The Theory of Final Spousal Support (i.e. Alimony) From the Perspective of a Divorce Attorney

During times of economic down turns, when the property values are declining, and spouses are forced to take money out of their savings to pay the bills that they are obligated to pay, there is more of a need for a divorce attorney to seek final spousal support (the term used in Louisiana for alimony) than otherwise.  In other words, because of the decrease of property value in the family, it may become necessary for a divorce attorney to try to attempt to have some sort of income sharing.  This is especially true where the end of the marriage would especially hurt the spouse who was responsible for doing the domestic work. (Courts in Louisiana typically are trying to keep a former spouse off of the state poverty role in situations where the former spouse has the ability to help prevent the spouse in need from becoming destitute.)
The theory behind final spousal support, then, is that spouses may make the decision to have different economic roles, despite the likely unfairness that would result if the marriage ends due to the working spouse having had the opportunity to develop their career compared with the other spouse who simply works on raising children, etc.  This means that, in the absence of final spousal support, a divorce attorney could see the situation where the stay-at-home spouse is now facing an unfair situation.
But, marriage has changed considerably over the last several decades, and theorists argue that final spousal support should change along with it due to three different arguments.  (These theories do not necessarily argue that spousal support should be terminated, just that a divorce attorney should view it in a different perspective.) The common theme through these theories is that a marriage and spousal support should be viewed similar to a breach of contract.
Similar to how courts treat breaches of contracts, the first theory is that a spouse should be benefited by the amount that they reasonably expected to get based on the amount of energy, etc. that that spouse puts into the marriage.  For example, if a spouse stays home in order to free the other spouse to focus on improving their career, the spouse that sacrificed their own career should be entitled to payment on this investment.
The second is the amount that the spouse lost as a result of the marriage and it ending.  In other words, had the spouse married someone different or had the spouse not married at all, the divorce attorney figures out in this scenario what the loss realized by the spouse was.
And the third is the need for reimbursement for the amount that the spouse has invested in the marriage.  If one spouse benefited from the marriage, and the other did not by focusing on domestic work, the spouse that did not should be compensated by the amount that they boosted the career of the other spouse.
Will Beaumont is a lawyer in New Orleans. This article is informational, not legal advice.