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Coming Up with a Number: The Dollar Figure for Your Maintenance |
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How do you know how much maintenance to pay or to demand? There are, of course, specific guidelines. In general, courts look at the following factors to determine the size of the support check. It follows, of course, that lawyers who try to settle a case out of court (or you and your spouse if you're trying to do it yourselves) need to look at these factors, too: |
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Your income. Is there sufficient money to enable both of you to enjoy the kind of lifestyle you once had, or are you both going to have to cut back? |
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The length of the marriage. The longer the marriage, the stronger the claim for support. |
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Your ages. Younger people are thought to be better able to find work. Older people nearing retirement might be unable to pay support for a long period of time. |
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Your health. Is one of you ill and unable to work? That could affect how much will be paid and how long it will be paid. |
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Job sacrifices you made during the marriage. Did you give up a good position because your spouse had to relocate for her job? Maybe you never used your degree because you worked as a bookkeeper in your husband's business? Whether your sacrifice was obvious or more subtle, it could impact the duration of your support award. |
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Education and job skills. The easier it will be for you to find work, the shorter the duration of your support. |
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Who the children are going to live with. If they're going to live with you and that shortens the time you can spend working each day, you may be entitled to more support than if the children were living with your spouse, or if you had no children. |
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Independent income sources. Maybe you have a trust or other source of income. You never touched it during the marriage because you planned to leave it all to your children. But now, its existence could affect the amount of support you'll receive or have to pay. |
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Distribution of other assets. If you and your spouse accumulated a lot during the marriage and that is going to be split, you may not be entitled to maintenance at all. Let's say that your wife built up her medical practice while you were married, and now she has to pay you half its value of $350,000. Depending on where you live, the receipt of that lump sum could reduce additional support payments. |
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Marital fault. In some jurisdictions, the reason for the break up of your marriage could have an impact on the duration and amount of support. |
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