Alimony

The definition of alimony is simple. Court ordered payments made by one spouse to another spouse for support and maintenance while the parties are living separately. Essentially, one spouse will be court ordered (typically as part of a divorce) to make monthly payments of a certain amount to their spouse for a certain period of time. In theory, alimony payments recognize that one spouse has a reduced earning ability or even no earning ability and this spouse may require support and maintenance for a certain period of time. Alimony is not necessary in every case. In Georgia, there is no formula or calculation for determining alimony. The court will weigh out the parties' "needs" vs. "ability to pay" and the length of the marriage to determine if alimony is appropriate. For example, if both spouses earn $100,000 and were only married for 3 years, alimony will probably not be necessary. Conversely, if you have a 20 year marriage where one spouse makes $150,000 and the other spouse earns no income, alimony is likely.

Once it is determined that alimony is appropriate in a particular case, the court will look at the "needs" of the receiving party and compare that to the paying party's "ability to pay." This analysis will give the court a general idea of whether one spouse has a real legitimate need for alimony and if the other spouse can realistically afford to pay alimony. Next, the court will consider 8 Alimony Factors according to Georgia law. The court will match up each factor with the individual unique facts of the particular case and then make a fair and equitable determination as to the monthly amount of alimony the must be paid. To learn more about the 8 factors and calculating alimony feel free to read more below.

Yes. Adultery and cheating by the recipient spouse could actually bar that spouse from asking for alimony. For adultery to bar a party from being able to seek alimony, it must be shown that the adultery was the cause of the divorce or separation. Additionally, the adultery must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. There are several issues regarding adultery and how to prove it. Fell free to read more.