Reasonable Amount of Alimony

Hi RaleighNative,

On the surface of it, I wouldn’t think there is too much discrepancy in income to warrant much alimony – of course, that’s only my opinion.

Probably what would help people here give you their advice would be if you honestly shared information about the factors in your situation that might affect alimony: how long were you married, what are the events that lead to your dirvoce, did you both always work (vs. one of you putting the other through school, etc…).

Not to nitpick, but if you give your ex $1,000 a month and you make $6K, she makes $4.2K – how will that cause her gross income to be higher than yours?

My only advice here is that there are many other things to negotiate in addition to alimony as part of the equal distribution. My gut tells me that if you were not part of an adulterous affair, it would be unlikely the court would award much alimony (if it ever went to court).

My personal experience: my STBX never worked (didn’t have to) during our marriage and now she works part-time. I paid her substantial alimony – in the true nature of spousal support – to get her on her feet, job retraining, whatever. The committment was for up to 5 years, half of the marriage duration.

Fortunately for me, she moved in with her adulterous boyfriend six months later and the support payments stopped because she was then cohabitating.[:p]

quote:
[i]Originally posted by RalDad[/i] [br]Hi RaleighNative,

On the surface of it, I wouldn’t think there is too much discrepancy in income to warrant much alimony – of course, that’s only my opinion.

Probably what would help people here give you their advice would be if you honestly shared information about the factors in your situation that might affect alimony: how long were you married, what are the events that lead to your dirvoce, did you both always work (vs. one of you putting the other through school, etc…).

Not to nitpick, but if you give your ex $1,000 a month and you make $6K, she makes $4.2K – how will that cause her gross income to be higher than yours?

My only advice here is that there are many other things to negotiate in addition to alimony as part of the equal distribution. My gut tells me that if you were not part of an adulterous affair, it would be unlikely the court would award much alimony (if it ever went to court).

My personal experience: my STBX never worked (didn’t have to) during our marriage and now she works part-time. I paid her substantial alimony – in the true nature of spousal support – to get her on her feet, job retraining, whatever. The committment was for up to 5 years, half of the marriage duration.

Fortunately for me, she moved in with her adulterous boyfriend six months later and the support payments stopped because she was then cohabitating.[:p]


Thank you for your comments. I am not really looking for advice, as much as I am looking for information.

We have been married something more than 12 years. As I wrote, though, none of the 16 factors are prejudicial against me (or her, even), at least as I understand them. There is certainly nothing like abuse or infidelity.

In terms of gross income, if I pay her $1000 out of a gross income of $6,000 then I am effectively reducing my gross down to $5,000 and her gross is increasing accordingly. Am I looking at it wrong?

Anyway, I am trying to find some guideposts along the way - what would be reasonable and/appropriate for somebody trying to be both.

Thank you, again.

Peter

Dear RaleighNative:

Greetings. There is no way for me to assess your entire alimony obligation with the information provided herein. Alimony is based on a number of factors including length of marriage, standard of living of the parties, etc. Given the facts that you stated below, $1,000 may be too little, just right, or too much. Just depends. However I can tell you that it is not outside the range of possibilities. Good luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax

301 McCullough Drive Suite 510
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax

1829 East Franklin Street, Bldg 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919.321.0780 main phone
919.787.6668 main fax

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

I have a question that probably many others do who come to this forum.

I am trying to understand what might be a reasonable amount of alimony to pay under a given set of circumstances - both post-separation support and alimony.

I know the State of NC does not have guidelines for alimony as it does for child support, and I know about the 16 factors so I know the numbers can vary widely. I am just trying to understand what might be reasonable, even within a range.

My wife and I are both professionals and we are both in our late 40’s. I gross about $6,000 monthly and my wife grosses approximately $4,200 monthly, so we both make decent incomes. If it helps to provide background, my child support obligation for our son is about $200 from the worksheets, and I have no issue with that.

I am being asked for nearly $1000 of monthly alimony, and that amount seems very excessive to me. With that amount, her gross income becomes higher than mine. I would think that $4,200/month is nearly enough to live on without alimony. I cannot see how any of the factors necessarily prejudices against me. To date, my attorney hasn’t really provided me a basis for understanding this and I am trying to generate some independent thoughts.

I know at this stage it is subject to negotiation and agreement. I truly want to be fair and reasonable. Should alimony even be in play here? If so, how much - $200/month?, $500/month, or even the requested $1,000?

Any insight that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Peter