Divorce Differently |
Divorce Differently |
Today’s post is the first in a three-part series explaining what a stay-at-home parent can expect legally and financially upon separation and divorce. During a marriage, a couple may choose for one parent to stay at home with their children rather than pay the exorbitant cost of childcare or have their children cared for by a caretaker outside of the family. But when a marriage turns sour, unhappy, or unfulfilling, a stay-at-home parent may feel trapped in the marriage because they feel financially dependent on the working parent. If you are a stay-at-home parent feeling stuck in your unhappy marriage, do not fear! You don’t have to stay in an unhappy marriage and there are several paths to lead you towards a happier future. If you are a stay-at-home parent thinking of separating from your spouse, please reach out to our firm to schedule a consultation so we can help you understand to what you are financially entitled if you choose to separate.
Re-Entering the Workforce Depending on your age, health condition, work experience, and education among other factors, when you and your spouse separate there may be an expectation that you will re-enter the workforce in some form or fashion, to supplement your own income and provide for yourself and your children. The income that your working spouse earned while you shared a household may be stretched very thin when there are two households to financially support upon separation. The best way to ensure financial security for you and your children is to find a way to supplement or increase your income. As a stay-at-home parent, you will likely have some options and entitlement to financial support from your spouse after separation, as outlined below, but you will likely not be able to solely rely on your supporting spouse financially for the rest of your life and will need to reenter the workforce at some point. Alimony or Post-Separation Support As a stay-at-home parent, for alimony purposes you are a “dependent” spouse while your spouse is a “supporting” spouse. Alimony is financial support that a supporting spouse pays to a dependent spouse during separation or following divorce. Alimony is not automatically awarded in North or South Carolina, and you must need alimony to maintain the standard of living to which you became accustomed during the course of your marriage in order for you to receive alimony. Additionally, the supporting spouse must have the ability to pay alimony to you. There is no formula to determine alimony amount and duration in North Carolina and there are sixteen factors to weigh, including: the length of the marriage, the reasonable needs of the spouses, the incomes and earning capacities of the spouses, the reasonable expenses of the spouses, any marital misconduct by either spouse, the ages and health of the spouses, one spouse’s contributions to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse, the extent to which the earning power, expenses, or financial obligations of a spouse will be affected by serving as the custodian of a minor child, the relative education of the spouses and the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the dependent spouse to find employment to meet his or her reasonable economic needs, the contribution of a spouse as a “homemaker,” and several more. There is no formula for the calculation of alimony amount or duration in South Carolina, either. There are four types of alimony in South Carolina: permanent periodic (typical monthly payments), rehabilitative, reimbursement, or lump sum. As a stay-at-home parent, you may be entitled to permanent periodic alimony, rehabilitative alimony, or lump sum alimony, depending upon your situation, what you and your spouse agree to outside of court, or what the court orders. If you were a stay-at-home parent to young children prior to separation, take note of rehabilitative alimony. This type of alimony is meant to “rehabilitate” a spouse in acquiring higher income earning power, training, or education in order for that spouse to become financially self-sufficient. Rehabilitative alimony might be paid to a stay-at-home parent for a limited time until young children enter school, or until that parent can complete additional education to reenter the workforce. Alimony can be awarded within a separation agreement by you and your spouse agreeing that your spouse will pay you alimony, or it can be ordered by a court. At Dasher Law, we assist clients in obtaining their best outcomes outside of court and can assist you in obtaining alimony, or understanding if you are entitled to alimony, if you were a stay-at-home parent prior to separation. Please reach out to our firm to schedule a consultation if you are a stay-at-home parent and need guidance. We are very familiar with supporting stay-at-home parents through this transition and can help you, too. Come back next week to learn about the division of marital assets and how that might occur as a stay-at-home parent. Comments are closed.
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AuthorLindsey Dasher is the Managing Partner at Dasher Law PLLC Archives
May 2024
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