What do you need to know about maintenance prior to a divorce in Louisville? If you are considering a divorce you are probably wondering about the issue of maintenance, when it is awarded, how much it’s going to be and how long it will last.
While these are all important questions the reality is maintenance is not a precise mathematical calculation. Kentucky Family Law provides a large number of factors for a Judge to consider as they approach this issue and the issue of what the Judge finds as “equitable” in your case. A few of these factors include issues such as the length of the marriage, the health and age of the parties, income or earning potential disparity between the former spouses, the need for support, the ability to pay support and the lifestyle enjoyed by the parties during the course of the marriage. There are too many factors and the issues are too complex to address here. The Judge has wide discretion to determine an equitable duration and amount for maintenance.
That being said, one of the first things you need to know about maintenance prior to a divorce in Louisville is it is generally based upon the need of one spouse and the ability of the other to provide. Maintenance is generally designed to somewhat level the playing field during the process of the divorce and then provide a lesser-earning spouse with the opportunity to become self-sustaining after the divorce is completed.
There are two types of maintenance orders: temporary and permanent. Temporary maintenance orders are issued toward the outset of the divorce process to provide financial resources to a spouse who needs them. It is not unusual for temporary maintenance to be higher than permanent maintenance. Permanent maintenance is not “forever.” The word “permanent” in this context basically means “from the issuance of a final divorce decree to the end of the ordered maintenance.”
Another thing you need to know about maintenance prior to a divorce in Louisville is it is likely to end. Very few maintenance orders now last until remarriage or death. This is only the case in extremely long marriages with specific sets of circumstances. In most cases the Judge provides a specific period of time for the recipient of maintenance to adjust to post-divorce life and become self-sufficient. Each case is different and this is why you need the proven counsel of the experienced divorce and family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd.
We invite you to protect your own interests and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment for a remote or socially distanced consultation with one of our experienced Divorce and family law attorneys.
