Minneapolis Alimony Lawyer for Men

Helping Clients Navigate the Spousal Support Issue

Divorce can be expensive, but it gets costlier when you’re ordered to pay alimony to your former spouse. So, if you’re worried about this expense, it’s understandable. Hiring a skilled Minneapolis alimony lawyer for men will ensure you know what to expect if you’re ordered to send payments to your ex-wife.

You deserve peace of mind when you think about your legal case, and that’s what The Legal Dad is proud to offer. Our experienced attorney is happy to answer your legal questions, assist with calculating alimony, and work hard to minimize what you might owe. Call our Minneapolis law firm to discuss your alimony case today.

Who Gets Alimony After Divorce?

Alimony, which is also called spousal maintenance, is money that the court orders a husband or wife to send their former spouse every month. The point is to make sure that one spouse is not struggling to pay their bills after divorce while the other spouse is financially fine.

Of course, this isn’t a common issue when both people earn about the same amount of money. So, if your wife’s income is similar to yours, you might not have to worry about alimony.

However, if your wife stayed home with the children while you worked and brought in all or most of the income, she might request spousal maintenance so she can pay the bills after the divorce.

Note that men and women share the equal right to request alimony, so if you make significantly less money than your wife, she might be ordered to pay you alimony. Before ordering spousal maintenance, the judge will confirm two details. One is that the person requesting payments does not make enough income to support themselves. The other is that they don’t own enough property to meet the standard of living they enjoyed during the marriage.

In short, if the judge sees that one spouse will be much worse off financially than the other after divorce, they will likely order alimony. Your lawyer can review your finances and let you know if you’ll likely be ordered to pay alimony, or if you should request it from your ex-wife during your Minnesota divorce case.

How Is Alimony Calculated?

Once you realize you might have to pay alimony, you’ll likely wonder how much you’ll pay every month. The answer is that it’s complicated since judges look at several factors rather than plugging numbers into a calculator.

Some details a Minnesota judge will consider during the alimony calculation process include:

• How long the marriage lasted
• How old each spouse is
• The level of education and job training each spouse attained
• Each person’s income and earning capacity
• The standard of living the couple had while married
• The value of the assets each spouse got when dividing marital property
• The health of the spouse seeking alimony
• Each person’s living expenses
• The financial needs of the person requesting alimony
• The other spouse’s ability to pay
• Any contributions one spouse made to the other’s financial success while married

In general, if the marriage was short and your ex-wife has the job skills to eventually support herself financially, your alimony payments may be on the lower end of average. However, if your marriage lasted decades and your wife stayed home with the children, her earning capacity may be low after spending years out of the job market. If the judge determines that she’s unlikely to find a job that will provide the same standard of living she had while married, your alimony payments might be costly.

Your lawyer can give you an idea of what kind of spousal support payments you’ll be ordered to make. They can also argue in your favor to try to reduce the payments or help you pursue alimony from your ex-wife if her income is higher than yours. Contact The Legal Dad to learn more.

What Are the Main Types of Alimony in Minnesota?

You might hear the judge in your case discuss different types of spousal maintenance. The most common one is temporary maintenance. This ensures the spouse who earns less money has enough funds to pay their bills during the divorce process.

For example, you might be ordered to pay temporary maintenance until you and your spouse can sell major assets, like your house or vacation properties, and divide the money. On the other hand, you might be ordered to pay alimony while your former spouse gets the necessary education or job training to start working. This type of temporary spousal support is called rehabilitative alimony since it ends once your ex-spouse can support herself financially.

There is also permanent alimony, which doesn’t have an end date like temporary alimony does. It typically only ends when the person receiving payments remarries or passes away. Permanent alimony is usually only ordered if the marriage lasted over 20 years and one spouse is unlikely to ever reach the earning capacity of the spouse with the higher income. Your spousal support lawyer will tell you which type of alimony you’re likely to pay.

What Will a Minneapolis Alimony Lawyer for Men Do for You?

Divorce can be emotionally difficult, especially when your former spouse tries to use your children and hard-earned money to hurt you during and after your case. You deserve to know someone understands your situation and is on your side, and that’s what you’ll get when you hire The Legal Dad for your case.

Our attorney has been through divorce and all the legal issues that come with it, including spousal maintenance and child custody. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to sit back and watch your ex-wife make unreasonable demands during the divorce process. Call our Minneapolis law office at 612-712-3405 to get the legal advice you need from a skilled spousal support attorney.