Spousal support (also known as spousal maintenance or alimony) was received by 243,000 people in 2016. 98% of the recipients were women. Spousal support is awarded when one spouse makes significantly more than the other and the recipient spouse’s income is insufficient to support him or her at the level which the spouse was accustomed to during the marriage. Wisconsin alimony laws are deliberately ambiguous because there are a variety of factors that play a role in the amount of money spouses should receive after a divorce.
See our Wisconsin alimony calculator to estimate spousal support payments.
There is no set formula for calculating spousal support in Wisconsin. Instead, there are several factors to take into consideration including:
The court can consider other factors if they are deemed relevant to a particular case. Under Wisconsin Statute §767.56, courts are given broad discretion in determining spousal support, and judges may weigh factors such as one spouse’s sacrifices for the other’s career advancement or whether one spouse has been out of the workforce for an extended period.
Common ways to minimize the amount of spousal support one party pays to the other include:
The alimony payments come down to how much you make vs. how much your spouse makes. If you make the same amount of money, then
Maintenance is usually awarded depending on the duration of the marriage:
Typically spousal support lasts for half the duration of the marriage but longer marriages may require permanent spousal maintenance.
Spousal support modifications occur when one party can prove there has been a substantial change in circumstances from the time the original order was made. For the spouse providing maintenance, this could mean the loss of a job, while for the receiving spouse, it could mean the loss of a job or medical issues with custodial children.
Wisconsin does not recognize common law marriage no matter how long the couple has been together. This means that alimony is not granted when the couples aren’t legally married. Unfortunately, the state of Wisconsin does not award spousal support/alimony for common-law marriage.
Yes, an individual in the military could be charged with adultery according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 134. This charge typically goes after the damage that the military officer has done to the integrity of the army. An investigation could result in the spouse being fired, which would mean the spouse won’t receive alimony payments or benefits from their job.
Spousal support and alimony have the same meaning. The court uses the term spousal support (sometimes spousal maintenance) and the general public uses the term alimony.
Using the alimony calculator can give you a calculated estimate of what alimony payments could look like. Though the calculator uses several factors to determine payment, Wisconsin has no set way to determine alimony. The courts can make adjustments to the payment amount based on other factors.
While it can be frustrating to deal with an unfaithful spouse, marital misconduct is not considered in the calculation of alimony in the state of Wisconsin. Spousal maintenance solely exists to ensure both spouses remain financially stable.
Alimony payments dissolve when the recipient remarries, passes away, or further order of the court occurs.
If your income changes due to a salary reduction or job loss, you can request a modification of the support order. You must be able to prove your change in circumstances makes the existing order unfair. You must continue paying alimony under the current support order until the judge says otherwise.
If the spouse paying alimony retires, the judge has multiple options to approach the situation. Decisions include reducing the amount of alimony to be paid, requesting a payout to the recipient, using an asset of the payer to the benefit of the recipient, or no action with the expectation the payer makes adjustments to continue payment of the original amount.
Due to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on January 1st, 2019, alimony payments are no longer tax-deductible. The recipient can no longer claim the payments as income either.
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