If you could do anything, what would you do? Because, as depressing as it is sometimes to think about getting a divorce, you’re finally going to have the opportunity to do whatever you wish you would have done earlier on in your life. Do you want to write a book? Go back to school? Join...
Spousal Support
I get a lot of questions about spousal support. Mostly, women want to know whether they will receive it and, if so, for how long. The answer is kind of complicated, but I’m going to do my best to explain to you what factors are involved in making a determination of spousal support, and what...
Do you want spousal support? At some point during the course of your Virginia divorce, this is a question you’ll have to consider. For many women, this is a difficult topic, and one they’re not all that willing to discuss. Still, for the women who qualify to receive spousal support, it can be the difference...
It’s unrealistic to expect that your husband will be able to support you in “the manner to which you have grown accustomed” after your divorce. In fact, it’s probably impossible, because divorce cases are not like personal injury cases, and no one person can really expect to receive a windfall. In a divorce, you have...
How do you know whether you’ll qualify to receive alimony? Actually, these days, alimony is more commonly referred to as spousal support. Why? Well, mostly, because spousal support is considered a more “gender neutral” term. It used to be that it was always the women who received alimony from their ex-husbands; these days, a husband...
Whether a spousal support award is modifiable depends on how it was ordered. In some cases, it is modifiable, which means that your husband can take you to court on a “material changes in circumstances,” and argue that support should be lowered and, vice versa, that you can take him to court and argue that...
I always try to tread carefully when I’m talking about getting a job after divorce. Particularly for women who decided to stay at home to care for their children during the marriage, this is a difficult conversation. It’s also difficult for women who have worked part-time, or deliberately chose to minimize their own professional career...
Spousal support is based on a number of factors, including the income of both parties. You have to demonstrate that the receiving party has a “need” (that is easily done), and you also have to demonstrate that the paying party has an “ability to pay.” This is determined based on relative income disparity. There has...