Divorce is bound to rock your finances. Not only will you lose your spouse’s income, but you’ll also have to divide marital assets with them. This can leave you in a precarious financial position that’s riddled with uncertainty. As stressful as that can be, take comfort knowing that there are legal strategies you can implement to try to protect your financial well-being. One of them is to seek spousal maintenance, sometimes referred to as spousal support or alimony.
But you can’t just claim you need alimony and expect to be handed the money you’ve requested. Instead, you’ll have to demonstrate, whether through negotiations or litigation, that you’re entitled to spousal support as a matter of law. You do this by presenting evidence that speaks to the statutory considerations that are relevant in an alimony case, including length of marriage, each spouse’s earnings capacity and any sacrifices that were made during marriage.
If you’re thinking about pursing alimony, then you’re probably wondering what steps you can take to better position yourself for success. Merely considering this gets you off on the right foot, but there are other actions that can advance your position and maximize your chances of recovering what you’re owed. These include:
- Creating a budget: To recover spousal support, you’ll have to demonstrate that you need alimony to become self-sufficient. Creating a budget can help you show how strained your finances will be once your divorce is finalized, thereby giving your spouse and the court an idea of what sort of support is needed to stabilize you. Just be realistic here so that you aren’t attacked for inflating expenses or minimizing your income.
- Looking for a job: If it’s possible for you to look for a job, you should do so. This will help you articulate how you lack the education, experience or skills necessary to obtain meaningful work. Again, this helps you demonstrate that you need financial support until you can better position yourself to enter the workforce.
- Gathering documentation that shows your marital lifestyle: While alimony is aimed at providing you with support until you can become self-sufficient, it’s also aimed at providing you with as close to the marital lifestyle as possible. So, if you can show the types of vacations you took, the car that you drove, the shopping you did and the frequency with which you ate at restaurants, then you’ll be in a better position to prove the marital lifestyle that you enjoyed.
- Identifying witnesses: You might hope that your spouse and the court will take you at your word when it comes to what you need for financial support, they probably aren’t going to be as understanding of your position as you’d like. Therefore, it’s a good idea to think about witnesses who can testify as to the sacrifices that you made during your marriage and what sort of life you lived during your marriage.
Build a strong and aggressive case for alimony
Spousal support can be a lifeline in your time of need as you focus on establishing your post-divorce life. But there’s a chance that you’re going to have to fight for it. Don’t let the thought of contentiousness scare you, though. There are divorce legal strategies that can be utilized to protect your interests while shielding you from a lot of the stress associated with the situation. If you want to learn more about the legal avenues that are available to you, then continue reading up on alimony and what it takes to build a compelling case.