Divorce

Alimony (also called spousal support or maintenance) is financial support paid by one spouse to the other. A judge in Hawaii may order alimony for a fixed period of time, or it can continue until the judge makes another order that ends the payments. If a judge orders alimony for a fixed period of time, the judge must consider how long it will take the spouse getting alimony to get the education and training necessary to support himself/herself.¹

A judge in Hawaii must consider two sets of factors in order to determine if you should get alimony. First, the judge must consider your and your spouse’s:

• arguments during court hearings;
• ability to pay alimony;
• separate finances after the divorce;
• obligation to care for any children;²
• money or property that was hidden or not disclosed to the judge; and
• history of violating any restraining orders against the other person.¹

Second, when you ask for alimony, the judge must also consider the following additional factors. . The judge will consider your spouse’s ability to meet his/her own needs while paying alimony. Additionally, the judge must consider your and your spouse’s:

• financial resources;
• marriage length;
• “standard of living” while married. This is the way you and your spouse lived while married, considering things like what your expenses were and what kind of house you lived in;
• age;
• physical and emotional conditions;
• jobs during the marriage;
• needs;
• current and future custody and child support responsibilities; and
• financial situation after a case for alimony.¹

If you are the party asking for alimony, the judge will also consider your:

• ability to meet your own needs independently;
• skills and employment opportunities; and
• how long you may need alimony.¹

¹ Haw. Stat. § 580-47(a)
²Lewis v. Lewis, 728 P.2d 1362 (Haw 1988)