Fairfield County Attorney

How Much Is Alimony? It Depends ...

Unlike child support determinations, alimony or spousal support determinations can vary widely. Negotiating an amount of alimony is a necessary part of a divorce that takes into account a number of different factors.

"If there is any true statement I can make about alimony, it is this: the alimony payor thinks the amount is too high and the alimony recipient thinks the amount is too low." — Attorney Giustino Capodilupo

At our law firm, Giustino Capodilupo is a Westport alimony lawyer who acts as a reasonable voice in what can be a highly contentious negotiation. There are a number of different alimony arrangements that can be reached. Generally, the factors the court will look at in deciding whether to order alimony include:

• The length of the marriage
• The relative earning ability of the spouses, including education and work history
• Other decisions about the division of marital property
• Whether either spouse engaged in marital misconduct (adultery, physical abuse or mental cruelty)

Westport, Connecticut, Spousal Support Attorney and Divorce Lawyer

In general, when one parent is a stay-at-home parent, the court awards alimony in Connecticut based on half of the length of the marriage. For example, if you were a stay-at-home parent for 20 years, you could expect alimony for 10 years. There are other factors and other types of alimony agreements.

• Rehabilitative alimony — This can be alimony that is higher in the beginning and decreases as time goes on. It provides a stay-at-home spouse with the opportunity to re-train, re-educate or in other ways jump start earning potential. This is intended as transitional financial support.
• Lifetime or long-term alimony — In situations where the stay-at-home spouse is ill or could never reasonably rehabilitate him or herself to earn a living wage, he or she may receive alimony until retirement. After retirement, he or she may receive a lower amount, or no amount at all depending on the length of the marriage and the retirement income earned by the other spouse.
• Lump sum payment or periodic payments — In some cases it may work best for both parties to agree on a one-time-only lump sum amount.

The family court judge has wide discretion in determining whether or not alimony should be granted, the amount, and for how long. If an amount is agreed to by both parties, the judges tend to approve the amount and the terms.

Strong Advocacy for Your Legal Needs

If you are divorcing, you will need help with your alimony amount determination by an experienced and thorough Stamford alimony lawyer. Please call our law office at 866-463-5144, 203-403-6659 or send us an E-Mail. Connecticut spousal support attorney Giustino Capodilupo works diligently with men and women to solve all legal issues.