Alimony

Question: How does someone get paid back alimony from a spouse living out of state? No, it isn't me. I am just doing research. Also, how reliable are the courts in enforcing alimony? Are they as zealous as they are for child support?

Answer: There is some variation between the procedure in various states, but you have to "domesticate" (file) the judgment in the state where the ex lives. In our state, you just get the judgment certified from the home court and file it in the other states. Some states require a new pleading with the "foreign" (your state's) judgment attached. However it is done, it's quite easy. Are the states as zealous in enforcing alimony as child support? Yes, but there is no alimony support enforcement agency like there is for child support. That's not necessarily bad, since the child support enforcement agencies are overburdened and slow. SO--bottom line--if your ex has assets, hire a lawyer in the other state and enforce it through garnishment etc. You can recover your attorney fees and the alimony is not subject to bankruptcy. It's so much easier to just hire an attorney from the state where your ex lives than to do it yourself. EDIT: You could not do this is "small claims court" in my state. First-the amount is probably not small and second-small claims courts have no jurisdiction over family law matters in my state.

Question: When should one start paying his wife alimony and how much it should be in Singapore society? Any criteria to determine the amount of alimony?

Answer: First, your question is lacking in enough details, even if this was the right category for it. Try re-phrasing your question to include some who, what, where, how, and why and post it in the Travel>Asia Pacific>Singapore category. You may find Singaporean nationals there who know the divorce laws in their country. Good luck and hope this helped.

Question: How long before Alimony is made illegal? In the news, it's been reported that men are now marrying up, not only due to the downturn in the economy, but also because the earning capacity has remain flat for a decade. If this continues, there will be a growing number of men asking for alimony and palimony in the future. If this becomes common, will not women's groups start lobbying Congress to eliminate spousal support all together?

Answer: It is my firm belief that spousal support should be eliminated - unless there is a provable case of adultery or abuse. I believe that if a spouse no longer wants to be in the marriage then they should not be entitled to the benefits of marriage. The spouse being left should not be entitled to benefits either because if they had been a good spouse the other person wouldn't want to leave. Again - unless adultery or abuse can be proven. Also - I believe strongly in prenups. This way all involved knows ahead of time what there is to lose in case the marriage ends. I believe if prenups were mandatory there would be less marriages and less marriages ending in divorce. If you would like to read more of my opinion on this follow the link below. I have written an article on the matter which was rated number 1 on helium.com and is also posted on the link below.

Question: If a judge has not signed my divorce papers do i need to pay alimony? I filed for divorce and my spouse and I settled on an alimony amount. I have paid her 2 months of said alimony but come to find out the lawyer has not even filed the divorce papers with a judge. Do i need to continue paying alimony while i wait for the judge to sign it, or can I wait till it is official?

Answer: You can keep going as you are or tell your soon to be ex wife that you would prefer to wait for the judges ruling. Keep in mind that if you and your wife have already agreed on an amount, and if you defer from that it could go either way in court. Talk to your lawyer as he is the best to advise you on this. Just try and be fair, and if you suspect that your wife isn't then get the gloves on.

Question: How long do you have to be married in the state of Florida to collect alimony? How long do you have to be married in the state of Florida to collect alimony? Yes, I know I have to be divorced! I mean - how long do you have to be married prior to divorce in order to collect alimony?

Answer: Ahhhh. You have to be divorced to get alimony.

Question: Can my ex come after me for alimony after the fact? We live in Mass. We were divorced in 2008. She got custody of the kids and I pay $300 a week in child support. Our oldest daughter wants to come live with me and that means my ex would get less child support. Needless to say she is not happy about this and is threatening to come after me for alimony. She feels that since I will pay less support I can afford alimony. She doesn't realize I would need that money to support my daughter. Can she do this?

Answer: She can try - You can always petition to open the decrees, but alimony is something you have to agree to - it's not like child support. I doubt you'd ever agree to it, would you?

