how your lawyer can avoid alimony

by Jarod Runte 5 min read

Hire a Lawyer The first step to avoid the alimony is to hire an experienced divorce lawyer who knows every tactic that can help you in avoiding alimony and maybe child support.

You will need to provide documents that detail financial information, including paystubs, tax returns, income and expense statements, bank account statements, and other relevant financial documents. One way to avoid alimony is to ask a judge to evaluate your spouse's fitness to work.Jul 7, 2021

Full Answer

How can I avoid paying alimony?

Sep 09, 2020 · If you are required to pay alimony, pay very close attention to how your alimony agreement is worded and the terminating actions the contract includes. If you believe your ex has satisfied the definition of a terminating action, a Midwest divorce attorney can help you determine the fastest route to ending your alimony obligations.

Is it possible to fight an alimony award?

The best way to avoid paying alimony is to plan ahead. Before you get married, consider creating a prenuptial agreement that prevents alimony payments in the event of a divorce. Postnuptial Agreement If you are already married and can no longer get a prenuptial agreement, you might determine that the postnuptial agreement still fits.

Can I downsize my lifestyle to avoid alimony?

Nov 19, 2021 · Don’t create drama. Don’t talk to your spouse about the infidelity. Get the evidence of the fault. In other cases, if your spouse is abusive, get evidence. The more unlikeable you can make your spouse, if you end up in a trial over the issue of alimony, the better your chances are. You should focus on gathering evidence to help to prove fault.

What happens to alimony if you get married but not get married?

Dec 19, 2019 · Following smart tips can also help in avoiding the alimony. Hire a Lawyer . The first step to avoid the alimony is to hire an experienced divorce lawyer who knows every tactic that can help you in avoiding alimony and maybe child support. Moreover, there would come times when the judge would ask things that will leave you indecisive and in such situations, a divorce …

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What to do if you are required to pay alimony?

If you are required to pay alimony, pay very close attention to how your alimony agreement is worded and the terminating actions the contract includes. If you believe your ex has satisfied the definition of a terminating action, a Midwest divorce attorney can help you determine the fastest route to ending your alimony obligations.

How long does alimony last?

In some cases, alimony may last until the recipient meets specific financial requirements.

What happens if you don't have a prenup?

If you do not have a prenuptial contract, you can look to your state’s laws to determine whether your spouse has disqualified themselves in some way. For example, in some states, a divorcing spouse may not claim alimony if they were unfaithful during the marriage.

What is the purpose of divorce proceedings?

Your divorce proceedings will typically aim to restore the spouses to the financial states they had prior to their marriage. Shorter marriages typically don’t involve complex financial problems, and alimony will be very short-term if it is at all applicable.

Is alimony considered spousal maintenance?

Alimony, also called spousal maintenance, is just one of the many financial issues that can arise during divorce in the Midwest. Alimony may not become an issue in every divorce, but it’s essential to understand what alimony en tails in case you are obligated to pay it or entitled to receive it.

Is alimony an issue in divorce?

Alimony, also called spousal maintenance, is just one of the many financial issues that can arise during divorce in the Midwest. Alimony may not become an issue in every divorce, but it’s essential to understand what alimony entails in case you are obligated to pay it or entitled to receive it.

How to avoid paying alimony?

The best way to avoid paying alimony is to plan ahead . Before you get married, consider creating a prenuptial agreement that prevents alimony payments in the event of a divorce.

Who can guide you through alimony?

Before you agree to any alimony or divorce judgments, you want to consult a professional lawyer. Thomas Ramunda Jr. brings more than 25 years of experience to the table. He can guide you through alimony, divorce, child support, and more.

How to avoid paying alimony?

Best Tips to Avoiding Alimony. There are a number of ways that an individual can avoid having to pay alimony, either by pre-planning, doing so during the divorce, or even after the divorce. Here are some of those tactics. Prenuptial Agreement: This is something that couples do before they are married to help eliminate the possibility ...

What is alimony in divorce?

Alimony, or as it is called in some states, spousal maintenance, is a payment of money from one spouse to the other spouse either during the divorce process or ordered to begin after the divorce is finalized. During a divorce, spouses look for any way they can to avoid spending or losing their money, including trying to avoid having ...

What are the factors that determine alimony?

