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Alimony is financial support paid by, or to, your spouse. You can get alimony with or without a divorce.1 Alimony can be paid all at once, or in installments, depending on what the judge thinks is fair.2
Judges may consider many different factors when determining whether to order alimony and how much alimony to order. The amount of alimony is generally up to the judge, and, unlike many other states, the judge does not rely on a set formula or list of factors.2 The judge has “wide discretion,” which means s/he has a lot of room to decide whether to give alimony and how much alimony to give.3
Some common factors a judge may consider are:
- whether you have shown that you need alimony to help financially adjust after the marriage ends;
- what status or “station” in life you’ve had so far;
- how much you and your spouse are each able to earn;
- your and your spouse’s physical and financial conditions;
- the way you and your spouse lived while married (“standard of living”); and
- evidence of your ability to make money on your own and the time it will take for you to become able to make money on your own.4
1 OK ST T. 43 § 129
2 OK ST T. 43 § 121(B)
3 McLaughlin v. McLaughlin, 979 P.2d 257, 260 (Okla. 1999)
4 Fisher v. Fisher, 171 P.3d 917, 922 (Okla. App. Div. 3 2007)
