If you stayed home with your children or were at home taking care of the household while your spouse worked, you may have become fully reliant on their income and support. That is normal for many people in relationships, and it’s something that can become a talking point during a divorce.
For men or women in affluent marriages, finding a career that offers those same benefits may be difficult or impossible. Women, for example, who have been out of the workforce because of taking care of the home and their children may find that they cannot get back into their careers or live as affluent a lifestyle without the support of their husbands. They may worry about divorcing, because they feel they won’t be able to keep the same kind of lifestyle in the future.
Spousal support may help you maintain the lifestyle you know
Certainly, splitting into two homes and separate lives may impact your ex-spouse’s income as well as your own, but if you have long been reliant on their financial support, then you may be able to seek alimony after divorce. Today, most support is temporary, but in some cases it may be offered permanently, such as in the case of a long-term or gray marriage.
Spousal support may be used to boost your income enough to allow you to work a job and maintain a home in the same neighborhood you’ve always lived in, or it may provide you with the extra financial cushion you need while you work on developing your career or finding financial stability.
How much will your spouse pay in support?
That depends on many factors, such as:
- Your financial needs
- Your spouse’s ability to pay you support
- The length of time you were married
- How healthy either of you are
- Your age
- Your lifestyle during marriage
Spousal support aims to reduce unfair economic impacts on lesser-earning or non-earning spouses. Don’t be afraid to ask for it if your lifestyle will be seriously impacted by a divorce. You deserve an opportunity to become financial independent and to have support while you adjust to living on your own.