Who Pays Alimony in Divorce?

Every time you hear the word ‘alimony,’ you are probably thinking of a man writing out all of his monthly salaries off to his vengeful ex-wife. It is normally taken to be that way in popular culture. Movies and TV shows often use this as a device for easy comedy. The loser husband going broke every month while the woman in question has an easy life spending all that money. It works as a plot device, but in real life, this is not the case. In fact, in a lot of ways, it can be quite misleading. If you think that alimony is something the man pays his ex-wife by default, you may be wrong.

The standard of living (of the marriage) 

One of the key things that are used to measure what a marriage is worth and how alimony is calculated is the standard of living, in this case, of the marriage. It is also the key to finding out if there will be any alimony at all. Standard of living is an economics concept, and it is used to find out whether the couple would be able to live by themselves, in the same or similar economic standing as they were able to when they got married, after divorce. The law is simple so far. If one person makes all the income and the other is a stay-at-home spouse, then the person who is employed will have to share a part of their income with the non-earning member. If there is no sharing, the earning member will end up with a lot more disposable income than that of the non-earning member whose standard of living will drop drastically. The concept of alimony is designed to protect the standing of the non-earning member.

The courts decide what the alimony amount will be and for how long it will have to be paid. In many cases, it will extend until a specified period, within which the recipient can find their own employment and sustenance.

It is important to remember that apart from extraordinary cases where one member has a sudden spike in income, it is almost impossible to return to the same standard of living levels that the couple enjoyed as a family. That is simply because it is costlier to run two households than it is to run one. The concept of alimony is simply there to make this downgrade as soft as possible.

Getting divorced in California can be complicated.  Download our free eBook, 18 Important Things to Know About California Divorce to educate yourself on the process.   

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law attorney and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.