Preserving the Marital Standard of Living – Jackson Separate Maintenance Lawyer

Alimony is one of the issues that is most concerning to divorcing spouses.  The paying spouse often worries that a substantial award will make it impossible to continue enjoying anything close the marital standard of living.  A recipient spouse who has limited education, job experience or vocational training might worry about the amount and duration of the award while working toward becoming self-supporting.  Mississippi separate maintenance attorney William Kellum III understands these concerns and diligently represents his clients’ interests in alimony disputes.

How Does a Mississippi Court Determines an Alimony Award?

Unlike child support which is determined by the Mississippi child support guidelines, which are fairly objective, there is no similar formula for calculating alimony.  When determining an appropriate alimony award, the judge will consider a number of factors that include:

• Misconduct or fault by either spouse
• Income/expenses of both parties
• Marital standard of living
• Waste of assets by either spouse
• Each parties’ assets and debts
• The financial needs of both spouses
• The respective age and health of each party
• The parties earning capacity
• Tax impact of an alimony order
• Standard of living when the order is made
• Minor kids in the home and child care expenses

The length of the marriage and sacrifices made by a stay-at-home parent or homemaker often carries significant weight in determining the appropriateness and amount of a separate maintenance award.  If the parties have a long marriage where one of the parties was primarily the breadwinner and the other a homemaker, this will typically justify more alimony depending on the financial ability to pay of the primary breadwinner.

What Types of Alimony Are Available in Mississippi?

There are essentially three types of alimony awards that may be granted by a Mississippi judge: (1) Rehabilitative Alimony, (2) Lump Sum Alimony and Periodic Payment Alimony.

Rehabilitative Alimony: This form of alimony is designed to provide financial assistance for a fixed period of time while a financially disadvantaged spouse obtains schooling, vocational training and similar skills so that the recipient spouse can become self-supporting.  This form of alimony is subject to modification if the recipient spouse is able to become self-supporting faster than anticipated.

Lump Sum Alimony: The term lump sum alimony is somewhat of a misnomer because it does not necessarily mean that the paying spouse makes a single lump sum payment.  Rather, the total amount of separate maintenance that will be paid is determined, but the actual amount can be paid in several installments.  The parties might negotiate a lump sum spousal support award of $75,000.  A payment schedule might also be devised that provides for $50,000 to be paid immediately, $25,000 in three months and $25,000 in six months.  While this form of alimony can be attractive to the recipient spouse because most or all of the funds will be available immediately, this form of alimony cannot be modified even if there is a drastic change in circumstances.

Periodic Alimony: This form of spousal support involves payments often on a monthly basis for a fixed period of time or until certain circumstances occur.  The court might award alimony for 9 years, for example, depending on the length of the marriage.  Alternatively, the court may award a monthly amount until remarriage or death.  This form of separate maintenance may be modified based on a change of circumstances, such as disability of the paying spouse, changes in income of either spouse or other relevant factors.

If you have questions about separate maintenance in Mississippi, Jackson alimony attorney William S. Kellum III represents clients in Jackson, Brandon, Clinton, Canton, Brookhaven, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Indianola, Madison, Meridian, Natchez, Pearl, Ridgeland, Vicksburg, Yazoo and other surrounding cities and areas.  We offer a free consultation so that we evaluate your situation and answer your questions so call us today at (601) 969-2709 or send us an email to schedule your initial consultation.