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 Marital Issues When Medical Problems Arise Most states have laws which provide that one spouse may receive money for the support of the spouse. Incidentally, some states like Texas do not provide for alimony payments to either spouse, generally regardless of the circumstances which may warrant such payments. Remember that this is a separate support payment for a spouse and does not affect support for children which are discussed herein below. Usually, states will have provisions that attempt to compensate the spouse which may have had no job or occupation at the time of the dissolution, and because of the nature of that marriage, may have been caring for children instead of developing occupational skills and/or promotions. No longer, however, is it a given that one spouse will receive some alimony payments as part of the property settlement agreement. By state, the calculations of these payments vary so widely that one cannot make any generalizations. Many courts will consider the number of years of marriage, the number and ages of children who will live with one of the spouses, the standard of living the couple enjoyed before divorce, the occupations and income level of each spouse, the number of years of earning capacity of each spouse, and the health of each spouse. Because of the individual analysis of each of these factors, it is conceivable that a professional or wealthy wife would have to support her husband. Naturally, the reverse could be true also. In some cases, no alimony will be ordered. Aside from these generalizations, there is really no predictability about such an award that could be determined in advance. Thus, this is an area where pre-planning may be limited. Also, many spouses go into a divorce in a friendly manner, seeking to get divorced and have no real contest. The problem is that many fail to study these issues of alimony, support and custody, and then find out, in the midst of the proceedings, that the divorce will be contested. While prevention may not be possible or practical early in the marriage, when it appears as if a dissolution is likely, both spouses can plan to decide and discuss how to resolve these issues. Our Hypothetical: What is the effect of the accident on the couple in our hypothetical assuming the parties filed for divorce? Restated, the question is whether the husband would have to pay alimony to the wife, or if the wife would have to pay alimony to the husband. In some states, it is conceivable that a judge would require the wife to pay the husband alimony, but possibly make these payments contingent upon the wife's obtaining a job. In other states, it is easily as likely that a judge would not order either party to pay alimony, since the husband cannot work, and at the time of the divorce, the wife was not working. Another Hypothetical: What if a wife who is awarded a monthly alimony payment wins the state lottery? Can the former husband petition the court for a modification in the amount of alimony? The answer is yes, since some of the factors likely used by the court were: (1) the earning power of the spouses, (2) the actual separate income each would have after the marriage and (3) the assets each received during the marital settlement process. The receipt of a large amount of lottery money might possibly be grounds on which the husband could petition the court to lower or even eliminate the alimony provisions in the original agreement.
It is certainly conceivable that a judge might make a modification in the alimony award.
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