Long Island Alimony Attorneys

Spousal Support Lawyers Serving Long Island & Nassau County

After a divorce, one spouse may be required to make monetary payments to the other spouse. These payments, referred to as alimony, spousal maintenance or spousal support, were designed to ensure a person has the financial resources he or she needs to maintain the same standard of living he or she had during the marriage.

Depending on the type of arrangement, alimony payments can be made for a short period of time or indefinitely. Alimony payments can also be paid in monthly installments or in one lump sum. There are three main types of spousal support/alimony arrangements:

Permanent Alimony: permanent alimony is to be paid indefinitely until there is a significant change in circumstances, such as the spouse receiving support remarries, in which case the circumstances can be reviewed and possibly modified. In addition, spouses requesting permanent alimony must prove their need of support.
Rehabilitative Alimony: rehabilitative alimony is only paid until the spouse receiving support has developed the skills needed to obtain a job. This is common in divorce cases in which a spouse stayed home from work to care for children. Once the spouse receiving support secures a job or becomes financially self sufficient, the payments are stopped.
Restitutional Alimony: a temporary form of alimony in which support is paid while a spouse is going to school or enhancing his or her vocational skills.

Unlike child support, there is not a set formula for determining how much a person will pay in alimony. Some factors a judge will take into consideration include:

The length of the marriage
The standard of living the couple shared during the marriage
Each spouse's current income
Each spouse's vocational skills and his or her ability to earn an income
Whether one spouse stayed home during the marriage to take care of children
Each spouse's debts and assets
The age of each spouse
The physical and mental health of each spouse
If either spouse has any special needs
How marital property was divided

Consult a Skilled Long Island Alimony Lawyer at Samuelson Hause & Samuelson

Determining spousal support can be a sensitive issue, but it's important that an agreement can be reached that is fair to both parties. At Samuelson Hause & Samuelson, an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at our office can provide you with dedicated legal counsel to ensure you are not receiving or paying an unreasonable amount in alimony. We can review all aspects of your divorce, how your marital property was divided, and the nature of your marriage to determine how much you should be paying or receiving. Furthermore, we have extensive experience in this area of divorce law, and are committed to using our resources and legal knowledge to help our clients resolve their spousal support cases in a way that provides them with the financial resources needed to maintain the same standard of living and lifestyle they had during marriage.

Contact a Long Island alimony lawyer at Samuelson Hause & Samuelson to learn how we can help you assert your rights and protect your best interests!