by Jake Adams
One of the most frightening aspects of divorce is the question of how it will affect your financial future. That’s why many clients usually want to know if they will receive financial support from their spouse in the event of a divorce. In Mississippi, the law provides for a spouse to receive alimony under certain circumstances. As you will read below, the test for alimony is somewhat complicated, but in very general terms alimony is based on two things: (1) need, and (2) ability to pay.
For example, in a long-term marriage where the wife’s primary position was that of homemaker and parent while husband was the primary wage earner and has the ability to pay, the wife will most likely receive some type of alimony.
The two most common forms of alimony are rehabilitative alimony and periodic alimony.
Rehabilitative alimony is usually awarded to the spouse who needs financial support, but has the ability and skills to become self-supportive or to acquire the education and skills necessary to become self-supportive. Generally speaking, rehabilitative alimony is common for middle aged and younger spouses in shorter marriages. It’s design is just like the name implies – to support the needing spouse until he or she has time to get on their feet. Sometimes this is six months. Other times the rehabilitative alimony will extend for several years or more.
Periodic alimony is more permanent and usually ends only upon the death or remarriage of the spouse who has need. Again generally speaking, a spouse is more likely to receive periodic alimony as the result of a long-term marriage if the needing spouse is unemployable or unlikely to ever be able to reach the income level of the paying spouse.
Mississippi law provides a very specific and somewhat exhaustive set of factors a court must consider in order to determine the appropriateness of alimony. These are commonly referred to as the Armstrong Factors.
The Armstrong Factors the court MUST consider are as follows:
1. The income and expenses of the parties;
2. The health and earning capacities of the parties;
3. The needs of each party;
4. The obligations and assets of each party;
5. The length of the marriage;
6. The presence or absence of minor children in the home, which may require that one or both of the parties either pay, or personally provide child care;
7. The age of the parties;
8. The standard of living of the parties, both during the marriage and at the time of the support determination;
9. The tax consequences of the spousal support order;
10. Fault of misconduct;
11. Wasteful dissipation of assets by either party; or
12. Any other factor deemed by the court to be “just and equitable” in connection with the setting of spousal support.
As you can see, there are many factors the court must consider, and the circumstances of every marriage will apply differently to these factors, but the ultimate goal of Mississippi law is to provide financial support for spouses with a need.