Question: What is the duration of marriage in order to get alimony? In Virginia, if you are disabled and already getting disability from the government. you get married, then divorce. What is the duration time of that marriage in order to receive alimony? For life? For 1/2 the duration of the marriage?

Answer: I'm sorry, I don't know the laws of Virginia...however, having gone through the very painful divorce process myself, I'd encourage you to consider what is morally right and not what some legal precedent permits. To understand alimony, you need to look back to the late 1800's/early 1900's. At that time, you could have a man with a wife and 6 kids find another woman and run off and leave the family. The woman had little opportunity to work (even many school teachers were required to be single)...hence, often left the families destitute.... Eventually, the legal system caught up and said that this was unfair and that he should pay alimony.... over time, this was "bastardized" to the point that if Tiger Woods' wife did all that he supposedly did, and if she had didn't have a prenup, she would still get alimony in most states (if it was a long enough marriage)... Note that even in Tiger's case, that they had a prenup...yet the legalized extortion is starting for her to ask for far more. The interesting thing is that if you look at your situation...what's the most money that, if you were single for your life, you would have made? Now, for a few years of marriage, you are now looking to reap much more than that... why? what does the marriage have to do with it? Presumably, you both enjoyed the friendship and closeness. Just because he worked hard to be successful, went to school, invested his skills and became more successful, you are, effectively, claiming that his success is due to you and your marriage - at least in part. Do you really think this? It might be true if you helped him build his business (you were the marketer for the business)... however, it doesn't sound that way... and just because you like your new lifestyle, doesn't mean that you really deserve it going forward when you are about to destroy him emotionally. It's the concept of unjust enrichment...unfortunately, the legal system is a tad based on legalized extortion... the cost of defending yourself is so high that eventually you capitulate or go bankupt on legal fees. You sound like you started off life with many challenges.... you now sound like you want to instill/penalize another person (who loved you and you loved him - at least for some time) for the rest of your life not because you're deserving - but because of a legal sysem that was put in place to take care of gross inequity is now abused. I encourage you to ask yourself as to where would you be now if you hadn't gotten married? If you started with nothing, and you could only early minimum wage and receive disability payments, then you'd still have nothing... Thank your God for having had the opportunity to see a different side and that you have learned that you enjoyed the nicer things in life, but didn't like the person you had to be with to get them... Remember, you will face your God some day... do you want Him or Her to give you what you truly deserve? What would He or She want you to do?.

Question: When refinancing, can I use alimony/child support as my only income and how long do I have to show it? I need to refinance my house, but my only source of income is alimony and child support. I checked the IRS site and that is considered income, but I've only been receiving it since January, 2009. How long and how do I have to show this income in order to refinance?

Answer: You would need it to be a steady 2 years. You would need to prove that that person actually is sending it to you. I highly doubt they are going to take your word and the divorce or legal decree stating this person owes you so much per month, as a lot of exes do not pay, or pay regularly. So you would need proof for a period of 2 years that they have been paying. I would think if it started in Jan 09 that isn't enough of a track record to know if this person is going to default on you.

Question: Can I get my alimony payment lowered now that I've retired and just collecting Social Security? I'm paying $800.00 a month in alimony, but now that I'm retired and collecting $1400.00 a month in Social Security (my only income), can I legally get my alimony payment lowered?

Answer: I would think so. Child Support and Alimony are subject to your gross income. if you have a shift in your income it's your responsibility to make the courts aware of this so they can adjust the payments properly.

Question: How long do you have to be married before you may receive alimony? How long do you have to be married before you may receive alimony in the state Florida?

Answer: When I divorced in Maryland, it was 10 years. You really need to check with the city/county you were married in, since laws vary from State to State.

Question: How can I get out of paying my ex wife alimony? Every month, I have to pay my ex wife Ardyth alimony. I also have to pay her $100 for every time I talk to her. However, I'm the victim here. Ardyth always insults and maces me; she treats me like dirt, and I try to be nice to her. How can I stop paying her alimony?

Answer: This has happened to me before and I would like to help you out. If you have any kids you should take custody of them to guarantee that she will have to PAY YOU alimony. If you don't have kids you need to move very far away or even out of the country. Or you could even get a restraining order on her for verbal abuse.

