No one ever enjoys the topic of divorce. It is often contentious and emotional and can be a very complex and protracted event. There is often a lot of negotiation done by attorneys and by those divorcing, and one of the most common issues to emerge is that of alimony, support and maintenance. These sound like different things, but amount to monies paid to one spouse by another as part of a divorce agreement, and maintenance attorneys are often essential to making such arrangements and upholding them.
The Differences
Alimony is the most familiar word used when talking about divorce, and it is money paid during and after the process. Who pays it and who receives it depends on the arrangements made between the divorcing or divorced couple, but it is usually paid by the person who earned the most when the pair were married and not separated. It can also be called maintenance, and as one expert said, it is “awarded by a court order to maintain the standard of living that both spouses became used to during the marriage,” which is how it came by the moniker of “maintenance” instead of alimony.
The Varieties
Maintenance can be permanent, and sent to the recipient until the death of their former spouse, or until they become married again. In some settlements, alimony can even continue if the recipient remarries. Permanent maintenance is also common in cases of the recipient has been disabled before marriage, and will continue even if they remarry. Lump sums can also be negotiated, but there are tax issues to consider. There is also temporary maintenance that is paid for a fixed amount of time and usually granted to allow one spouse to build financial stability. There is also a form of rehabilitative maintenance that pays one partner’s job training or college costs. This is common when one has stayed at home while the other has been in the workforce throughout the marriage.
There are many roles for maintenance attorneys in Arlington Heights, and the work they will do is going to vary on the kind of support sought by one partner from another. At the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov, P.C., you will find experts in this area of divorce and family law, and whether you need temporary or permanent maintenance, they can help.
