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To determine when alimony is likely to be awarded, it is necessary to first
understand the reasons or purposes for awarding alimony. The Utah Supreme
Court has stated on numerous occasions that the purpose of alimony is to
prevent the receiving spouse from becoming a public charge and to maintain,
to the extent possible, the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage.
Cox v. Cox, 877 P.2d 1262 (Utah App. 1994).
In determining whether to award alimony and in setting the amount of alimony, the court must consider the financial condition and needs of the receiving spouse, including the receiving spouse's earning capacity and ability to produce income, the ability of the payor spouse to provide support, the ability of the receiving spouse to provide support for himself or herself, and the length of the marriage. The court may (but is not required to) consider fault when awarding alimony. Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-5(7); Cox v. Cox, 877 P.2d 1262 (Utah App. 1994). Unfortunately, in nearly all divorces where alimony is an issue it is a practical impossibility to permit both spouses to maintain the same lifestyle and standard of living after divorce. In most cases the parties will not have any additional income after divorce, but they must both live and maintain separate households with the same resources and income they enjoyed before divorce. As a result, Utah judges are likely to attempt to equalize the parties' assets and income so that both parties can enjoy similar living standards. In fact, the Utah Code specifically contemplates such a result when it states that "the court may, under appropriate circumstances, attempt to equalize the parties' respective standards of living."Utah Code Ann. Section 30- 3-5(7)(d) Equalization of standard of living often means that the court will simply add the parties' combined incomes together, divide the result in half, and award alimony so as to give each party the same after-tax income after adjusting for child support, debts, and other items. For example, if the husband has take-home pay of $2500.00 per month, the wife has never worked during the marriage, and there are no children or marital debts, an alimony award of $1,250.00 per month would not be uncommon. - - Law Offices of Greenwood & Black |