Other factors that will determine alimony awards: 1 Age and health of each spouse 2 Quality of living during the marriage 3 Current income of each spouse 4 Length of the marriage 5 Children 6 If one spouse is not working, can he or she enter the workforce now or will he or she need education or training 7 Future asset potential (for instance, if one spouse has a guaranteed stock option bonus in place at his or her existing job) 8 Did one spouse financially support the other spouse’s education or training for his or her current employment (an example would be if husband went to school while the wife worked to support him – once his education has been completed, the wife then stays home to take care of the kids and he starts his career) 9 Property division of marital assets

Who is Nicholas Baker?

Nicholas Baker is a practicing family law attorney with over 15-years of experience handling divorce, child custody, child support, and domestic violence matters in the courtroom. Attorney Nicholas Baker believes in providing family law information for individuals so that they can make an informed decision about their own family law matter.

What is a prenuptial agreement?

A prenuptial agreement is a legal agreement between the couple outlining what will take place as far as the division of property is concerned should they divorce.

Can a divorce judge order alimony?

Unfortunately, even though you may do all you can to avoid paying alimony, a divorce judge may still order one spouse to make alimony payments to the other. When this happens, the question always becomes, how exactly will the court determine the awarding of alimony to the other spouse?

What is spousal support?

In states where spousal support or alimony is awarded, the courts must determine which party is entitled to the spousal support as well as the other party’s ability to actually pay. While there are certainly cases where one spouse receives support for an indefinite period, this support is meant only as a temporary source of income to help one spouse maintain his or her quality of life immediately after the divorce.

What if your ex-spouse's living expenses have actually decreased?

What if your ex-spouse’s living expenses have actually decreased? For example, you ex-spouse moves out of the condo in Downtown St. Petersburg away from the city and finds comparable housing in Hernando County? Now, all of her living expenses are significantly cheaper. And your ex has made it clear this is a permanent move. If you can show that the reduction in living expenses is permanent you have the ability to seek a reduction in your spousal support obligation. However, if the move by your ex is only temporary, the court will not change the alimony amount. Another example of decreased living expenses is when your ex is living full time with a significant other. Similar to a cohabitation argument, the contribution to joint expenses on a regular and recurring basis can justify reducing support.

Can a spouse terminate alimony?

The law allows the payor spouse to terminate or reduce his alimony obligation if he can show that a supportive relationship exists between the payee spouse and a new significant other. The burden is to prove your case “more likely than not”, or 51% more likely.

Can alimony be changed in Florida?

Especially if you’ve remarried and are trying to plan for your future with your new spouse. Paying alimony may stink . But Florida Courts recognize that sometimes alimony needs to be changed or modified, regardless of the length of the agreed-upon alimony.

Can you reduce alimony if you lose your job?

If you’ve lost your ability to pay then you have a good chance of reducing your alimony . Corporate downsizing is a common reason for job loss requiring alimony modification. Employees often see their incomes grow over time with their experience.

Can you reduce alimony if your spouse gets a gift?

Likewise, if your spouse gets a substantial gift or award you may be able to reduce alimony payments. For example, consider a gift from a family member who is trying to gift some of his or her estates away for estate planning purposes. Such a gift can be considered by the divorce court judge when modifying alimony.

Can you terminate alimony in Florida?

This is the best reason to terminate alimony. Florida requires as a matter of law termination of alimony if the person receiving alimony gets remarried. Of course, many spouses receiving alimony are wise to this rule. They try to backdoor the rule by simply living with their significant other without remarrying, which leads to the next reason on your list:

What is the difference between gross and net income?

Gross income is the top end dollar amount you earn. Net income is what you actually bring home after taxes. In Golf terms: Gross income is for show, net income is for the dough. Changes in tax laws can alter the dough you bring home. If you are already paying alimony, tax laws that lower your net income can be a problem. Luckily, a change in tax law is a reason to reduce or end your alimony. And with the reason tax alimony law signed in to law by President Trump set to go into effect in 2019, alimony modifications will be on the rise. That’s because the alimony deduction will be rolled back with the new law. For a payor spouse who is ordered to pay 4K in alimony with an income of $150K that deduction was “worth” more than $1K a month! If you are set to lose money because of a tax return change, look at the rest of the scenario to see if a modification makes sense? Are you making the same amount of money as before? Is your spouse making more? You may have a multi-pronged attack to fight alimony.

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