Alimony Lawyer serving Concord, NH

We can help one partner get back on their feet. You may either be very pleased to hear that alimony is alive and well in New Hampshire, or you may be very upset to hear that it can be ordered by the courts in this state. An essential part of your initial consultation with a qualified family lawyer must include a frank and open discussion about whether the facts of your particular case support a claim for alimony. If it does, we then have to determine whether the alimony will be temporary, short-term, longer-term, or phased out over time as the recipient of the alimony is able to get on their feet financially.

In determining whether to order any form of alimony, a court will consider a number of factors such as:

● the length of the marriage

● the financial need of the receiving spouse

● the financial ability to pay of the paying spouse

● the education of both spouses

● the employment opportunities and future employment potential of both spouses

● the age and health of both spouses

● the fault (if any) which led to the divorce

● and other things

As you can see, alimony has no cut and dry answer. There are many factors a judge must consider when deciding which spouse should receive alimony payments. This is why it's important to speak with an alimony lawyer to be able to present the best case you can as to why you should or should not have to pay your former spouse.

When is alimony justified? When should it have limits?

Let our family lawyer help eliminate any confusion.

While alimony is intended to be rehabilitative, to be paid for a period of time to allow a spouse to become self-sufficient, it can go on for years. A wiser approach to alimony may be to ask the Court to phase it out over time as the receiving spouse gets back into the workforce. Under this approach, alimony could start at a certain level and then decrease regularly and gradually over time as the recipient obtains better work and better pay. Note, however, that if the receiving spouse has been a homemaker for the entirety of the marriage, and he/she is older, then the Court may determine that a phase-out approach is not fair because the receiving spouse will never be able to support him or herself without assistance from the other spouse.