There are a lot of financial considerations implicated in the divorce process. You have to know how to navigate each of them to protect your short and long-term interests. While this includes conducting an inventory of your assets and developing legal arguments aimed at equitable distribution of property, it also means knowing how to approach a request for spousal support. After all, if you’re successful in obtaining alimony, then you could secure the financial stability needed to allow you to enjoy the marital standard of living and to become self-sufficient.
That said, alimony isn’t automatically handed out. Instead, you’ll have to be prepared to aggressively advocate for it. Although the thought of becoming embroiled in a contentious battle with your spouse might be stress-invoking, you shouldn’t let your concerns deter you from fighting for what you deserve. In fact, in the remainder of this post we’re going to give you some tips that’ll hopefully ease your concerns and put you on stronger footing to request the alimony you need.
Utilize these tips to increase your chances of obtaining spousal support
Your alimony dispute may be hard-fought, but there are some steps you can take to strengthen your position. These include:
- Gathering evidence that establishes the marital standard of living: When a spousal support dispute arises, the court will try to enter an order that allows both spouses to enjoy the marital standard of living while providing the receiving spouse the stability and time needed to become self-sufficient. Therefore, everything pertaining to your marital standard of living can be powerful evidence. The home you lived in, how frequently you shopped and dined out as well as the vacations that you took could be pivotal here, so be as thorough as possible when painting a picture of the marital standard of living.
- Showing your contributions and sacrifices: You’ll be in a stronger position to argue for alimony if you can demonstrate that you’re in a difficult post-divorce financial position because of sacrifices you made for your marriage. Showing that you gave up your career to care for your children, for example, can play well with the court. So, too, can illustrating how you gave up your education or passed on a job so that you could support your spouse’s education.
- Demonstrating your spouse’s ability to pay: The court will only order spousal support if your spouse actually has the ability to pay it. So, gather documentation that establishes their financial well-being and that clearly shows their ability to provide you with the financial support you deserve.
- Highlighting parenting responsibilities: If you’re going to be a custodial parent once your divorce is finalized, then there may be additional financial needs. Although child support can help offset these expenses to a certain extent, it sometimes doesn’t go far enough. In these instances, showing the court what your parental obligations will require, which may include cutting your work hours or taking a lower paying job, could be persuasive enough to secure an order for alimony.
Build an effective case for spousal support
There’s a lot that goes into an effective argument for alimony. Therefore, you need to be prepared with powerful and convincing evidence if you hope to secure a favorable outcome. That might be stressful to consider given all the other issues that you’ll have to handle in your divorce, but don’t let it dissuade you from taking the action necessary to protect your financial interests. If you want to learn more about how to build a compelling case for alimony, then please continue to research the matter so that you can make the informed legal decisions you think are right for you.