Divorce Alimony in Louisiana

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Issues contemplated by the court prior to granting Divorce Louisiana Alimony

The court takes the decisions regarding which spouse is eligible for alimony, what amount must be paid and for what period it must be paid. The various issues considered by the court are as follows.

• The amount that is awarded as spousal support should not exceed one third of the net income of the payer
• The period of marital life
• The age and health of both the spouses
• The spouse seeking maintenance would need how many months or years to attain appropriate education, training and employment
• What is the impact of custody of children on the earning potential of the custodian?
• The present earning capacity of both partners
• Do the parties have any financial obligations? If yes, details regarding the same
• The requirements of both parties
• Liquidity of any means of income of both spouses

Types of Divorce Louisiana Alimony

Temporary Support

• This money is given to that spouse who lacks adequate money for own maintenance while the divorce case is pending
• The most crucial factor from the perspective of the court is the standard of living that was experienced by the spouses in marital life
• This support is also called "Alimony Pending Litigation" or "Alimony Pendente Lite"

• This is also known as "Post Divorce Spousal Support"
• This may be granted to an ex spouse after it is concluded that this spouse is free of the 'fault' that led to the dissolution of the marriage
• The spouse must not have adequate means to support self
• If the paying spouse is at fault that has caused the divorce, this does not affect the decision of the court regarding alimony
• This state has not define hard, statutory rules that identify 'faults' for the purposes of alimony. The court takes some guidance from the civil code and some precedents of the previous cases to determine 'fault'. The Louisiana Civil Code Article 103 comprises of some of the factors that comprise of 'fault'
• It is mandatory that the spouse requesting support must furnish evidence that he/she is free of 'fault'
• If the spouse seeking alimony is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed and hence lacks sufficient means for self dependency, the court might assign income to this spouse that is above his/her actual income

Termination of Louisiana Alimony

• Temporary Support may be stopped after the dissolution of the marriage takes place
• Permanent Alimony may be closed down, when the recipient
  • Dies
  • Remarries
  • Resides with another person openly as if both were married
  • Is no longer needy

In this state, alimony payments can be altered when there is a material modification in the circumstances. Such a modification may be of either party i.e. the need of the recipient or the paying capacity of the payer. For instance, let us assume that the recipient completes school education and becomes capable of earning money.

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