Alimony will be ordered in some divorce cases, and the length can vary from one divorce to the next. Rhode Island allows for indefinite alimony in some cases, or there may be a strict deadline, such as alimony payments for the next five years.
It is the court that determines how much alimony should be paid and how long those payments will last. To understand what the court is looking for and what they are likely to rule, consider the end goal of alimony itself: Limiting unfair economic effects from a divorce.
What would be an unfair impact?
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the impact of divorce has to be exactly equal for both people. But it does mean that the court tries not to create a scenario where one person would be destitute or would face financial hardships just because of the divorce.
For example, say that two people met and got married. One spouse was a high-earner with a salary of over $1 million a year. The other spouse decided to drop out of the workforce entirely, knowing that their income wasn’t needed. Instead, they focused on taking care of the home and raising the children.
If this couple gets divorced after 20 years of marriage, there could be a clear financial hardship for the spouse who hasn’t worked in the last two decades. They may not be able to re-enter the workforce at all. It certainly wouldn’t be easy for them. And they only made the decision to leave their career because they thought they would be financially supported during the marriage. A divorce could therefore be financially unfair to them, so alimony payments can help to even things out by giving them ongoing financial support.
As noted above, every divorce case is unique. Those who are going through this process must carefully consider all of their options.
