Nothing makes me think trial, trial, trial than a stray request for Alimony. It really does add insult to injury in most cases, especially when you are talking about short marriages with high debt. However, there are some important things to remember about alimony in divorce cases.
In Oklahoma we have two different types of alimony: support and property division. Support alimony is the type we think about most often in general conversation. It is money paid by one spouse to the other to help support that spouse. In most instances it is paid by the husband to the wife– in fact, I know of no case where the wife has paid support alimony in the reported cases, but there is no gender bias inherent in the law. Property division alimony is payment of one spouse to the other out of their joint property. When the court divides property, it may do so by actually giving possession of the house for example to one party, or it may order the party in possession to pay a certain amount of money to represent the other spouse’s share of the value.
The big and key difference is that property division alimony cannot ever be terminated. So once it is award it has to be paid in full unless it is somehow discharged in bankruptcy. However, support alimony may be modified or terminated. Often support alimony is terminated on death or remarriage. In Oklahoma, co-habitation is as good as remarriage.
Alimony or all of your money?
Nothing makes me think trial, trial, trial than a stray request for Alimony. It really does add insult to injury in most cases, especially when you are talking about short marriages with high debt. However, there are some important things to remember about alimony in divorce cases.
In Oklahoma we have two different types of alimony: support and property division. Support alimony is the type we think about most often in general conversation. It is money paid by one spouse to the other to help support that spouse. In most instances it is paid by the husband to the wife– in fact, I know of no case where the wife has paid support alimony in the reported cases, but there is no gender bias inherent in the law. Property division alimony is payment of one spouse to the other out of their joint property. When the court divides property, it may do so by actually giving possession of the house for example to one party, or it may order the party in possession to pay a certain amount of money to represent the other spouse’s share of the value.
The big and key difference is that property division alimony cannot ever be terminated. So once it is award it has to be paid in full unless it is somehow discharged in bankruptcy. However, support alimony may be modified or terminated. Often support alimony is terminated on death or remarriage. In Oklahoma, co-habitation is as good as remarriage.
Just a few things you should know about alimony.