Giving spousal support

Divorce is a difficult topic to discuss, and when money is at hand, the difficulty increases. Here at Beckman Steen and Lungstrom, P.A. law firm, located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, we fight for fair spousal support that both parties can agree on and follow through with. However, deciding on how much money one spouse pays the other is challenging in that many factors come into play.

Length of the marriage

How long was your marriage? If you were only married for a few years, chances are the party asking for the support will not get permanent support. Rather, said spouse may receive rehabilitative maintenance, or temporary support. On the other hand, if your marriage lasted for a substantial amount of time, say thirty years, the recipient of the support will likely have more of a chance to receive permanent maintenance. The amount, however, can and will differ greatly.

Ability to pay

While a divorce is taking place, so is the rest of life; therefore, circumstances may arise during the process, such as a job loss or accident, leaving the party asked to provide the support unable to pay. The amount at hand will fluctuate due to circumstances as such. Likewise, if the recipient of the support is able to provide for his or her self without much support from the other half, the court may rely on temporary maintenance as the spousal support.

Recipient’s ability to work

We take a look at the education and the recipient’s ability to get a stable job. If the party requesting the support is able to live a comfortable life with a job, or if the recipient has a decent education that can get him or her a job, it is likely he or she will not receive permanent maintenance.

Many more factors are tied into the decision of how much and how long one spouse will support the other during a divorce. Contact us for more information.