Can alimony be awarded based on need after a long-term marriage?

In North Carolina, alimony can be awarded based on need after a long-term marriage. The state defines a long-term marriage as one that has lasted at least 10 years. North Carolina courts look at several factors when deciding whether to award alimony including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and assets, the age and health of each spouse, who makes the primary household decisions, the amount of time each spouse needs to obtain training to increase their employability, the lifestyle the couple enjoyed during the marriage, and any potential disparity between incomes. The court may decide that the paying spouse has a financial obligation to provide additional income to the supported spouse if they can’t earn enough to sustain a similar lifestyle to what they had during their marriage. In such cases, the court would order alimony based on need. The court may also set a period of time for the alimony payments to last, or it may make the payments indefinite. If the court orders indefinite alimony, it may also set up a review period in the future to consider a modification of the amount due. In summary, North Carolina courts do consider awarding alimony based on need after a long-term marriage. However, the court will look at a variety of factors to determine how much alimony should be awarded and how long it should be paid.

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Can alimony be awarded based on need after a long-term marriage?

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