New Albany, IN, Spousal Maintenance Lawyer

Our Spousal Maintenance Lawyer Helps You Get the Best Agreement Possible

The dissolution of a marriage is a difficult and often emotionally charged process. Of all the challenges that must be addressed, the financial ones may be both the most important and the most complex. Many divorces involve a monetary award known as “alimony” or “spousal support,” which is designed to assist the economically weaker spouse during the transition to be able to live within his or her own means. The modern term preferred in most jurisdictions — and the one recognized by Indiana law — is “spousal maintenance.”

Indiana laws regarding spousal maintenance are complicated, and making mistakes can be costly, so it can help to have a family law attorney on your side to fight for your rights. If you have questions about spousal maintenance, Church, Langdon, Lopp, Banet Law can help. We understand the issues and can guide you through these difficult times while ensuring that you avoid costly mistakes. Whether you are the spouse who may need to pay or the spouse who may need to receive money to meet expenses, our New Albany divorce lawyers will work closely with you and help you make the best decisions possible. We have worked with many families, and we look forward to working with yours.

Call us today and put our experience to work for you.

Why Choose Our New Albany, IN, Spousal Maintenance Attorney

There are many divorce lawyers, and it is important for you to find one you not only feel comfortable with and can trust, but one who also has the skills, experience, and resources to get the results you need. Here are some reasons why we feel you should choose CLLB Law.

We are experienced and know Indiana family law. Attorney Dana Eberle leads the team as a trusted family law lawyer. Having gone through her own divorce more than a decade ago, she is well aware of the emotional ups and downs that can accompany this type of case and how important spousal maintenance is to you. She works to help you feel at ease and keep you informed as the case progresses.
We are recognized in and give back to the community. In addition to being admitted to the bar, Attorney Eberle is a Board Member of The Center for Women and Families, a member of The Center for Women and Families’ Southern Indiana Partnership Council, and the chair of the Center’s Southern Indiana Partnership Council.
We are successful in helping and are appreciated by our clients, and you can read what our clients have to say about us to prove it.
We are compassionate and know what you are going through. Dana will be there for you through the entire process, making it as pain-free as possible.

How Our Spousal Maintenance Attorney Works for You

When dealing with monetary issues such as spousal maintenance, it is important to start gathering and preserving financial information as soon as possible. When you retain CLLB, our legal team will start working for you immediately. We will:

Meet with you to discuss and analyze your individual marital and property situation, what property is important for you to keep, and what your future needs and goals post-divorce are
Explain Indiana divorce laws and the court system as it pertains to your spousal maintenance situation
Help you prepare necessary financial information about your income, expenses, assets, and debts before the divorce proceeding, so we are fully prepared to argue our case
Hire financial experts—such as appraisers, forensic accountants, or actuaries if necessary, such as to properly evaluate the worth of property, or discover whether a spouse is hiding assets

When you have CLLB on your side, you can relax and let us handle all the financial and legal details, so you can focus on yourself, your family, and rebuilding your life post-divorce.

How New Albany Alimony Lawyers Can Help You

Our alimony lawyers in Indiana understand the complexity of Indiana laws and how they apply to your individual situation.

Though the legal term in Indiana is “spousal maintenance,” our attorneys know that a client looking for an alimony lawyer intends to find an attorney who can help with the same issue. In Indiana, either spouse can be ordered to pay spousal maintenance, and the law’s use of the term “spouse” rather than “husband” or “wife” is intended to convey the gender neutrality of the payments. A typical divorce case begins with the spouses separating and one moving out of the marital home. At that point, who controls the flow of money becomes extremely critical, and maintenance may be necessary.

The amount of spousal maintenance depends upon the paying spouse’s ability to pay support and the receiving spouse’s need for support.

Indiana divorce laws allow spousal maintenance for certain situations and for limited periods of time (Ind. Code § 31-15-7-2). The traditional idea of alimony was based on factors such as the length of the marriage, the ages of the spouses, and their education levels, and the award could continue for years or even a lifetime.

Our CLLB Lawyers Can Help Negotiate a Spousal Maintenance Agreement By . . .

Working for a fair maintenance award that can help a spouse gain financial independence as quickly as possible
Finding evidence to help prove or disprove the need for spousal maintenance
Negotiating a settlement between spouses who don’t agree
Determining whether an Indiana spousal maintenance award can be modified due to a substantial and continuing change in circumstances that make the existing maintenance order unreasonable
Helping enforce a previous spousal maintenance agreement
Arguing your case in court if necessary

Our Spousal Support Lawyer Explains How Indiana Spousal Support Works

Indiana uses the term “spousal maintenance” instead of “alimony,” and, instead of considering the traditional factors, awards this maintenance only if a divorcing spouse cannot meet basic financial obligations due to underemployment or unemployment or is unable to become employed at a level to be financially self-sufficient.

