Will you have to pay maintenance or spousal support in your Louisville divorce? Kentucky family law does not provide a specific type of spousal support (referred to as maintenance here in Kentucky) calculator. Instead, our laws provide several issues the Judge must consider when evaluating the need for, amount, and duration of maintenance or spousal support. These are the same factors that are usually considered during the process of any negotiations between the parties. While child support has a very specific calculation procedure, maintenance is a much more complex legal and financial issue in and after a Louisville or Kentucky divorce.
What are some of the important factors a Judge must weigh when considering the need for, duration, and amount of any spousal support or maintenance order? Some of the factors in law include, but are not limited to:
- How long the parties were married
- The health of the parties
- The age of each former spouse
- The standard of living shared by the spouses during the marriage
- The likelihood for each to find and secure meaningful, self-sustaining employment
- Financial support or work to support the other or the shared household a one of the spouses pursued a degree or professional license
- The need for support and the ability of a party to pay support
Will you be required to pay maintenance or spousal support in your Louisville divorce? If so, how much will support be, and how long will it last? A few decades ago, maintenance was often awarded until the death or remarriage of the recipient. That has substantially changed in recent years. The reason for a temporary order for maintenance is often to make sure each spouse has the monetary resources necessary during the process of the divorce itself. The purpose of a permanent maintenance or spousal support order is to provide support for the recipient until they have a reasonable amount of time to become self-sufficient. It is important to note that “permanent” in this context no longer specifically means “until death or remarriage.” “Permanent” orders are the final orders issued toward the end of the divorce process that will remain in force based upon the terms ordered by the Court and/or agreed to by the parties.
Maintenance will not continue for an unlimited time in the foreseeable future, unless the marriage in question lasts for a much longer than a decade. In most cases, the Judge will often establish expectations or a specific timeframe for the recipient of maintenance or spousal support to become self-sufficient.
Is the amount of income and employment viability equal between the two former spouses? Will a higher-earning spouse be required to pay maintenance or spousal support to the other party for some period of time? These questions have become hotly contested in many Louisville and Kentucky family law cases.
This is why it is important to seek the advice and counsel of the experienced Louisville divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd. Our family has served the Louisville area since 1869, and our present team has decades of experience in long-term and financially substantial divorce cases where maintenance (spousal support) is at issue.
If you are concerned about whether or not you will be required to pay maintenance or spousal support in your Louisville divorce we invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and the legal industry and contact Dodd & Dodd or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
We will review the unique circumstances surrounding your case and provide sound counsel and advice.
