Divorce

Alimony is financial support paid by or to your spouse and can be awarded when a divorce is granted. To decide the amount of alimony (if any) that will be awarded, a judge will consider your and your spouse’s:

• length of marriage;
• behavior during the marriage;
• age and health;
• job, skills, employability, and amount of income;
• needs and debts;
• custody responsibilities and ability to work outside of the home; and
• ability to be self-supporting.¹

In deciding whether you are self-supporting, the judge will consider:

• any time either you or your spouse did not have a job because of homemaking responsibilities;
• the time and money that would be needed to get education or training to get a new job;
• the age and skills of you and your spouse;
• the standard of living during the marriage,
• any future possibility of getting income,
• the ability to pay support, and
• any other factors that the judge thinks are important.²

The purpose of alimony is to provide you with support while you get back on your feet, but a judge can grant you alimony for an indefinite period of time if s/he finds that it is appropriate to do so after considering the time and expense required for you to get the proper training and education to find appropriate employment.³

A judge may change the amount of alimony you receive if you or your spouse requests that the judge review the alimony decision. Before changing the alimony award, the judge must find that there is a substantial change in circumstances. If you remarry, your alimony award ends.³

¹ RI ST § 15-5-16(b)(1)
² RI ST § 15-5-16(b)(2)
³ RI ST § 15-5-16(c)(2)