Tips for Negotiating Alimony With Your Spouse

One of the issues you will likely need to negotiate in your mediation is alimony, both in terms of whether one of you will pay it and in what amount.

As part of your alimony negotiations, you will need to carefully analyze both your resources and those of your spouse.

What is your level of need?

If you are seeking alimony payments, you should consider what your level of need is. As part of the divorce you will be required to make certain financial disclosures, including your monthly income and expenses. Carefully look at these issues and determine how much support you will need. There will not be any kind of standardized formula for determining need for alimony, so your best bet is to find a reasonable number and be willing to negotiate from there.

What resources does your spouse have?

Again, assuming you are the one seeking alimony, you’ll need to carefully analyze your spouse’s resources based on the disclosures they’ve made.

If your spouse has any separate assets, you are entitled to know how much they’re worth. You should also get a monthly income and expense report from them, which will help you determine how much expendable income they have and what sort of disparity exists, if any, between your financial situation and that of your spouse coming out of the marriage.

Don’t forget potential sources of income beyond wages, including benefits, bonuses and overtime pay, which may or may not always be predictable.

Gather as much information as possible so you can make informed arguments about spousal support in your mediation sessions. For more information about how to proceed, contact an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at Solutions Divorce Mediation.