How Do I Know If I Will Get Alimony in my Maryland Divorce?

When a couple has been married and lived together for many years, it is not uncommon that one spouse will provide more financial support for the household than the other. When the marriage relationship breaks down, it can be challenging for the financially “dependent” spouse to fully separate from their shared household and live a financially independent life. If you have been financially dependent upon your spouse, you may wonder whether you will get alimony as part of your Maryland divorce, and how alimony is calculated.

What is Alimony?

Alimony is court-ordered financial support paid by one spouse (the payer) to the other spouse (the payee or recipient) leading up to a divorce or after the divorce is final. There are two types of alimony in Maryland:

• Rehabilitative alimony is short-term spousal support that is designed to support a dependent spouse while he or she takes steps to become self-supporting. This is the type of alimony more often awarded by the Court.
• Indefinite alimony has no specific end date and can be awarded in cases of disability, illness, age, or financial disadvantage, to help the payee maintain a standard of living similar to that experienced during the marriage

Alimony can be awarded retroactively to the date the request for support was filed. This means requests for alimony are often included in a dependent spouse’s initial complaint for absolute divorce.

Who is Entitled to Receive Alimony in a Maryland Divorce?

Alimony can be awarded to either spouse – husband or wife – based on that party’s needs and threats to their standard of living. At the core of every alimony decision are findings that one spouse is in need of financial assistance and the other spouse has the ability to pay. Often, it is awarded to a stay-at-home parent or homemaker, allowing them to reenter the workforce, receive additional training, or build up their resume to become self-supporting. Alimony can also be awarded if one spouse has significant physical or mental health disabilities that prevent them from working.

How is Alimony Calculated in Maryland?

Unlike some nearby states, Maryland does not have a divorce alimony calculator or formula, so the judge will weigh many factors to calculate the amount of spousal support. Other states may calculate an appropriate alimony award to equalize the parties’ income, often calculated in addition to any child support the payee is entitled to receive. However, in Maryland, the amount and duration of alimony payments are based on the specific facts of each case, rather than setting a fixed amount based on a mathematical formula.

Factors Considered in Awarding Alimony

In deciding whether to award alimony, Maryland family court judges must consider all factors necessary to reach a fair and equitable award. What that means varies from case to case, but according to Maryland divorce laws, it includes:

• The recipient spouse’s ability to be wholly or partially self-supporting
• How long it will take for the payee to gain sufficient education and employment
• The family’s prior standard of living
• The length of the marriage
• Each spouse’s contributions – monetary and nonmonetary – to the family’s wellbeing
• The circumstances that contributed to the parties’ estrangement (what caused the divorce)
• The parties’ ages
• The physical and mental condition of each party
• They payer’s ability to pay alimony and still meet their own needs
• Any agreement between the parties
• The financial needs of each party (including income, income producing assets, retirement benefits, and financial obligations)
• Whether support would make a spouse eligible for medical assistance earlier than without it

A party seeking alimony should work with their Maryland alimony attorney to present evidence of their income, expenses, monthly payments or household budget, and even their mental and physical health to demonstrate that support is necessary in their case.

How are Spousal Support Payments Paid in Maryland

Alimony is generally awarded as a set amount paid per week, month, quarter, or year for a set amount of time in the case of rehabilitative alimony, or, in the case of indefinite alimony, until the payee remarries or the need for support ends. Sometimes, the court will enter an Income Withholding Order that will allow the payer’s employer to deduct support payments directly from the payer’s paycheck. Other times, the Court will permite a party to make direct payments to his or her former spouse.

In cases where periodic payments don’t make sense or there is risk of the payer depleting assets rather than satisfying his or her support obligations, the Court may order a lump-sum payment as part of the judgment of divorce. If the paying spouse is self-employed or does not receive a regular paycheck, this may also serve as a good reason for the Court to Order front-loaded or lump sum alimony which would allow the recipient spouse to invest the funds and use them as needed to pay for support and living expenses.

At the Law Office of Shelly M. Ingram, our Maryland divorce lawyers know how important alimony payments can be to help our clients put their marriage behind them and build a successful foundation for their future. We know when and how alimony will be awarded, and how to prove support is appropriate in your case. If you need help supporting yourself following a divorce, call us at (301) 658-7354 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation with an attorney.

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