ALIMONY AND SPOUSAL SUPPORT WHEN FILING YOUR OWN DIVORCE
Alimony, also known as spousal support, is financial support paid by one ex-spouse to the other after the marriage ends. Alimony compensates the spouse who may have stayed home caring for children, as a way to help learn a skill set to get back into the workforce to be able to maintain a certain quality of life after divorce. Alimony is a way to alleviate any financial negative effect the divorce may have on a spouse who has not been in the workforce for the duration of the marriage. Spouses who are filing a pro se divorce may negotiate spousal support and agree upon a monthly amount they feel is fair.
Unlike child support, there's no formula for calculating alimony in each state. However, most require judges to consider specific factors when awarding spousal support.
Temporary Alimony
To get temporary alimony, also called alimony pendente lite, is financial support paid while a divorce is in progress. In many states, a spouse can request temporary support as soon as a divorce proceeding is filed, even if the spouses are still living together.
Negotiating Alimony
Negotiating with a partner about alimony may provide more flexibility than letting the court decide the terms and conditions of an award. When one of the parties in a divorce or separation wants alimony, but the other party doesn't agree, the judge decides if an alimony award should be made and, if so, for how much. Unlike child support calculations, judges have discretion in making the award. Negotiated alimony agreements between partners must be approved by the court, just like all other terms in the divorce.
Alimony Tax Consequences
The federal tax treatment of alimony depends on when you divorced. For divorces finalized before January 1, 2019, the spouse who pays alimony can deduct the payments from their taxes, and the spouse who receives them must report the payments as taxable income. For divorces finalized on or after January 1, 2019, the paying spouse gets no tax deduction, and the receiving spouse no longer has to report the payments as income. This change was implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was enacted in 2017.
All states now follow the same rule for state income taxes, though the date each state adopted this rule varies. Check with a tax professional or your state's tax agency to confirm when the change took effect in your state.
Alimony Wage Garnishment
The recipient can arrange for alimony payments to be automatically deducted from a former spouse’s paycheck. When permitted in the jurisdiction, the court issues an order garnishing a former spouse’s paycheck and deducting alimony payments. The employer forwards that money to the court, which makes a payment to the recipient. Automatic payments eliminate the uncertainty of whether or when the former spouse will make payments. Keep in mind that not all states require this, and many uncontested divorces do not include wage garnishment.
Determining Alimony
The purpose of alimony is to provide both necessary and reasonable support to a spouse who requires it. When a party wants alimony, he or she can ask for alimony as part of a divorce proceeding. If the spouses reach an agreement about alimony, they can ask the judge to make the agreement a part of the court order. If they cannot reach an agreement, the judge decides whether a spouse is entitled to alimony and how much.
A spouse who doesn't ask for alimony during the divorce may not ask later after the divorce case is over.
Spouses can agree to include the duration of alimony in the court order, but if they agree, the judge will always have the final say as to what is appropriate. Also, courts seldom award indefinite alimony or permanent alimony, which lasts until either spouse dies or until the court determines that alimony is no longer appropriate. Rehabilitative alimony lasts for a limited time, as determined by the couple or judge, for example, to allow the receiving spouse to obtain work experience or training necessary to compete in the workforce.
Modifications
Either spouse can ask the court to modify or terminate alimony if there's been a substantial change in circumstances, such as job loss, a significant change in income, disability, or retirement.
Remarriage and Alimony
The effect of remarriage on alimony varies by state. In many states, alimony automatically ends when the recipient remarries. In other states, the paying spouse has to ask a judge to terminate alimony payments.
A recipient's cohabitation with a new partner can also be grounds to reduce or terminate alimony, even without marriage, but rules on this vary from state to state.
