In a divorce case, the court divides the marital assets of the parties involved and issues a divorce decree. In addition, they may award ongoing payments from one party to the other based on one party’s need and the other party’s ability to pay. This is called alimony or spousal support.

If the court decides to award alimony to either party, it can consider all relevant factors, including the following:  1) standard of living the couple enjoyed during the marriage; 2) How long the marriage lasted; 3) Each party’s age and physical condition; 4) Each party’s financial resources, including the distribution of marital and non-marital assets and debts; 5) Each party’s contribution to the marriage, including caring for children, caring for the home, education, and career-building of the other party; 6) The earning potential, education, job skills, and employability of both parties and the time it would take either to obtain education or training that would allow either party to obtain employment; 7) Each party’s responsibility with respect to children; 8) All sources of income available to either party, and 9) Any other factor necessary to achieve equity and justice between the parties.

The classic example is the case where the wife gave up her career to stay home and raise the family, and at the time of the divorce, she has no skills or experience that would allow her to get a job which would produce the kind of income that she is used to.

An experienced divorce attorney can be of great importance since he understands how the court works, and can present the facts in a manner that is more likely to produce a favorable result for his client.

Ty Zdravko practices law as a divorce attorney, and family law attorney in Palm Harbor, Clearwater and the surrounding area.

For more information, visit our website at www.divorceboardcertified.com
or call (727) 787-5919.