After years of supporting your wealthy spouse with their business or career, by taking care of the children, or by homemaking, by initially paying for their education or providing them the capital necessary to get started, or by doing all of the above and more, it probably seems unjust that your soon-to-be-ex-spouse wants to sever the marriage without so much as a fair alimony agreement.

The new tax law, which erases the ability to deduct alimony payments from taxes, may actually spur wealthy spouses to ask for a divorce very soon, as there are only a few months left before it goes into effect. Under the old and current law, the paying spouse could deduct their alimony payments from their taxes and those who sign alimony agreements before January 1st, 2019 will still be able to take advantage of this annual deduction in the years to come. Those who do not will be stuck with paying alimony without the tax write off. For spouses already considering divorce, this may be the last straw that breaks the marriage’s back. If your husband or wife has filed for divorce, you need to contact a San Jose alimony attorney immediately.

What Is Spousal Support and How Is It Determined?

Spouses, particularly well-off spouses, have an obligation to provide financial support, called spousal support or alimony, in a variety of situations. This money can be in addition to child support payments, which are used to provide for the child. Spousal support is used to benefit the lower-earning spouse with the following:

  • Education;
  • Vocational training;
  • Financial stability to span the gap during divorce, which usually takes many months; and/or
  • Finances to support the lifestyle they have become accustomed to.

When the court makes a decision about spousal support, many factors regarding the marriage are taken into account. These include the length of the marriage, contributions both monetary and non-monetary that each spouse made to the marriage, wealth and income of each spouse, and much more. As such, a wealthy husband or wife will generally have much more disposable income that can be allocated towards spousal support—financial support that may have only been made possible to “give” due to the sacrifices that the lower-earning spouse made during the earlier years of the relationship, such as giving up a career in order to care for the kids or home, or support the breadwinner in other ways.

Contact a Skilled Santa Clara Divorce Attorney Today

Wealthy couples may have higher divorce rates than the national average for a number of reasons, particularly if one spouse is much wealthier than the other. Whether you have a career of your own, you deserve spousal support for the contributions and sacrifices that you have made, and your wealthy spouse has no right to deny you. To make matters right, call skilled San Jose alimony attorney Gemma V. Reyes at 408-292-6289 today for a free 30-minute consultation.

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/being-rich-may-increase-your-odds-of-divorce.html