When you get a divorce and do not have a way to support yourself, you can seek alimony to support yourself. This is common with stay-at-home parents to kids or homemakers. It can be more difficult to find immediate employment if there is a wide gap in a work history. Here are some things you should know about getting alimony after a divorce:
What Do You Need to Provide to Court?
When you request alimony, you will have to provide different types of information to the court to show you qualify. You may be asked to supply additional information, but there are some basic things you have to give for any request. One of the most important pieces of information is your financial history. You need to supply copies of your utility bills, your weekly grocery expenses, medical expenses if you do not have insurance, and the like. If you have any sort of income, you need to disclose your annual payments.
The judge will need to know how long you were married when making decisions on alimony. In general, a judge will not give you alimony for the rest of your life. When your marriage was many years, however, you can make a case for long-term alimony.
What If You Do Not Have Access to All Information?
If your former spouse maintained the finances and you were not privy to the information, your attorney can obtain some of it for you during discovery. Discovery is the legal way an attorney can obtain different types of information for use in court.
Can You Get Partial Support?
In some cases, a judge may not think you need full alimony. You also need to provide your employment history as well as information regarding your education. This is important, as your ability to obtain work will have an impact as to whether or not your will receive alimony.
If the judge decides that you have the ability to get a job rather quickly, you could at least receive partial alimony while you go back to work and get used to your new financial situation. You could also go back to school to help better support yourself, the cost of which could also be tied to your alimony.
If you are employed, even full-time, and cannot afford to support yourself, the court can determine that you should receive long-term alimony. You will need to work with your alimony attorney to make your case.
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