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Can I get alimony? What factors will a judge consider?
Alimony, also called spousal support or maintenance, is financial support paid by, or to, your spouse. Alimony can be awarded when an annulment, divorce, or separate maintenance order is granted. It will be up to the judge to decide:
- whether or not to award alimony; and
- how long alimony payments will last.1
To make this decision, the judge will consider all of the following things:
- the length of your marriage;
- the age and physical/emotional health of each spouse;
- the division of property that was ordered as part of the annulment, divorce, or separate maintenance;
- the education level of each spouse at the time you were married and at the time you filed for divorce;
- your earning capacity, if you are the spouse filing for alimony;
- whether you can become self-supporting after the divorce;
- whether you can achieve a similar standard of living as you had during your marriage and how long would it take for you to get there;
- the tax consequences for you and your spouse;
- any agreement between you and your spouse about getting “paid back” for a financial or service contribution that either spouse made to the marriage; (For example, let’s say you work to support your husband while he goes to college. You and your husband agree that once he graduates, he will work to support you while you go to college – but he files for divorce before you have the chance to go);
- any agreement you and your spouse made about financial issues before you got married, known as a “prenuptial” or “antenuptial” agreement; and
- any other factors that the judge thinks are relevant.1
Note: When evaluating your earning capacity, listed above in #5, the judge will consider the following things:
- your educational background, training, and job skills;
- your work experience and any amount of time you spent out of the job market;
- any child care responsibilities you may have; and
- the time and expense that it would take for you to get sufficient education or training to find a job.1
1 Iowa Code § 598.21A(1)
