A General Perspective on Divorce Attorneys and Final Spousal Support

Final spousal support is made at the discretion of the court and it involves a complicated calculus of factors that divorce attorneys must generally consider. Many of those factors are outlined in Louisiana Civil Code article 112. Overall, there are two different types of spousal support: interim spousal support and final spousal support. Interim spousal support is reserved for situations where the divorce action is still pending, and maybe even a few months thereafter. This article will contemplate the final spousal award, in the context of a couple different factors under article 112, and framed within a hypothetical example.

Let us say Rob and Jennifer were married for twenty five years. When they were first married, Jennifer had a job as a secretary, and Rob worked an entry level position as a salesman. As they grew older, Rob became very successful selling computer software to divorce attorneys. In fact, his job became so profitable that at his behest, Jennifer quit her job. After she left the secretary position, Jennifer did not seek other employment, and for the remainder of their marriage she was largely dependent on Rob's income for both sustenance and entertainment. Occasionally she would get bored and entertain the possibility of returning to work. Each time she did however, Rob would insist that she occupy her time with hobbies instead, because he felt that it was his responsibility to support the marriage financially.

After their twenty-fifth year of marriage, the two spouses both hire divorce attorneys. As part of the legal proceedings, Jennifer would like to submit a claim for spousal support. If a Louisiana court looks at the possibility of awarding spousal support to Jennifer under article 112, there are a few relevant factors in our hypothetical example.

For one thing, Jennifer and Rob are presumably on the older side (since they've already been married for 25 years.) This means that Jennifer likely has less of a chance or ability to be trained or educated in another occupation. That is to say, she has essentially been living as a professional wife for over two decades. Under article 112, the length of the marriage is relevant, as is "the time necessary for the [spouse] to acquire appropriate education, training, or employment." This situation is even more exaggerated given that Jennifer quit her job at the behest of Rob. Things might shake out differently if Jennifer and Rob were much younger, and Jennifer was in a significantly better position to launch a career.

Before the court determines spousal support, both sides' divorce attorneys will likely also consider the paying spouse's ability to make spousal support payments. Assuming for the sake of example Rob is still making a good deal of money in sales, he would arguably be more than capable of paying Jennifer spousal support. It should be noted however that regardless of his total income, he in no case will be forced to pay more than one third of his earnings to Jennifer in the form of spousal support.

This above is only some information on Louisiana law; it is not legal advice. Will Beaumont. New Orleans.