Divorce Lawyer In Louisiana: Spousal Support Questions And Answers

Perhaps you or someone you know has experience with spousal support or alimony payments

. The very basic idea is that one spouse has a duty to provide materially for the other spouse, even after they have been divorced. This obligation stems from many different sets of circumstances; but generally if one spouse is receiving spousal support it is because, in the eyes of the law, it would be unfair to let the spouse getting support fend for his or herself after building a life of dependence on their ex-partner.

How, when, and how much spousal support is awarded is governed largely by the Louisiana Civil Code. The Civil Code is a body of codified articles which tell the courts and your divorce lawyer how to rule in certain situations. The Civil Code has many different articles instructing the court system on spousal support awards. Today's article will deal with one such Code article: Article 114.

Louisiana Civil Code article 114 explains that spousal support awards may be "modified" or "terminated" if the circumstances of the spouses "materially change." What does this mean for you and your divorce lawyer? Well, in a general sense it means that a court is free to change the financial arrangement between two ex-spouses if one of the spouses has a significant or serious change to their monetary situation.

For example, let's say that Chuck hired a divorce lawyer two years ago. As part of the legal proceedings, a Louisiana court awarded his wife Nancy spousal support because she had been married to Chuck for a very long time, and in the course of her marriage to him she almost never worked. The reason that she almost never worked is because Chuck made a great deal of money at his profession and he did not want Nancy to have to work at all.

After the divorce, Nancy needed to learn to live on her own. The legal mechanism of spousal support is designed for situations like this one. Rather than leave Nancy "out in the cold" with no work experience or job history, the court can force Chuck to pay her in regular payments a certain sum of money. Let's say that Nancy starts to receive these payments, but that she also goes out and finds herself a job.

Now lets fast forward two years. Let's say that Nancy has been doing very well at her job, and actually she is making close to one hundred thousand dollars a year. Chuck however, has been doing very poorly. He just got fired from his high-paying job, and he also has had to check himself into rehab for drug abuse. Chuck's net worth, his assets, income, everything has dropped to nearly zero. In Chuck's case, it is likely that his divorce lawyer can petition a Louisiana court to discontinue the award he was previous paying to Nancy.

by: Beaumont

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