Divorce continues to affect millions of Americans. According to the 2024 American Community Survey, the latest annual Census data available during 2025, 1,868,585 people reported getting divorced within the previous 12 months, including 881,775 men and 986,810 women.

Alimony or spousal support is a financial support that one spouse may be required to pay to the other after a divorce. But this is not automatic. There are several factors that are considered when deciding whether support should be awarded. They also consider the length of the marriage, age, health, and contributions to the household. 

Financial changes are expected after a divorce. This is because of the sudden need to support two households instead of one. The court looks at each spouse’s income, financial needs, and earning ability to determine whether alimony and spousal support are appropriate. 

Let’s take a closer look at what factors affect spousal support awards.

Length of the Marriage Sets the Baseline

Duration of marriage is among the most frequently considered aspects in various states. Usually, marriages that last longer result in higher alimony awards, because the longer the marriage is, the closer the finances of both spouses have been interconnected. 

At the same time, it also indicates that the spouse who has lesser earnings developed a lifestyle based on the financial level of the couple. However, even a shorter marriage can be eligible for alimony, especially if one of the spouses sacrificed his/her career for marriage.

Earning Capacity Matters More Than Current Income

It is not only the current earning capacity of each party that the court takes into consideration but also the potential earning capacity of both parties. 

Potential earning capacity refers to education and training and any professional certification obtained, as well as the current marketability of such skills. 

One of the spouses who decided to stay out of the workforce for many years to raise the children or help the other spouse develop his/her career might have their earning capacity diminished because of this decision.

Standard of Living During the Marriage

Spousal support also considers the need to ensure that the less-earning partner is able to live a life they had during the marriage. This matters more in longer marriages or in those that involve a lot of property and where a certain luxurious or comfortable life was lived.

Contributions to the Other Spouse’s Career

What people who have never been through a divorce experience unexpectedly is the amount of attention the courts pay to contributions by one of the spouses to his or her counterpart’s education or professional development. 

If one of the spouses had done everything possible to assist another to get education, do training, or build a business but sacrificed one’s own career opportunities in this process, then this would not be deemed an inappropriate factor in awarding alimony.

Age, Health, and the Realistic Path Back to Self-Sufficiency

These include the age of the partner and his or her general state of health because it can help to establish how realistic it is to have the spouse become part of the workforce and start earning. 

California’s spousal support statute, Family Code Section 4320, lists this alongside a detailed set of other circumstances a judge must weigh. A Los Angeles spousal support attorney usually builds a case around each of those specific statutory factors individually rather than arguing the case in general terms, since judges are required to consider each one on the record.

What Happens After the Award Is Made

Spousal support payments are not always non-modifiable after they are awarded. The majority of jurisdictions permit the termination or modification of spousal support if there is a material change in circumstances such as an increase or decrease in income for either spouse, a job loss, or if the recipient spouse remarries or begins cohabiting with another individual. 

The majority of jurisdictions have an expectation of self-support and require that the recipient spouse make a reasonable effort toward that goal.

Why the Details of Each Case Carry So Much Weight

Because a lot of facts must be considered in spousal support cases, there is no guarantee that two people with equal income levels and the same period of marriage will be given equal treatment when their individual circumstances are evaluated. In fact, evidence of earning potential, contributions to the marriage, and standard of living plays a central role in spousal support cases.

My book is out. Get your copy here!