The alimony lawyers in Chandler, Arizona at the Zachary Law Group can help you negotiate your alimony award if you are getting divorced. Whether you are the person planning to receive alimony or suspect that you may need to pay alimony, it helps to understand your rights and obligations before you file for divorce. The Zachary Law Group is an alimony law firm in Chandler, Arizona, that can review your family’s finances, review the circumstances of your marriage and length of your marriage, and help you negotiate your alimony award. Alimony can often be a point of anger in any divorce. Paying spouses may resist having to pay high alimony awards, and the receiving spouse may want to receive as much alimony for as long as possible. However, when both parties understand the purpose of alimony, it can help you negotiate the best possible alimony award.
Alimony is money paid to a spouse who doesn’t have sufficient income or assets to maintain a standard of living after divorce. Permanent alimony is rare unless you’ve been married for a long time, are very old, or are ill. Most alimony is temporary and designed to help a spouse gain work skills, education, childcare, and a job to support him or herself. Alimony is often paid when one spouse sacrificed career or educational opportunities to advance the career of another spouse. The Zachary Law Group is an alimony law firm in Chandler, Arizona that can help you negotiate your alimony settlement and finalize your divorce.
Are You Entitled to Receive Alimony?
If you are getting divorced in Arizona, it is important to understand and protect your rights. Many divorcing couples want to reach a settlement as soon as possible. However, rushing to a quick divorce settlement can come at a high cost. If you are getting divorced in Chandler, Arizona, do you know your rights regarding alimony? If you agree to a divorce settlement without alimony, you may be giving up an important income source that can have an impact on your standard of living and your ability to care for yourself and your children for years to come.
Lower-earning spouses may be entitled to alimony payments during a divorce. If you supported your spouse’s education, paid for your partner’s schooling, stayed home to care for the kids, or sacrificed work opportunities for your marriage or for your family, you may be entitled to receive alimony. The Zachary Law Group are alimony lawyers in Chandler, Arizona who can help you understand the settlement you may be entitled to receive. We know alimony law. Contact our alimony law firm today.
What You Need to Know About Alimony
Alimony is a payment to help a lower-earning spouse maintain a standard of living similar to the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage. Due to alimony reform, it is rare that alimony will be paid to a former partner for the rest of his or her life. However, depending on the length of your marriage, if you and your ex earn significantly different amounts of money, the higher-earning spouse will be most likely to have to pay alimony to the lower-earning spouse. Alimony generally won’t be awarded if you were only married for a very short period of time or if you and your ex earn about the same amount of money.
There are different ways that alimony might be paid: either in a lump sum, in regular payments with no end date, and through regular payments with a fixed end date. Whether alimony will be permanent or have an end date will depend on how long you were married, and your age and health when you get divorced. If you are young and still able to re-enter the workforce, in many cases, your alimony will likely have an end date.
Why is alimony awarded? Alimony is awarded to support the lower earning spouse. There are many reasons why the lower earning spouse will need support. One of the main reasons why a lower-earning spouse will seek alimony is to compensate him or her for the time she or he spent outside the workforce raising the children. If the partner will need to continue to care for the children or will need work re-training, alimony can help with that. Sometimes one partner pays for a partner’s schooling, or one partner may give up work or career opportunities for the benefit of the family or the marriage. Say your ex got a higher paying job in a more expensive city and you quit your job. Now, you can’t find work, and you are getting divorced. Alimony can help cover your expenses while you move back to the city where you had work, or while you go back to school to get additional training to re-enter the workforce.
The spouse who stays home to raise the children may have significant gaps in his or her resume. This can limit work opportunities. However, the spouse who continued his or her career may be at the peak of his or her earning capacities. If this is the case, alimony can compensate the partner who supported the family while the other partner benefitted in terms of his or her career.
These are just a few of the reasons why a court may award alimony to a lower-earning spouse. Sometimes one partner earns significantly more than the other person in the marriage. In this case, the courts may award alimony so that the lower-earning spouse can enjoy a comparable standard of living after the divorce. Sometimes alimony is awarded to help a sick or ill spouse pay for health care costs. In other cases, alimony might supplement child care expenses.
Alimony law can be complex. This is why it is helpful to have a Chandler, Arizona alimony law firm like the Zachary Law Group. Our firm and our experienced Chandler alimony lawyers can review your finances, take the time to understand your situation, and help you fight for the alimony settlement you may deserve under the law.
How Alimony Amounts are Determined
There is no standardized equation a judge will use when determining alimony payments. Alimony payments will be based on how long you were married, the circumstances of your marriage, the income differences between you and your ex, and other factors the judge may determine. Because each judge’s determination can be different, many couples choose to determine their alimony award outside of court with the help of an alimony lawyer in Chandler, Arizona. Your assets, such as homes owned, property, cars, trusts, and investments will be considered. Each partner’s income will also be considered. Your inheritances or other finances will also be scrutinized when making alimony determinations. How long you were married to your partner will also be a consideration, as well as your living arrangements during your marriage. Did you work? Did you stay home to care for the children? These are important considerations. At the end of the day, the alimony award you will receive depends on the agreement you and your ex reach or the award a judge decides to make. The Chandler AZ alimony lawyers at the Zachary Law Group can review your situation and help you understand the award range you may be entitled to receive under the law. We can then work with your ex to reach an agreement or build a strong case for the alimony amount you are seeking in court. If you have questions about alimony law in Chandler Arizona, the Zachary Law Group may have answers. Visit us today to learn more or call our office for a consultation with one of our experienced Chandler alimony attorneys.
Women Pay Alimony, Too
In the distant past, alimony was a payment often made to a woman after a marriage ended. This made sense in the mid 20th century, when many women often didn’t join the workforce, and often served as the primary caregivers for children. Yet, in 1979, the Supreme Court ruled that alimony determinations must be gender neutral. If you are a woman planning to file for divorce and you make more than your spouse, it is important to keep in mind that you may have to pay alimony, too. Many women find themselves shocked when they learn they have to pay alimony. But, the courts don’t consider gender, and will look at the financial reality of your situation, meaning, if you earn more than your husband, you may have to pay alimony.
Yet, men can face cultural backlash when they seek alimony and some may even be hesitant to seek alimony because culturally, men are expected to be the primary breadwinners. If you are a man and earned less than your wife, it is important to keep in mind that you may be owed alimony. An alimony lawyer in Chandler, Arizona at the Zachary Law Firm may be able to help you determine how much you may be entitled to receive and your rights. Unfortunately, many men who are entitled to seek alimony may not do so.
Men who do seek alimony may face additional scrutiny from judges who may not always realize their own gender bias. If you are a man seeking alimony, it can be helpful to have an alimony lawyer in Chandler, Arizona on your side who understands the law and potential biases. Judges may think that men can get on their feet faster. And while there are wage gaps and statistics to indicate that men earn more than women, on average, it is important to keep in mind that alimony awards shouldn’t take gender into account.
If you have questions about alimony, reach out to the alimony lawyers in Chandler, Arizona at the Zachary Law Group today. We help couples with alimony negotiations that work for both parties. We understand the law and the rights that both parties have in an alimony negotiation, and we can help you settle your divorce outside of court or through litigation. If you have a prenuptial agreement and wonder how this can affect alimony, we can help, too. While a prenuptial agreement could affect alimony, in some cases it may not stand. Protect your rights. Speak to an alimony lawyer in Chandler, Arizona at the Zachary Law Group today.
