Inform your attorney in Owings Mills if you plan to seek alimony, or spousal support, or if you suspect your spouse may seek alimony payments from you. Under family law, alimony is intended to maintain the standard of living for the parties after the divorce. When a judge awards alimony, it is typically restricted to a set period of time. However, indefinite alimony may be awarded in certain cases. When indefinite alimony is awarded, alimony laws still permit modification of the arrangement later on.
As your family lawyer can advise you, the court may award indefinite alimony if the party seeking payments cannot reasonably become self-supporting due to disability, illness, infirmity, or age. Even after the party seeking support makes reasonable progress toward becoming self-supported, indefinite alimony may be awarded if the separate standards of living of both parties are unconscionably disparate. Determining whether standards of living are unconscionably disparate is left to the discretion of the court.