The primary purpose of alimony, also known as spousal maintenance, is to provide financial support to a lower earning or non-earning spouse so that they may maintain a similar standard of living enjoyed during the marriage. Alimony may also be awarded so that a spouse can gain skills or education needed to secure gainful employment to achieve financial independence.
Different Types of Alimony
There are four types of alimony awarded in Wisconsin including temporary, permanent, reimbursement and lump sum. Temporary support is often awarded to provide support to a lesser earning spouse while a divorce is pending via temporary orders. Permanent support is paid for a defined period of time or indefinitely until the death of the payor or recipient, or the remarriage of recipient. Reimbursement support is created to pay back a spouse for expenses incurred on behalf of the other spouse such as when a spouse pays for the other spouse’s education. Lump sum support is a form of alimony that is a one-time payment instead of monthly payments stretching over an extended period of time.
A court may consider various factors in awarding alimony including:
- The length of marriage, with marriages of longer duration sometimes translating into longer periods of support
- The age and health of the parties
- The division of marital property between the parties to the divorce
- Educational levels of the parties to the divorce at the time of marriage and divorce
- One parties financial or other contributions to the other’s earning power including education, career advancement, or other
- The earning capacity of each party considering a person’s training employment skills education length of absence from the workforce custodial responsibility of minor children certain expenses
- The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage and the feasibility of maintaining a similar level
- Previous agreements such as pre or post nuptial agreements
- Tax consequences to each party
- Other relevant factors
Wisconsin alimony is awarded on a case by case basis so it is very important to have a skilled, knowledgeable spousal maintenance attorney advocate for your interests. Contact divorce attorney Jane Probst to discuss your case today at 414-210-3135.