Suppose Grace and Will own a home and have pension plans. Now that they are divorcing, they want to know how a court would impose alimony payments. How do the respective estates of the parties factor into the court’s decision regarding alimony?
What is alimony?
Alimony is court-ordered support from one spouse to another.[1] In 2011, Massachusetts adopted the Alimony Reform Act. The Act, which took effect in March, 2012, governs the type, the amount, the duration, and the termination of alimony payments. In Massachusetts, there are four types of alimony[2]: (1) General Term alimony (provides regular support for a length of time based on the length of the marriage); (2) Rehabilitative alimony (provides regular support until the ex-spouse is able to be self-sustaining); (3) Reimbursement alimony (provides regular or one-time support for a shorter marriage to make up for costs that the ex-spouse paid in supporting the other spouse); and (4) Transitional alimony (provides regular or one-time support).
How does a judge divide assets?
In Massachusetts, assets are divided on an equitable basis.[3] A judge’s decision as to what is equitable will not be reversed unless “plainly wrong and excessive.”[4] A court may assign all or any part of the estate of the other, including, but not limited to, retirement benefits, military retirement benefits, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred compensation, and insurance.[5] The definition of estate is broadly defined.[6] Thus, Massachusetts courts allow the division of premarital property and post-marital property on a case-by-case basis.[7]
Factors:
A judge will review the following factors when deciding whether or not to award alimony or for how much the alimony award should be assigned: the length of the marriage; age of the parties; health of the parties; income, employment and employability of both parties, including employability through reasonable diligence and additional training, if necessary; economic and non-economic contribution of both parties to the marriage; marital lifestyle; ability of each party to maintain the marital lifestyle; lost economic opportunity as a result of the marriage, and other factors the court considers relevant and material, including the estates of the parties.[8]
For Grace and Will, a court will evaluate their estates and income levels. It will evaluate which type of alimony should be awarded (if any should be awarded). If a judge determines that an alimony award is necessary, the court will factor the estates of the parties in the award on an equitable basis. Courts will also look to determine whether either of the parties wasted marital assets and will make an award based on equitable, not solely “equal” factors.
Contact us:
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