Divorce may be the most expensive financial transaction that you experience in your lifetime. While evenly dividing your martial assets, as is typically required pursuant to California law, can be stressful enough, there’s a good chance that your spouse is going to seek spousal support from you. To do so, they’ll claim that they’re unable to be self-sufficient given the sacrifices they made during your marriage, so they therefore need alimony to help them get established in their post-divorce life. And if you’re ordered to pay alimony, your financially stability can take a substantial hit.
How can you defend against an alimony request?
You might feel like you’re in a difficult position to fight back against a request for spousal support, but there may be effective defensive arguments you can utilize to protect your interests. These include:
- Gathering and presenting evidence that shows that your spouse has more financial stability and resources than they claim to, thus demonstrating that they don’t need any additional support.
- Considering offering your spouse other marital assets in exchange for them agreeing to forgo a request for alimony.
- Figuring out the best way to show your true expenses to illustrate for the court the limited resources from which you could pay spousal support.
- Asking the court to order an evaluation of your spouse’s circumstances so that you aren’t ordered to pay support when your spouse is capable of securing meaningful employment and supporting themselves.
You might have other defense options at your disposal, so think carefully about the best way to present your case in opposition to your spouse’s request.
Don’t leave a spousal support dispute to chance
The outcome of a spousal support dispute can shape your finances for years to come. With so much at stake, you can’t just improvise your argument and hope for the best. Instead, you have to be organized and targeted in making your legal arguments. If that’s something you need assistance doing, then now is the time to seek out any additional support you may need along the way.