Alimony questions.

[TD-40]

If someone marries a woman from another country and brings her to the United States to live and have a family, and then later you get divorced, what are the chances that you would need to pay alimony to her?

How does alimony usually work? ie. how much would you pay? How long would you pay it?

Do the divorce courts take into consideration who is at fault for the divorce when determining alimony?

how does child custody factor into the alimony?

Can alimony be prevented in a pre-nuptiual agreement?

Today, the modern age, why is alimony even a thing when most women are working and have careers anyway?

I'll go into why I am asking these questions but first would like to lay the groundwork of understanding about alimony. Thanks guys.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

If someone marries a woman from another country and brings her to the United States to live and have a family, and then later you get divorced, what are the chances that you would need to pay alimony to her?

It depends on which state. In FL, for example, it usually takes 7 years to qualify for spousal support (AKA alimony) but not all states follow that model. There are some circumstances where courts can award it for shorter term marriages, but that is rare. I will say for certain that whatever the time threshold his for your state, if your beloved reaches that threshold, any competent attorney would ensure that she be awarded alimony by the courts.

How does alimony usually work? ie. how much would you pay? How long would you pay it?

Again, it depends on the state. Florida law states that by default, an award of permanent alimony “terminates upon the death of either party or upon the remarriage of the party receiving alimony.” The court may also alter or terminate permanent alimony if there has been a “substantial change in circumstances.”

Do the divorce courts take into consideration who is at fault for the divorce when determining alimony?

Again, it depends on the state. Some states consider fault, some don't.

how does child custody factor into the alimony?

Apples and oranges because the calculations and considerations are different. Plan on paying BOTH if you have kids and you are getting a divorce.

Can alimony be prevented in a pre-nuptiual agreement?

Not at all. Prenuptial agreements get thrown out as insufficient all the time. Their only value is determining what both parties own BEFORE the marriage so that the marital property (assets obtained during the marriage) can be established.

Today, the modern age, why is alimony even a thing when most women are working and have careers anyway?

That's simple.... It is called gynocentrism and governments know that the more money women have under their control, the more they spend which fuels economic activity and higher tax revenue.

I'll go into why I am asking these questions but first would like to lay the groundwork of understanding about alimony. Thanks guys.

If you ever end up paying alimony then you 100% deserve what you get. First of all, no man should ever marry in the modern world. Second, if you do, you should NEVER bring her into the jurisdiction of America where she can divorce rape you. The information is out there so if you do it, you deserve everything you suffer as a consequence. More and more men are resorting to suicide to get out from under the thumb of court enforced debt-slavery to ex-wives.

You've been warned..........

[Shemp]

Alimony is the least of your concerns when bringing a foreign wife to the USA. Google affidavit of spousal support. You might also have to pay child support for another man's children if she cheats on you before divorce. Plus she can elect fast track divorce option, by accusing you of domestic violence or sexual abuse of any children so that you get kicked out of your house before the divorce is finalized, and you'll get your name and photo in the newspapers as a wife beater and/or child molester and so lose your job, lose your friends and be harassed by anonymous death threats by "white knights", thus depriving you of the income to fight back, also no of will want to be a character witness on your behalf of your an accused child molester and wife beater. Good news of that lawyers don't usually discriminate against clients who have the means to pay them, so if you have plenty of savings, at least you can hire a lawyer. Just make sure the wife doesn't secretly drain those savings before initiating divorce.

[CannedHam]

If someone marries a woman from another country and brings her to the United States to live and have a family, and then later you get divorced, what are the chances that you would need to pay alimony to her?

How does alimony usually work? ie. how much would you pay? How long would you pay it?

Do the divorce courts take into consideration who is at fault for the divorce when determining alimony?

how does child custody factor into the alimony?

Can alimony be prevented in a pre-nuptiual agreement?

Today, the modern age, why is alimony even a thing when most women are working and have careers anyway?

I'll go into why I am asking these questions but first would like to lay the groundwork of understanding about alimony. Thanks guys.

Very complicated question. Will you pay alimony? Depends on the state, the length of marriage, the lifestyle that you and your soon-to-be-ex live, your income, her income/ability to earn income in the future, your relationship with your wife, and dozens of other factors. If you drunkenly marry and divorce a year later, alimony is a probably non-issue. If you are married to a non-working housewife for 35 years and divorce in your late 50s, you may be looking at lifetime alimony in some states.

Assuming your marriage is long enough to qualify for alimony, some states have rules of thumb like 1 year of alimony per 3 years of marriage. Recently heard of a guy in my state who got divorced after 23 years of marriage and is on the hook for 6 years of alimony. Another guy I know who divorced after 15 years gave his wife 60% of their marital assets (rather than 50/50) if his wife agreed to forgo alimony. They were loaded so that 10% difference was probably worth $300-400k. The amount is generally something between your income and your ex's income potential (assuming a floor of minimum wage).

Child custody is a factor in determining child support, which is separate from alimony. Alimony I believe used to be called spousal support/maintenance. Child support is generally non-negotiable and determined using a state formula - no exceptions. One thing that you plug into the child support calculation is % custody, so if your ex gets 100% custody, you're looking at higher child support than if they only have 50% custody.

Prenups can limit alimony if they hold up in court during the divorce. Judges routinely wipe their asses with prenups - all the ex needs to do is claim she was pressured or under duress to sign it, and poof it's gone. Pre-marital assets (among others, like inheritances) are generally not subject to asset division during divorce, but you need to be careful to document everything and not comingle pre-martial assets with post-marital assets, otherwise they may be subject to division during the divorce.

The rule of thumb is in a divorce, assets acquired post-marriage are split 50/50 and child support is determined using a formula. If you are on good terms with your soon-to-be-ex, you may be able to work out an agreement that is win/win and you'll save a ton of money on attorney fees. If your soon-to-be-ex is hostile and has a hungry attorney, things will still be split 50/50 minus attorney fees. This is why maintaining an amicable relationship during divorce can save a TON of money and make the process a lot easier.

If your are bringing over a foreign wife, you'll need to submit an I864 Affidavit of Support during the immigration, which means you're on the hook for any government services your wife uses until she meets certain criteria, and you'll also be responsible for keeping her above the federal poverty level. This continues even after divorce. Another subject for another day...