HOW TO ESTABLISH HOW MUCH ALIMONY YOU SHOULD GET IN CASE OF DIVORCE?

Alimony is a legal obligation to provide financial support that is required by the spouse after the divorce. The supporting spouse pays it to the dependent spouse who doesn't have adequate means to take care of the basic needs of life. Although, according to the law alimony can be granted to either of the spouses, usually the husband is required to provide alimony to his wife after their divorce. Alimony is often awarded in a long term marriage that is more than ten years to an ex-wife.

 The court provides permanent alimony to the wife or the husband whoever has a lower income and needs financial support for sustenance under article 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act. Even if the wife involved in a divorce case is a working woman, she would still get the alimony if her earning is less than that of her husband's to help her maintain the same standards of living as her husband. If the wife is not working then, the court takes into consideration her ability to earn before deciding on the amount of alimony. In case the husband is disabled and unable to earn then the court awards alimony to the husband. Duration and amount to be paid as alimony is established after taking into consideration a few factors:   

• Marriages that last for ten years or more are entitled to alimony for a lifetime. It can depend on how long the marriage lasted.
• Taking into consideration the age of the spouse, if the recipient is young and qualified, then alimony is awarded for a shorter period. Suppose he/she is capable of earning for them and becoming financially sound. The court will provide the alimony only till the time they are not as financially sound.
• If one of the spouses is suffering from ill health, then the other spouse is liable to pay higher alimony to ensure proper health care facilities and well being of the other spouse.  
• Suppose the wife is disabled and is unqualified to build a career for herself. Then, the husband is supposed to provide for her so that she can lead a dignified life and vice-versa.  
• In case the ex-wife is in a relationship with other men and is planning to get married. She is not legally liable to claim any alimony.

After the court decides who will be awarded the alimony in a divorce case, the next step is to calculate the amount of alimony that has to be paid by one spouse to the other. The factors based on which the amount of alimony is calculated are:

• The husband’s and wife’s income and other property are considered if any.
• The total monthly home income of both the spouses without tax
• The social status and lifestyle of the spouses are taken into consideration.  
• Educational background of both the parties and finally,  
• Expenses of education and upbringing of child/children if any

The spouse with less income or no income can get an alimony amount, which is 20% or 30% of the total monthly income of the other. Usually, the alimony amount should not exceed 25% of the husband's income. If the alimony is being paid to the wife every month, the court provides for 25% of the husband's salary as the benchmark amount. There is no such benchmark set for a one-time settlement; it usually ranges from 1/3 to 1/5 of the husband's salary. Husbands can claim alimony in case they provide proof of the fact that they don't earn anything, and they are financially dependent on the wife then, after considering the earning's of the wife, the court can ask the wife to pay maintenance. In the future, if the person who was getting alimony out of divorce becomes wealthier than before then, the flow of alimony can be reversed. It will again depend on the case's facts and circumstances. If the wife was receiving alimony, then the husband will have to make a miscellaneous appeal to show the same to the court. The court will decide on the merit of the case and, evidence produced by the husband for incapability of maintaining her wife and claims that alimony should be awarded to him then, the court will look into the parameters of the case for awarding alimony to the husband.    

Alimony is awarded after the separation of the spouses. The spouse who is less likely to be able to provide for themselves without any financial aid gets alimony. Under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 permanent alimony is provided by the court to the wife or even to the husband.