As a high-earning woman in Arizona, you have much to be proud of. But you also need to know that your earning capacity could come back to haunt you during a divorce, especially if you earn substantially more than your husband.
Wife.org reports that manimony is the nickname applied to support payments that a former wife must pay to her former husband. Although only about 15% of American divorces result in a manimony award nationwide, nevertheless it represents an idea whose time has come.
Factors involved in manimony awards
If your husband requests a spousal support award during your divorce, the judge will consider numerous factors before granting it, including the following:
- The amount of disparity between your current annual earnings and those of your husband
- The amount of disparity between your potential earning capacity and that of your husband
- The amount of disparity between your educational level and that of your husband
- The likelihood that your husband will substantially increase his earning capacity if he receives additional training or education
- The amount, if any, of the nonfinancial contributions your husband made to the marriage
- The length of your marriage
Length of payment period
Spousal support payments, manimony or otherwise, seldom last longer than 10 years unless extraordinary circumstances exist. Nor will they likely continue if your former husband decides to remarry. Should the judge base your manimony payments on your husband’s need for additional education, they undoubtedly will stop once he obtains it.
This is general educational information and not intended to provide legal advice.
