A Quick Guide to Alimony and Child Support

Many people think alimony and child support are the same thing, however, they aren’t.

12:45 07 April 2016

Alimony is often called spousal support which makes it easier to differentiate. One payment is for your ex-partner and the other is to help your ex-partner support any children. In this small guide, I’ll help you understand the ins and outs of spousal and child support payments. 

 

Spousal Support

 

You will have to pay spousal support if you earn considerably more than your spouse and if they may not be able to support themselves on their own. Two and Half Men is misleading on this front as you – most likely - will not have to pay alimony cheques for years and years like Alan has to do. There are certain factors that determine how long one must pay spousal support. 

 

•A date in the future will be set by a judge as a fair estimate for when the spouse should be able to support themselves in a similar manner they were accustomed to during the marriage. 

•If the former spouse receiving the payments remarries or dies one does not have to carry on making payments (fairly obvious in the second instance). 

•If your former spouse lives solely on the support and doesn’t make an adequate attempt to support themselves by getting fulltime work it may be stopped and they will be forced to find work.  

•There are also other unforeseen major events that can force a judge to reconsider the amount or the duration of alimony payments. 

 

You will be able to contest the duration and amount of alimony payments and if you have a specialised divorce lawyer, see here: www.lawtrek.com, then this will be an easier and quicker process. Luckily for some, alimony payments are becoming far less common than they have been in the past and it is seen as more reasonable for each member of the broken union to pull their own weight financially, however, child support still needs to be paid. 

 

Child Support

 

I doubt many people begrudge having to pay child support, however it does come with its fair share of issues and pitfalls. When a couple divorce and custody is decided by the court or your attorneys, then it’s time to talk about child support. The ex-spouse who doesn’t get full custody of the children will need to pay the other ex-spouse a set amount of money each month which will help support the spouse and child or children as they live apart from the other spouse. If custody of the child changes than the child support would also change. 

 

Changes to Child Support

 

Child support payment amounts often fluctuate over the child’s life. This can be due to the parent taking a sudden loss (or raise) in income or if the child undertakes a hobby or special need that requires funding. Usually, unless there are unique circumstances, child support will end when the child comes of age or moves away from the home.

 

Not Paying Child Support

 

Not paying child support can bring some serious issues with it, including massive fines and in more extreme cases: prison. When payments aren’t made the judge might issue warrants to seize bank accounts and belongings, and can also punish parents by suspending driving privileges or passports. 

Hopefully, this small guide will have answered the major concerns you have about spousal and child support. If not, see here.