Not everyone in Indiana seeking a divorce pays or receives spousal support.

According to Indiana law, an award of maintenance to be paid after the divorce is final is typically awarded only in limited circumstances. The determination of whether spousal support should be awarded depends upon the specific facts of the case. Indiana law assumes that each spouse will work and support themselves after the marriage ends, but may award spousal support if a divorcing spouse can show one of the following circumstances:

Spousal incapacity: The spouse is physically or mentally incapacitated to an extent that affects the ability to be self-supporting.
Caregiver maintenance: The spouse has insufficient property or resources and has custody of a child whose physical or mental incapacity prevents the spouse from being employed.
Rehabilitative maintenance: The spouse needs financial assistance to obtain training or education necessary to become employable in a position that would allow for self-support.
If rehabilitative maintenance is requested, the court will consider:
- The education level of each spouse at the time of marriage and at the time of divorce or legal separation
- Whether there was an interruption in the education, training, or employment of the spouse seeking maintenance as a result of homemaking or childcare responsibilities
- The earning capacity of each spouse, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, and length of presence in or absence from the job market
- The time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment
Temporary maintenance. During the period of time between the filing of the divorce and the final decree, temporary maintenance is often granted to ensure the spouse’s and children’s needs are met and to give the court time to fully hear the evidence. A court is also more inclined to grant temporary maintenance when there is a large disparity of income between the spouses and one spouse needs maintenance in order to maintain his or her standard of living.

The Intent of Spousal Maintenance

Because Indiana law assumes that each spouse will work and support themselves after the marriage ends, any order of rehabilitative maintenance is limited to a period of no more than 3 years. Rehabilitative maintenance is intended to help a spouse who gave up education or career to raise the children (or one who has a great disparity in earning power compared to the other spouse) to gain the ability to be self-supportive.

For spousal incapacity or caregiver maintenance, the court considers factors such as the financial and other circumstances of each party, and the nature and anticipated duration of the incapacity or care required for the incapacitated person. The court may order spousal incapacity maintenance or caregiver maintenance for as long as the incapacity continues.

Our Spousal Support Attorneys Can Help You Reach a Spousal Maintenance Agreement

The best solution is often for both parties to reach an agreement and avoid a costly and contentious court battle. Our CLLB spousal maintenance attorneys can help determine whether this will work in your divorce.

In some cases, spouses have already laid the foundation for how spousal maintenance will be paid in a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement, which is a contract made as a condition for entering into or continuing the marriage. If this agreement is disputed by either party, the courts will evaluate the situation and determine whether the contract should be enforced.

If there is no pre- or post-nuptial agreement, our attorneys may be able to help settle the spousal support issues without going to court by negotiating and coming up with an agreement that satisfies the needs of both parties. This agreement would need to be approved by the court, which would then issue a maintenance order.

Talk to Our Spousal Maintenance Attorneys in New Albany, Indiana

The circumstances that warrant an award for maintenance in Indiana are limited. If you are concerned about how you might be affected by Indiana’s spousal maintenance laws, you want a lawyer that will be an advocate for you. Whether you are the spouse who may be required to pay spousal maintenance or the one who may need to receive it, the IN spousal support attorneys at Church Langdon Lopp Banet Law will work closely with you to aggressively protect your rights and help you make the best decisions possible.

For skilled and knowledgeable representation regarding spousal maintenance orders or modification of such orders, contact us by calling 812-725-8226 today. Based in New Albany, Indiana, we proudly serve communities throughout Kentuckiana; Floyd County, IN; and Clark County, IN.

GET LEGAL HELP NOW 812-725-8226

Attorney Steve Langdon

Licensed to practice in both Indiana and Kentucky, Steve Langdon is an experienced elder law and trial attorney. In addition to his litigation and trial work, Steve’s practice includes wills, trusts, probate, Medicaid planning, guardianship, powers of attorney, and advanced directive planning, including living wills and health care surrogate designations. [ Attorney Bio ]

Attorney Gary Banet

Gary is licensed to practice law in both Indiana and Kentucky. He concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate and trust administration, estate and trust litigation, guardianships, elder law and special-needs planning. Gary earned his J.D. from the University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, and formerly practiced law at Bingham Greenebaum Doll and Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs. [ Attorney Bio ]