During a divorce, the couple will be required to make a lot of decisions about their future. Many of them include decisions that should be made about the couples’ finances and each party’s financial status after the divorce has been finalized. There are some marriages in which one spouse financially supported the family more than the other spouse. Taking a look at the breakdown of income in a marriage can help in determining the potential for spousal support.
Spousal support is a method by which a party receives a certain amount of income, for a period of time, for certain reasons, such as they remained at home raising children or did other things to assist in the growth of marital wealth. The primary goal of spousal support is to assist the less-monied party in maintaining a similar quality of life to the one that they led prior to the divorce. Spousal support is typically a temporary arrangement and may be terminated when the less-monied spouse can financially support themselves. However, there may be situations in which the couple is at a later stage in life and one of the spouses may never have had a career outside the home. In this situation, it is highly unlikely that this person would go back to school and start a new career, especially if they are close to an age in which they would retire. In this scenario, that person may collect spousal support until they are eligible to receive a portion of their spouse’s pension.
New Jersey has recently changed the spousal support laws that divorcing couples should be aware of. If you have questions about the potential for spousal support in your divorce, contact an experienced attorney who can assist you.
The Radol Law Firm is proud to serve the people of New Jersey in their divorce and family law, elder law, estate planning, and bankruptcy matters. Contact our firm today to schedule a consultation.