You should speak with our Brookfield alimony attorneys who can tell you more about how courts award alimony, how courts determine the amount and duration of payments, various types of alimony that may be available, and what steps you need to take if you want to modify alimony in Wisconsin. Alimony can be essential for spouses that are leaving long-term marriages, and for those who need support to obtain the education or skills necessary to return to the workforce. Whether you have questions about seeking or paying alimony, the dedicated lawyers at Karp & Iancu, S.C. can help.
What is Alimony in Brookfield, Wisconsin?
Alimony is a term used to describe payments made from one spouse to the other spouse during or after a divorce case. Under Wisconsin law, alimony is known as “maintenance” or support. In order for a Brookfield court to award alimony or maintenance, the spouse who wants to be paid will need to seek maintenance, and the court will need to consider a wide variety of factors in determining whether maintenance is appropriate under the circumstances.
When courts award alimony or maintenance, they award these payments so that the recipient spouse has the ability to be financially stable following the divorce and to ensure that the circumstances are fair. There are several different forms of alimony that a court can award, and they can be paid in different manners.
Types of Brookfield Alimony
Spousal maintenance can take several different forms in Wisconsin, including the following:
- Temporary or limited-term maintenance, which may also be known as rehabilitative alimony: This type of support payment is designed to provide the recipient spouse with financial support to be able to get any education, training, licensure, or certification necessary in order to support themselves without assistance from the paying spouse;
- Compensatory maintenance, which is a type of alimony that can be paid to the recipient spouse to compensate them for contributions to the paying spouse’s professional or educational development;
- Indefinite maintenance, which lasts for an extended period of time (and may be permanent), and is usually awarded after long-term marriages and may heavily consider the standard of living established during the marriage.
Alimony or maintenance payments can be in the form of lump-sum payments that are paid in one or a couple of lump sums, or in the form of periodic payments that are typically paid on a monthly basis.
Determining Whether Alimony Should Be Awarded in a Brookfield Divorce
When courts in Wisconsin decide whether alimony should be awarded, they consider a range of factors outlined under state law, such as the length of the marriage, the ages and health of both spouses, each spouse’s educational level, each spouse’s earning capacity, how the recipient spouse contributed to the education or professional development of the other spouse during the marriage, and other relevant factors.
There is no single factor that will determine whether alimony is awarded in a particular case. Rather, the court will make the decision about alimony on a case-by-case basis, considering various factors in relation to the circumstances of the spouses.
How to Calculate Alimony in Brookfield
Wisconsin courts do not use a formula to calculate alimony in the same way that a formula is used to calculate child support in the state. While some states do have a set formula for calculating the amount and duration of alimony, courts in and around Brookfield will consider a range of factors, which may include those listed above, for determining what amount of maintenance is appropriate in a given case.
Duration of a Brookfield Alimony Award
Alimony awards can last for anywhere from months to a lifetime. For temporary or rehabilitative maintenance, the payments may last for a few months or a few years, while indefinite maintenance payments can last for the rest of a spouse’s lifetime. Under Wisconsin law, maintenance always terminates upon the death of the payer or payee spouse if it has not already terminated for other reasons.