Most people refer to spousal support as “alimony.” The Louisiana legislature did away with the term in 1997. There are two types of spousal support that a Louisiana court can award to a party that needs it: Interim Periodic Support and Final Periodic Support.
Unlike child support, where the amount is determined by a formula, the amount of periodic spousal support that a party may receive, both Interim and Final, is dependent upon many factors, and the courts have wide discretion in setting the amounts.
The main difference between the two is that Interim Support is temporary. Final Periodic Support continues until a payee spouse remarries, until either party dies, or until a court determines that the payee spouse has cohabited with another person of either sex “in the manner of married persons.” But even Final Periodic Support is not permanent. The court has the authority to limit Final Periodic Support to a fixed duration, and can later reduce, increase or terminate it altogether if there is a change in the economic circumstances of the parties.
Interim Periodic Support and Final Periodic Support also differ in other ways. The basic rules are these.
Final Periodic Spousal Support
In order to get Final Periodic Support, a spouse has to prove: (1) that he or she is free from fault prior to the filing of a proceeding to terminate the marriage; and (2) that he or she is in need of support. Because of recent legislative changes, courts have had difficulty in clearly defining what the term “in need of support” means. There are important cases that say that spouse must prove that he or she is in “necessitous circumstances,” other courts have said that Final Interim Support can only be awarded when a spouse proves that he or she has insufficient means for his or her “maintenance,” with “maintenance” being defined as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, utilities, medical, drug expenses and income tax liability generated by the spousal support payments he or she receives.
Final Periodic Spousal Support is also limited, by law, to no more than one-third of the payor spouse’s net income. In fixing the amount of the award the court also takes other factors into consideration, such as: the income and other property of the spouses, the debts of the parties, the parties’ earning capacities, the effect of custody of children, the time necessary for a payee spouse to obtaining training and employment, the age and health of the parties, the duration of the marriage and the tax consequences to each party.
Because of all these limitations, the amount that a spouse may receive in Final Periodic Support is, in almost all cases, considerably less than the amount of Interim Periodic Spousal Support that that spouse can receive while the divorce is pending. In many cases it is difficult to obtain an award of Final Periodic Spousal Support at all.
Interim Periodic Spousal Support
The amount that a party receives as Interim Periodic Spousal Support is intended to preserve the status quo. The law attempts, as much as possible, to maintain the parties in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. Unfortunately, it is only in cases where one of the parties is a very high wage earner that this actually happens. Divorce, in most cases, has a dramatic and negative effect on the economics of the family.
Interim Support terminates when a judgment of divorce is rendered by the court. If a claim for Final Periodic Spousal Support is pending at the time the divorce is granted, the Interim Support award terminates upon rendition of a judgment awarding or denying Final Spousal support or 180 days from the divorce judgment, whichever occurs first.
Like child support, a party’s need for Interim Spousal Support is an important factor in deciding when to file for a divorce. When a party needs spousal support or child support, it is usually better to file for divorce immediately, instead of waiting for the clock to tick while the parties are living separate and apart, because the sooner a divorce proceeding is filed, the sooner the support payments will start.
Whenever possible, the issues of Interim and Final Spousal support should be fully explored before making the decision to divorce. The law office of Louis J. Cosenza can help make that decision easier. Call our law firm today at 225-647-6644 or send an email to arrange a free consultation at our office in Gonzales, LA.
