Divorce Alimony in Hawaii

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The court has full authority to grant alimony for either a limited or unlimited duration. Usually, the court demands evidence regarding the duration that is essential for the spouse seeking alimony to attain sufficient education, skills or training to become eligible for satisfactory employment.

Factors considered in Divorce Hawaii Alimony

Some of the factors considered by the court prior to taking a decision regarding alimony are as follows.

• Probable number of months or years for which the party is in need of maintenance and support
• The capacity of the spouse, from whom alimony is demanded, to fulfill own requirements as well as those of the spouse requesting support
• Responsibilities of child support and custody that both parties have
• The requirements of both partners
• Vocational skills and employability of the partner who is requesting alimony
• During the marriage, what was the usual occupation of both the spouses?
• Emotional and physical condition of both the partners
• Age of the spouses
• Standard of living experienced in marital life
• The period of marital life
• Whether the spouse, who requests alimony, is capable of fulfilling own requirements independently?
• The financial resources of both the partners

Types of Divorce Hawaii Alimony

Before the divorce decree is granted, spousal support is generally awarded with an intention of maintaining the status quo of both the spouses. If both the spouses have jobs with comparable earnings or are dual military, then none of the partners should expect spousal support.

Post divorce, one of the following 3 types of alimony may be awarded.

• Permanent alimony is given to a spouse who is elderly or disabled or due to some circumstances unexpected or unable to do a job
• Rehabilitative alimony is offered to a spouse who has a particular plan to enroll in school to acquire skills that would enable him/her to rejoin work
• Transitional alimony is awarded to help a divorced partner on a temporary basis, if the divorce has resulted in financial hardship

When the divorce proceedings begin, either spouse can request for pendente lite or interim support that should be paid till the lawsuit is in progress.

After dissolution of marriage, either partner can make a request that post-marital alimony may be awarded. In this state, alimony is not an absolute right but the judge may grant it for some duration and amount, depending on the conditions.

While the litigation is in progress, if one party is already being offered spousal support, then this party may request to continue this order after divorce also. It must be noted that the arguments for obtaining alimony during the lawsuit and post divorce may be different. So, the court might issue a different order than the order that is related to alimony payment during the litigation.

The alimony payment order can be modified in the future on the basis of change in conditions of either party. The party that claims change in circumstances should submit a proper application to the court and a notice to his/her ex-spouse.

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