Alimony

Many forms of alimony exist and the court will be interested in looking at not only the needs of the spouse requesting alimony, but also the ability of the other spouse to pay that amount. The court may grant alimony to either party, which may be bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational or permanent in nature or a combination of these forms of alimony depending on a number of factors.

An alimony award is additional to any child support that may also be awarded; however, the court will also consider the child support amount when determining the alimony payment.

The court may require that support payments be a lump sum, periodic payments, or both.