The judge in your divorce case will consider a variety of factors when determining whether to allocate alimony. One of those is your contributions to the marriage.
At Weinberg, Kaplan & Smith, P.A., we want to help you to understand this factor better so that you can ensure the judge gets a complete picture of your responsibilities within the family.
Financial
Many times, people assume contributions means only the financial aspects of taking care of your family. It is a factor to consider whether you worked, how much you made and how your income benefited the family.
The judge will consider situations where you may have supported the family financially while your spouse went to school or studied for a trade. While you may not have made as much as your spouse does now, your contributions were almost more valuable because, without them, your spouse would not be where he or she is today professionally.
However, contributions are not just financial and the judge will not focus solely on monetary issues.
Other types
Contributions can include anything you do to take care of your family. Stay at home parents, for example, often contribute in a variety of ways. They will clean the home, do the shopping, take care of the children, do laundry, make meals and handle many other tasks. The court sees these contributions in the same light as it does a spouse who works outside the home.
The judge will consider the sacrifices you make for the good of your family. Sometimes, these non-monetary contributions far outweigh the monetary ones when it comes to how they benefit your family. To find out more about the factors a judge considers when awarding alimony, visit our spousal support page.