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The term spousal support is an acronym
for alimony or maintenance that are more
widely used and publicized. It involves
transfer of money or assets from on
spouse to another in the event of a
divorce. Spousal support normally comes
into picture after the divorce is
finalized or endorsed by a court of law.
For a long time, “alimony” or
“maintenance” has been looked upon as a
series of payments from the male spouse
to the female upon divorce. With the
no-fault divorce evolving, the gender
has become disassociated with the term
giving rise to “spousal support”.
Who pays spousal support?
Legally and constitutionally, the gender
is not relevant and it is not that only
the husband can pay and the wife can
receive spousal support. As per the
ruling of the US supreme court, if the
payments to a wife are permitted, so are
the payments to a husband. Spousal
support has grown beyond the male domain
and has entered the era of equality of
sex.
However, since we still live in a male
dominated society, it is very common
that the husband works during the
marriage and the wife stayed home to
look after the family upkeep, children
and maintained the house, thus rendering
the husband as the main or sole
breadwinner in the family. Upon divorce,
therefore, the chances that the male is
in a position to pay spousal support to
the female are more.
Despite the customary assumptions, the
evolution of two-career marriages has
turned the picture towards a possibility
of a female paying spousal support to
the male, if he was paid lower or
remained home.
Requirements for getting spousal support:
The primary requirement of course is the
divorce or at least living apart.
Without a divorce or separation, an
order to pay or receive spousal support
is not possible. Other requirements are
base on contract and need. The
requirement of fault that existed
previously has been phased out. (Fault
could be adultery).
The need for spousal support:
Spousal support exists in the US and
many other countries to make sure that
one of the spouses does not suffer from
decrement in the standard of living
because of divorce. In the rigmarole of
a family upkeep, it is possible that a
spouse has been rendered out of date in
their training or has been unemployed
for a long period whereupon it is
difficult to come out of a divorce and
find means of earning immediately. In
the event that the spouse finds a
profession or job, it would certainly
take some time before he/she reaches a
professional standing and begins to earn
enough to support the standard of living
he/she enjoyed during the marriage.
Spousal support is meant to take care of
this lean phase in the life of the
effected spouse and give them an
opportunity to rebuild their life and
careers as per their needs and wishes.
Role of spousal support in a divorce:
The commonly misunderstanding that
spousal support is a part of every
divorce has long been cleared. The final
divorce decrees of hardly 10-15% of
divorces involve spousal support. All
divorces involving spousal support are
litigated and therefore have more
chances of being in the news especially
when it involves celebrities. For
example, the most relevant and current
case of Jessica Simpson vs. Nick Lackey.
Spousal support – Is it a payoff?
Not very long ago, alimony or spousal
support was looked upon as a way of
punishing the husband for leaving his
wife. But, with the recent advent and
growth of no-fault divorce, purpose of
punishment has been lost. The main role
of spousal support as explained above is
to enable either of the spouse to
maintain a certain standard of living
due to inability of gaining employment
that can suffice to maintain the
previous standard of living.
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