my ex alimony?
There is no easy way to answer this question. It is important to note that per Georgia law, a person is not eligible to receive spousal support if there is sufficient evidence that abandonment or adultery on his or her part caused the divorce.
If your ex does request alimony, you and your attorney can work on challenging the request or negotiating a fair outcome.
Understand, too, that there are various ways to work out alimony. Parties may pay a lump sum or monthly installments; payments could continue indefinitely or until the recipient becomes (or should become) financially independent; calculations of how much a person must pay are unique to the individual circumstances.
If you are worried about paying alimony after divorce, know that you have options. You can discuss them with your attorney.