Question: How much money should I get for alimony and child support? hi.... I been married more than 12 years my husband wants a divorce, I never work I been a housewife all these years I have 2 kids, his gross income is over 38000 a year I want to know the laws in texas on child support and alimony if the payments are fixed or they fluctuate according to his paycheck. thank you for your help.

Answer: I don't know for sure but I seriously doubt that you'll get alimony. Most states don't give that anymore. My brother-in-law pays $600 per month per kid for child support in Texas. He does not pay alimony.

Question: What is the maximum number of W-4 allowances I can take if I am single and am paying alimony? My taxable income is approx 91,000 and I am able to claim my child as an allowance.My alimony is approx 30,000. I will be using the standard deduction (5,350).

Answer: You can take as many as you want, but I have attached a paycheck calculator website to give you exact figures to use

Question: How long do you have to be married in Pennsylvania to qualify for alimony? I heard it was 7 years. is this true? Or can you collect alimony no matter how long you were married?

Answer: 10 yrs

Question: Can child support and/or alimony be taken from my Social Security Disability in PA? I am in the middle of a separation from my wife and am currently receiving social security disability as my only source of income. I am worried that if she tries to get me for child support or alimony I won't have anything left to live on. Can she do this? Since we have a child together, would I be able to get alimony from her if we have joint custody?

Answer: Child support would be set to the amount of the children's benefit check you have already been receiving, and is not deducted from your check. They should not order alimony. Why not get primary, Joint Physical, or Bird Nest Custody? http://tinyurl.com/DadsHouseGroup http://tinyurl.com/Custody-Can-A-Father-… http://tinyurl.com/JointPhysicalCustody2 http://tinyurl.com/BirdNestCustody2 http://tinyurl.com/DailyJournalFamilyLaw… http://tinyurl.com/ChronologicalStatemen… http://tinyurl.com/AttorneyInterviews Make sure the kids are actually yours. http://tinyurl.com/paternity-challenge \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Question: What happen if a man refused to pay alimony? What happen if a man refused to pay alimony? He does not owe any child support.

Answer: Lets get this party started: Just a small town girl Livin' in a lonely world.. she took a midnight train going N E where. . Rock on.... Okay I cheated I just hit copy and paste so here you go I will rock on with your song. Ohhh I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel heat with somebody, Yeah I wanna dance with somebody, Somebody who loves me. HA HA MOON I BEAT YOU!!! ROFL!!

Question: Why should a man have to pay a woman alimony? I know I'm gonna get hate replies but it just doesn't make sense. For example, if there are no kids involved, and neither party wants anything to do with each other, then why does the guy have to keep supporting the ex-wife. Cant she get a job and get on with life? I must point out that I'm in Australia where alimony really doesn't seem to apply.

Answer: Alimony is b.s. women are equal to men. i agree with you, she should get a job. this isn't an era where women have little chance for careers and self sufficiency. child support- yes. alimony- NO!

Question: Is there a statute of limitations for collecting back alimony payments in Ohio? Just curious. Does anyone know if there are any statute of limitations for collecting alimony that is in arrears? Particularly in Ohio, where I am living. No, I'm not collecting it, nor have I ever. The subject came up at work today and I'd like to be the "brilliant one" in the morning with the answer.

Answer: Generally so long as one does not remarry, there is no statute of limitations on arrears for alimony payments.

Question: Are there public records of the amount of court ordered alimony? I have found public records on the court website that states how much child support my ex is supposed to pay. Do the same kind of public records exist for alimony? If so, where can I find it? I tried searching the court website but could not find it. Thanks.

Answer: try to hire a lawyer mine? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;…

Question: Am I entitled to half of the marital assets and alimony when I divorce? I have a full time job and make not bad money. But my soon to be ex makes about double than I do. Am I entitled to half of the marital assets and alimony when I divorce? We have been married six years.

Answer: Yes, you can get half of the assets that he has.