How To Determine Alimony
A common question during divorce proceeding is how to determine whether alimony will be required. Alimony is typically paid by the spouse who earns more than the other spouse. A dependent spouse is the legal term for the spouse who receives alimony and a supporting spouse is the legal term for the spouse who pays the alimony. In North Carolina there are no guidelines to determine how much alimony gets paid. Rather a calculation needs to be made to decide how much the dependent spouse needs and then how much the supporting spouse can pay. If they are able to agree to this between themselves or between attorneys or even in mediation then the issue will not be decided by a judge. If the parties are unable to agree between themselves how much should be paid then a judge will make that decision.
In the event that the issue of how much alimony should be paid does not get resolved by the parties then the courts will hear the evidence and arguments of both parties and make a decision. In determining how much alimony is to be awarded a judge has broad discretion. Usually the evidence at an alimony hearing will consist of proof of income and proof of expenses.
Proof of income can be in the form of tax returns, pay stubs, bank records, benefit statement, bonus and commission statements or any combination of the above. For self employed spouses more documentation is typically required to show actual income versus stated income. In other words, if a landscaper claims to only make $20,000 per year but is paying off credit card debt in the amount of $2,000 per month then it likely that the landscaper is actually making more money than the tax records are showing. It is important to have an experience attorney who understands the ways in which individuals hide income to be sure that you are properly represented
Proof of expenses can be in the form of actual bills, bank statements, mortgage receipt books or rental/lease agreements and other documents evidencing an obligation to pay. Many people use electronic banking and Quicken or Microsoft Money to balance there personal budgets and software such as this can be an invaluable tool to help accurate calculate the exact amount of money that is coming both in and out of a household.
Every alimony case is different. For example consider the following example. Husband is employed and makes $5,000 per month in income. Wife is staying at home with their minor child and is not currently employed. The amount of alimony that Husband pays to Wife will depend on how much money Wife needs. Assume that it is calculated that Wife needs $2,000 per month in alimony. If the evidence shows that Husband can pay this amount then the judge will likely order that amount to be paid. However, in the same example, let’s assume that the minor child is disabled and incurs extraordinary expenses in the amount of $2,000 per month. It may be that after child support and the extraordinary expenses are paid that Husband cannot afford to pay the entire $2,000. If that is the case then the judge will likely order Husband to pay an amount that the evidence shows that he can afford.