opinions wanted on spousal support

[everyQ]

What is the name of your state? Washington

Recently separated from a marriage of 14.5 years. I have been a SAHM for the last 10.5 years - we decided this together before we had the kids. STBX makes approximately 110K gross a year. Take home is about $7300 a month. From that he will be paying about $1500 CS. When I worked last I made about 24K a year. Post split we decided that I would go back to school to complete my degree in education so that my earning potential & career opportunities will be better. I will begin school in January. In the mean time I completed the school testing requirements to substitute in classified positions and have been keeping busy subbing. It is not full time and the pay is low ($8 per hour) but the hours work with the kids schedule and they have not had a change in routine. This is important to both of us. Also subbing will be something I can continue to do around my school schedule for the next 3 years.

We are committed to working out the terms of our divorce ourselves. A parenting plan and child support have been agreed to. I will be the CP with STBX having the kids every other weekend. He will also have the option of having them for a week night if he chooses to continue to live within the kids' school district. Debts and personal property have already been separated. The house is for sale and the proceeds (or lack thereof) will be shared equally.

The last thing on our list of things to agree to is spousal support. We both agree that there should be some but neither of us have said how much or for how long. I understand that ideas on this subject vary greatly but I would really appreciate opinions on both amount and length of time that spousal support might be appropriate.

[CJane]

Well, if he's really determined to pay it, settle on an amount that he can afford and would cover BARE NECESSITIES for you... and for 1/2 the length of the marriage or until you complete your bachelors degree, whichever comes first.

A few thoughts though...

Alimony is a tax deduction for him and considered taxable income for YOU so make sure you plan accordingly. This will also affect the child support obligation if WA is a shared income state. It also will affect your ability to get student loans/grants.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by everyQ

What is the name of your state? Washington

Recently separated from a marriage of 14.5 years. I have been a SAHM for the last 10.5 years - we decided this together before we had the kids. STBX makes approximately 110K gross a year. Take home is about $7300 a month. From that he will be paying about $1500 CS. When I worked last I made about 24K a year. Post split we decided that I would go back to school to complete my degree in education so that my earning potential & career opportunities will be better. I will begin school in January. In the mean time I completed the school testing requirements to substitute in classified positions and have been keeping busy subbing. It is not full time and the pay is low ($8 per hour) but the hours work with the kids schedule and they have not had a change in routine. This is important to both of us. Also subbing will be something I can continue to do around my school schedule for the next 3 years.

We are committed to working out the terms of our divorce ourselves. A parenting plan and child support have been agreed to. I will be the CP with STBX having the kids every other weekend. He will also have the option of having them for a week night if he chooses to continue to live within the kids' school district. Debts and personal property have already been separated. The house is for sale and the proceeds (or lack thereof) will be shared equally.

The last thing on our list of things to agree to is spousal support. We both agree that there should be some but neither of us have said how much or for how long. I understand that ideas on this subject vary greatly but I would really appreciate opinions on both amount and length of time that spousal support might be appropriate.

The law might give it to you for half the length of the marriage. However, 4 years would be about right in my opinion. Three years to get through school, and one year to find and get settled into a decent job.

How much are you going to get from the house? You do also realize that you are entitled to 1/2 of any retirement accounts or other assets that accrued during the marriage?

In any case, there really is no set formula for alimony. Also, you should NOT take his take home pay into consideration when deciding on alimony, but rather his gross pay. Alimony/spousal support is tax deductible to him, and taxable income to you. Since his top marginal tax rate will be 28% as a single man, if he pays you 1000.00 a month in alimony, its only going to cost him about 720.00 if WA has no state income tax.

The beauty of that however, is since your marginal tax rate would be so much lower, your net for that same 1000.00 would likely be 850.00 or more, depending on how much you earn as a sub. On years that you claim the children, your net on that may easily be the full 1000.00.

However, it would probably be fair for him to claim the children until you graduate and get a job.

If you do not have your own attorney, you really need to get one. You should not sign off on any agreement without having it reviewed by an attorney. You need to make sure that you get your full share of the marital assets.

[everyQ]

Thank you both for the replies.

I'm glad to see that time frame I was anticipating is somewhat realistic. I am hoping to get spousal support for 4 to 5 years. I'm not sure yet what amount to ask for but the tax info you have given will be useful when trying to figure this all out.