Does Your Spouse Qualify for Spousal Support in Indiana?

In many divorces, one spouse will ask the court to award him or her financial support from the other spouse. This can take the form of alimony payments, or in Indiana, spousal maintenance payments. While there are some general rules that are followed in every divorce case, each case is different and has its own unique circumstances that can make it more or less likely that the court will order spousal maintenance to be paid by one spouse to another.

Rehabilitative Maintenance

One of the situations where maintenance can be ordered is when a spouse is unable to support himself or herself due to lack of education or training. This is known as rehabilitative maintenance and is common where one spouse worked and the other stayed at home, or if there is a large disparity in income between the spouses. This is the most common type of spousal maintenance awarded.

In awarding this type of maintenance, the court considers the levels of education of the parties at the time of the marriage, whether one party provided homemaking and/or childcare responsibilities, the difference in income earning abilities of the parties, and the time necessary for the spouse to find appropriate employment.

This type of maintenance can be awarded for up to three years, but a court can also award it for a lesser time period. Ultimately the court considers the time period it would take for the spouse to find appropriate employment.

Physical or Mental Incapacitation

One of the situations where maintenance can be ordered is when a spouse has been out of work due to an illness or injury, even if it is temporary. With this kind of support, the court can award support for as long as the incapacity exists which can be long term or short term.

Agreement

Outside of the above two situations, parties are also able to agree to spousal support as a part of a larger divorce agreement. Here the agreement between the parties is what determines the amount and duration of spousal support.

Calculating Spousal Support

Unlike child support, there is no specific way that spousal support is calculated and judges have broad discretion when calculating an appropriate amount of support. Ultimately the support amount is designed to allow both spouses to have similar lifestyles after the divorce.

If you are looking for help with spousal support, you should call to schedule a consultation to see how these laws apply to your case.