Marriage can be a beautiful thing. It can also turn into something else, something you want to escape. Thank heavens for divorce. If married for many years, or just a short time, alimony could be a part of your divorce decree between you and your spouse.

Alimony, also known as spousal support, is a court-ordered financial amount paid from one ex-spouse to the other. It isn’t a part of every Michigan divorce decree, but it could be a part of yours. Alimony is instated as part of a divorce arrangement if one spouse has made personal and professional sacrifices in lieu of the other spouse’s success over the term of the marriage. This leaves one spouse with less income-earning potential and thus, alimony seeks to balance this.

Spousal support can be awarded in the short or long-term. It can consist of one lump sum payment and it can be instated as a monthly payment plan. Factors such as standard of living, length of marriage, age, physical condition and financial condition of the spouses can all play a role in whether alimony is awarded and how much. Obviously, this is an issue that can have a huge impact on both divorcing spouses.

There isn’t much one can do to change the situation of alimony or no alimony. It mostly comes down to long-term decisions decided on by both you and your spouse over the term of your marriage. One recent incident isn’t likely to change that. Find out if your marriage could preclude alimony in your divorce decree.