What Determines How Much Alimony I Get?

Going through a divorce is one of the most difficult things that anyone can experience. You will feel a range of emotions as you do so. But you cannot allow them to overrule your reason. You must protect your material interests. That is why you should hire a divorce lawyer Brooklyn to help guide you through the process.

Alimony

You will need to come to some agreement about the division of marital property, child custody, and child support. You may also need to settle arrangements for alimony. The purpose of alimony is to make up for the sudden loss of income and material support of a non-earning spouse. If, for example, you decided to give up your job and career to raise the children that you and your spouse have together and make a home for them, then you have a strong case for alimony. And one thing should be made clear from the start: alimony can go to both women and men.

How Alimony is Determined

Judges in New York determine the amount of alimony and the length of time it should be given according to the following factors:

• The length of the marriage
• The age and physical and financial condition of the two individuals
• Your standard of living during the marriage
• The ability of the spouse who would pay the alimony to do so

Only in the rarest of cases—usually for couples who have been married for more than 20 years—is alimony prescribed indefinitely. For the most part, it is ordered for only as long as it takes for the receiving spouse to retrain or re-educate themselves and become self-supporting. Your alimony will end if you remarry. However, if your health declines after the initial judgment, then the judge may order the alimony to continue.

If you are going through a divorce, then you should contact the Brooklyn divorce lawyers at Levitsky Law Firm. Your divorce attorney in Brooklyn will help you sort through your rights as regards alimony.