Yes, if the other spouse is earning substantially more than that amount or other factors justify such an award. Here in Waldorf, MD, and other parts of Southern Maryland, divorce courts use awards of alimony to create some sort of equity — or “economic justice” — between the spouses in their post-divorce lives. One of the many factors that Maryland divorce court use in evaluating awards of alimony is the standard of living that the couple enjoyed during their marriage. If one spouse is earning $115,000 a year and the other is earning, say, $1 million a year, the couple has a standard of living commensurate with earning $1.15 million a year. However, post-divorce, without alimony, one spouse would be “down” to living on $115,000 a year while the other would still earn $1 million. The lower-earning spouse cannot hope to live a “million-dollar lifestyle” on $115,000. Thus, to create some equity between the spouses, a Maryland divorce court is very likely to award alimony to the lower-earning spouse.

You might ask: how much? In one reported Maryland divorce case, the court awarded $132,000 in annual alimony to a wife making $115,000. In that case, the husband was a lawyer making over $1 million. The alimony awarded to the wife raised her income to about $250,000, while the husband’s dropped to about $870,000 or so. On appeal, this was affirmed as a proper award of alimony.

Creating some sort of “income equity” between the spouses is not the only factor that is evaluated by Maryland divorce courts when awarding alimony. Another factor involves investigating the circumstances that led to the divorce. In the case being used as an example, the husband had engaged in an extra-marital affair which led the wife to seek a divorce. The adultery was also a factor cited by the Maryland divorce court in awarding $132,000 a year in alimony. On appeal, the husband argued that he was being punished for having an affair. But, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals rejected the argument. By statute, Maryland divorce courts are specifically allowed to consider adultery and other facts that led to “the estrangement of the parties” in resolving Maryland divorce cases. Thus, there was no error in the Maryland divorce court’s use of adultery as a factor in making the award of alimony, particularly since the husband’s adultery was only one factor considered when the alimony award was made. Other factors include:

• The ability of the parties seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting
• The time necessary for the spouse seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment
• The duration of the marriage
• The contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family
• The spouses ages and physical and mental conditions
• The ability of the paying spouse to afford paying alimony
• Any agreement between the spouses
• The financial needs and resources of each party
• Whether the award would cause a paying spouse or a spouse who is a resident of a care facility to become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.