What alimony is, and is not

Alimony is becoming an endangered species in the RI Family Court. The temporary payment from one (former) spouse to the other is not an income-equalizer. Understand this from the start and you will be better equipped. Alimony is a rare remedy with a built-in expiration date awarded hesitantly by family court judges who are applying hyper-specific, binding case law. It is of little consequence that your soon-to-be-ex has a (much) greater income than you do – disparity in the parties’ pre-tax income is already weighed in the child support determination.

(As a thought experiment, try prying alimony out of the wallet of a parent who is already paying child support. On the other hand, try winning an alimony award when there are no children involved).

Retain an attorney that will fight and claw to get you every copper penny you deserve per the applicable equitable distribution statute(s); more often than not that is plenty of money to complete school, keep you in the marital home, obtain necessary on-the-job training, or otherwise soften your financial landing after your divorce.