The financial aspect of a divorce proceeding can become very burdensome. Initially, there’s the emotional impact of separating from your spouse and getting a divorce, and if your divorce is not a simple one, you then have to consider the financial aspect of your case. The court looks at each party’s monthly expenses, income, assets, debts, and more to determine how much to award in alimony and what percentage of property each party is entitled to. See below for summaries of some actual Family Court cases.
S.C v D.C (Feb. 15, 2013)
The wife filed a motion for interim alimony. The parties were married on December 8, 1991 and separated on July 26, 2011. They had no children. The wife alleged she was disabled and unable to work due to Lyme disease and multiple sclerosis. She claimed her husband made $143,000 per year and was seeking $4,647.59 per month in interim alimony. However, the husband denied that his wife was disabled and stated that she had not tried to find a job. The husband also alleged that his wife had transferred $63,584.19 from joint marital accounts to her personal bank account. However, the husband did not provide evidence, such as bank records. On the other hand, the wife did provide medical documentation from her doctor relating to her illness. The wife’s monthly expenses were found to be $3,636.92 and the husband’s were $5,799.84. The wife had a shortfall of $3,637 and the husband had a surplus of $3,400. The wife was awarded interim alimony of $3,400.
DH v. HK (July 24, 2013)
The husband was obligated to pay his wife interim alimony of $668 per month. The husband filed a motion for modification of alimony on May 14, 2013. The husband alleged that he underwent shoulder surgery on April 18, 2013, and this forced him out of work and onto short-term disability for at least twelve weeks.
The court then set the parties’ incomes and expenses and ran two FinPlan calculations; one representing the husband’s full-time employment, and the other indicating his income while on short-term disability. The first calculation using his full-time income rendered the husband with a surplus of $985, while the wife had a monthly shortfall of $542. However, while on short-term disability, the husband now had a shortfall of $1168, while the wife had the same shortfall as the previous month. The husband’s shortfall was over two times greater than the wife’s while on disability, so the court ordered the husband to pay alimony of $683 a month, except while on short-term disability.
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Article provided by Tabatha Castro, The Castro Firm
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