ALIMONY

• The purpose of alimony is to maintain a spouse as near as possible in the same standard of living that the spouse had during the marriage. Since two households will need to be supported with the money formerly used for one, alimony is often awarded in an amount below the standard of living a spouse had during the marriage. When this occurs, the court may try to equalize the standard of living both spouses will have after the divorce.
• Under Utah law, alimony will usually be awarded for up to the same duration as your marriage. What this means is, if you were married for 17 years, the court will usually award alimony for 17 years after your divorce.
• Alimony normally terminates on the date indicated in your court order or upon the remarriage or cohabitation of the person receiving the alimony. Cohabitation means living with another person in a "marriage like" manner whether that person is of the opposite sex or the same sex. Cohabitation does not mean sharing your residence with a roommate where there is no sex involved and you do not share purchases and expenses in the same manner as if you were married.
• You and your spouse may agree on a date shorter or longer than your marriage for the alimony to terminate.
• Alimony to obtain job skills, attend school, or earn a degree (sometimes called Rehabilitative Alimony) is usually paid for less time than the duration of the marriage but in an amount sufficient for the spouse receiving the alimony to complete the education and obtain a job. Rehabilitative Alimony may not be appropriate for an older spouse who realistically will have little chance at finding employment after completing education or training.
• Reimbursement Alimony is paid in an amount and for a time period that recognizes benefits received by a spouse during the marriage through the efforts of the other spouse. Reimbursement alimony would be appropriate if the spouse receiving the alimony worked in a business owned by the other spouse, or paid for the education of the other spouse, and the divorce is happening just at that point where there is a major change of income for the spouse paying the alimony brought about through the collective efforts of both spouses.
• If the spouse receiving alimony is disabled, the court may award alimony for longer than the duration of the marriage.
• On rare occasions, the court will award permanent alimony that does not terminate even upon remarriage or cohabitation.
• If the parties cannot agree on alimony, a judge will consider the following:

(i) the financial condition and needs of the recipient spouse;
(ii) the recipient's earning capacity or ability to produce income;
(iii) the ability of the payor spouse to provide support;
(iv) the length of the marriage;
(v) whether the recipient spouse has custody of minor children requiring support;
(vi) whether the recipient spouse worked in a business owned or operated by the payor spouse; and
(vii) whether the recipient spouse directly contributed to any increase in the payor spouse's skill by paying for education received by the payor spouse or allowing the payor spouse to attend school during the marriage.

• The criteria for alimony is found at Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-5(8)(a)(i)-(vii).
• To learn more about alimony you should consult an attorney.