If your divorce puts you in an unfavorable financial position relative to your ex-spouse, you may be able to collect alimony. Also known as spousal support, alimony is money that one spouse pays to the other when there is a discrepancy in the levels of income between the two.
However, you do not automatically receive alimony if your income is less than your spouse’s. Spousal support is up to the discretion of the court, which makes its decision on the basis of many factors. There are different types of alimony available in Iowa based on your individual situation.
- Traditional alimony
If the court awards you traditional alimony, your ex-spouse will pay you after the finalization of your divorce for as long as you are without sufficient support. However, this does not necessarily mean that you collect alimony until you die. The order may stipulate that you receive spousal support until you remarry, start collecting retirement benefits, etc.
- Rehabilitative alimony
During your marriage, you may have put your career on hold. After your divorce, you may wish to re-enter the workforce but lack the marketable skills to do so. Rehabilitative alimony is a temporary arrangement in which your ex-spouse will support you while you receive the necessary training to rejoin the workforce and become self-supporting.
- Reimbursement alimony
Perhaps the opposite situation is true. Instead of you putting your career on hold during your marriage, perhaps you worked to support your spouse when he or she was advancing his or her education in an attempt to improve his or her earning capacity.
If so, you may be able to collect reimbursement alimony. This requires your spouse to pay back the proceeds that you paid toward his or her education. This type of alimony obligation does not go on indefinitely. It ends when your spouse pays back all the proceeds that you contributed toward his or her education or training.