Q: My sister hasn't worked for 20 years due to raising kids, is she a candidate for alimony? Married for 25 years.
She is mentally and emotionally abused and has limited access to funds.
A:
Your sister may be entitled to receive spousal support in a dissolution of marriage action in Oregon but much depends on whether her spouse is working and how much he earns, her and the children's ages, health, the standard of living during the marriage, and other factors. There are three types of spousal support: maintenance, compensatory and transitional spousal support. Generally, maintenance support is intended to allow a homemaker spouse to maintain some semblance of the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage. Keep in mind that the standard of living for both spouses usually decreases somewhat after a divorce, but neither spouse should endure that decrease disproportionately to the other.
Compensatory support is intended to compensate a spouse who has contributed to the other spouse's increased earning capacity when the marriage has not yet reaped the benefit of the enhanced earning capacity. For example, the doctor who completes medical school and then decides to divorce his spouse, who worked to pay for medical school. Transitional support is intended to provide financial assistance for retraining and re-education to assist a spouse in returning to the work force, assuming that is feasible. Your sister should contact an attorney for more information.
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