Often times, individuals who are obligated to make alimony payments to their former spouse aren’t particularly thrilled about it. That being said, when alimony does come into play, these individuals have a tendency to ask about how long they will be required to make such payments. Much of this decision is based upon the length of the marriage. Longer marriages typically have longer spousal support obligations and shorter marriages typically have shorter spousal support obligations. There are a number of different factors that are taken into consideration when it comes to determining the length of a spousal support award, as well as the termination of the alimony obligation.
These include the remarriage or cohabitation of the spouse who receives payments, the death of either party, if the party making payments reaches “full retirement age,” or if the alimony agreement simply meets the terms of the court’s order. Typically, court mandated alimony arrangements are based upon the number of years that the couple was married. In Massachusetts, the time commitment for general term alimony is as follows:
- Marriages that last between 16 and 20 years can be required for up to 80-percent of the duration of the marriage
- Marriages that last 11-15 years can have obligations of up to 70-percent of the length of the marriage
- Marriages that last 5-10 years can have obligations of up to 60-percent of the length of the marriage
- Marriages that lasted less than 5 years can have obligations of up to 50-percent of the length of the marriage
If you require compassionate and knowledgeable legal guidance for a matter of divorce, family or estate law, please contact the experienced attorneys at the Law Offices of Cynthia L. Hanley today.
