Avoiding Crippling Divorce Alimony Payments

At Kelly & Bramwell, we understand there’s nothing enjoyable about a divorce case involving children. Our child custody lawyers can help you through the difficult parts of this process, including determining care for the child and other important details.

If you’re worried about paying major and possibly crippling sums in alimony, there are things you can do to make your case stronger in many cases. Here are some areas to know.

Prenuptial Agreements

It’s often too late to consider this, but a prenuptial agreement at the time of a marriage helps cover both parties financially into the future. This isn’t a badge of distrust, but rather a logical and natural protection. It’s a simple reality that some married couples grow apart over the years, and you want to protect against this. These are especially valuable if one spouse or the other has far more money than the other at the time of marriage.

Marriage Term

If you’re unhappy in your marriage but holding off on divorce because you’re worried about alimony payments, you’re making the wrong move. The amount you pay in alimony may directly tie to how long you were married, and it’s rarer for short marriages to conclude in alimony payments. Get moving sooner rather than later if you’re in a bad situation.

Lifestyle

A judge will often use income and lifestyle as a basic baseline for assigning spousal support. If you adjust your lifestyle in the right ways, you can avoid having to pay a ridiculous amount. Try to cut out any frivolous or unnecessary spending.

Infidelity

As unfortunate as it is, your ability to prove infidelity may be a factor in some states. Also, in cases where your former spouse remarries and you were paying alimony payments, you’ll usually be relieved of these – though not always.

For more on avoiding crippling alimony payments, or for any of our divorce or child custody services, speak to the staff at Kelly & Bramwell today.