Who is Entitled to Spousal Support?

The Courts use the following information to Determine Spousal Maintenance:

• each spouse’s ability to take care of their own minimal and basic needs independently considering all financial resources
• the education and employment skills
• does the spouse seeking support have the time necessary to acquire the education or training to enable them to earn sufficient income and is the training available and feasible.
• the length of the marriage
• the age, employment history, earning ability, physical and emotional health of the spouse seeking maintenance
• whether either spouse is paying child support. Do these payments affect the spouse from the ability to take care of their basic needs.
• whether either spouse has had excessive or abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposed of joint property.
• whether one spouse contributed to the other spouse’s education, training, or increased the earning power of the other spouse.
• the property each spouse brought to the marriage
• whether one spouse was a homemaker
• acts of adultery or cruel treatment by either spouse
• any history of family violence