Utah Spousal Support Attorney

Ensuring Alimony Is Handled Fairly in Your Divorce

Whether you’re just beginning the divorce process or have been divorced for several years, it’s important to understand what spousal support is and how it could affect you.

Spousal support, or alimony, is a payment one spouse makes to another in order to ensure both parties enjoy the same standard of living they experienced during their marriage. However, determining alimony is challenging, and adjusting alimony over time can be complicated. Nobody wants to feel shorted or robbed at the end of the day, so reaching an arrangement that helps your financial situation is of the utmost importance.

To ensure you have a firm understanding of your spousal support arrangement, whether you’re the receiving spouse or the paying spouse, make sure you work with an experienced spousal support lawyer in Utah.

Why Choose Person Butler?

At Pearson Butler, our firm knows how difficult and emotional the divorce process can be, which is why our compassionate attorneys are committed to providing each and every client with the personalized, hands-on legal support they need. Our team consists of more than 60 dedicated professionals, 30 of which are experienced attorneys. Each of our attorneys focuses on a specific area of law, so you can be confident that your spousal support attorney has the experience and tools necessary to help you achieve a favorable outcome for your case.

Ready to get started? Call (800) 265-2314 today to discuss your alimony case with our team.

Who Can Ask for Spousal Support in Utah?

Any spouse can receive spousal support after a divorce, regardless of gender, age, or any alleged ‘responsibility’ for the divorce. The court also cannot penalize any spouse for causing the divorce, whether through adultery, a substance abuse problem, domestic abuse, or any other means. Rather, the court looks at the economic situation of each party, along with several other factors.

If you rely on your spouse for financial support, you may qualify for alimony payments. For example, stay-at-home parents typically do not earn a wage and must rely on their spouse for economic support, which is why, in a divorce, that spouse may ask the bread-winning spouse for alimony.

How is Spousal Support Determined?

If you resolve your divorce through mediation, you, your spouse, and your respective lawyers may negotiate spousal support on your own terms, but if your case goes to trial, the judge will determine how alimony is awarded. The court will only award spousal support based on the needs of both parties, their economic situation, and other factors relevant to their livelihood.

The court will consider the following factors when determining a fair spousal support payment:

• Each spouse’s economic status
• The earning capacity of each spouse
• The length of the marriage
• Whether or not there were children from the marriage
• Child support payments, if applicable
• The child custody arrangement, if applicable
• Whether or not one spouse contributed to the earning capacity of the other (by paying for school tuition, working while the other spouse attended classes, etc.)

Based on these factors, the court will determine whether or not spousal support should be awarded, and how much. Depending on the circumstances, the court will also need to determine which type of spousal support to award.

Types of Spousal Support

Divorced or divorcing couples may receive spousal support temporarily, as a lump sum, or on a long-term schedule. The type of support you receive depends greatly on your earning capacity, your financial situation, and, most importantly, the length of your marriage. As a rule, the length of the marriage will often correspond to the duration of spousal support payments. However, there are exceptions.

The court may use temporary orders to provide short-term financial help during the divorce process, or they may help a spouse as he or she goes to school or studies a trade to increase his or her earning capacity. Long-term support, on the other hand, is usually awarded to spouses who are unable to increase their earning capacity, or to those who have been married for a longer period of time.

It’s also important to note that spousal support payments will end whenever the receiving spouse remarries or moves in with a romantic partner. If the paying spouse remarries, however, he or she will still need to pay spousal support.

Contact a Utah Spousal Support Lawyer Today!

Whether you’re establishing a spousal support agreement or need help amending an existing support order, our firm can help you. We have ample experience working with complex and difficult divorce cases, and our attorneys know what to do to protect your financial interests.

Contact Pearson Butler to discuss your case with an alimony attorney in Utah.