Whether you’re new to it or not, you might have some adverse feelings when it comes to delivering alimony payments. After all, what makes you responsible for taking care of the person you’re no longer with? Why do they deserve the money you worked hard for? It is not uncommon that the paying party feels a little bit slighted by delivering those payments every month when they’ve otherwise cut ties. But, we’re here to tell you something— you’re doing exactly what you should be doing…
Delivering Alimony Payments: Why It’s Necessary and the Right Thing to do
First off, let’s start by figuring out exactly when and why a spouse is required to provide alimony payments…
Alimony payments are typically awarded to a spouse that did one, or both, of the following things: 1) they earned less money than you did over the course of your marriage, or 2) they bore most of the ‘family’ versus financial weight. When you and your spouse start a family, in most cases, one parent will decide to stay home on a daily basis to take care of the children and maintain the home. Therefore, one parent is denying their own right to work for a living to take care of your collaborative family. They are oftentimes sacrificing their ability to gain reasonable employment, and make money of their own. Because of this, one parent will typically bear most of the ‘financial weight’.
Providing financial security to the homemaker
When you’re in a marriage, you understand that each of you are making sacrifices to build a family and life together. Therefore, ‘what’s mine is yours’ is the general sentiment. That is, until you get a divorce… It’s easy for those feelings to get lost in translations, and to forget your spouse’s sacrifices in a time of anger. However, now is a more important time than any…
Think of it as helping your family
You may think of alimony as free money for your spouse to do whatever they want with. But, alimony is providing your former spouse with a livable wage until they can find it on their own. As we’ve said, your spouse left behind a career to raise a family. Now, with a divorce, they have to find a way to provide for themselves once again. However, the tough part is that huge gap in employment history.
So, it’s important to think of this payout amount as a means of helping your former spouse gain ground. Help your former spouse gain the independence and financial stability that they sacrificed in order for you to gain yours. Delivering alimony payments does not have to be a nasty or vengeful thing. Instead, think of it as a means of helping your spouse to regrowth.