Perhaps one of the most contentious aspects of divorce is the determination of alimony obligations. The person who is being asked to pay alimony usually believes he or she shouldn’t have to, while the person on the receiving end believes he or she is entitled to that support. Despite either party feeling one way or the other, the courts usually determine alimony obligations based on a number of factors, and the divorcing couple is required to accept those terms once they have been set.

The courts will consider the following factors in determining alimony:

• Each spouse’s financial resources and ability to provide for basic needs
• Each spouse’s education and employment skills
• Length of the marriage, typically 10 years or longer
• Age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional health of the spouse seeking maintenance
• Child support
• Each spouse’s financial responsibility, including whether one party spent funds excessively
• Whether either spouse fraudulently disposed of joint property
• Each’s spouse’s property ownership prior to the marriage
• Whether one spouse was the homemaker
• Acts of adultery, cruelty, or domestic violence

Contact Our Austin Divorce Lawyers Today

If you are currently in the midst of a divorce and cannot come to an alimony agreement with your ex-spouse, you will need to rely on the advocacy of a strongminded and aggressive Austin divorce lawyer such as ours at the Law Office of Janet McCullar, P.C. Our legal team believes in helping divorcees move on from the ending of the marriage in as seamless of transition as possible. We will tirelessly pursue justice on your behalf, so as to ensure your divorce settlement is as fair as we can fight for it to be.