Legal Question in Family Law in Kansas

Re: alimony

The Johnson County, Kansas District Court Bench Bar Guidelines provide good information concerning this question:

The purpose of maintenance is to rectify an economic imbalance in earning power and standard of living in light of the particular facts of each case, with the primary factors to be considered being the needs of one spouse and the other spouse�s ability to pay.

The needs of one spouse and the ability to pay should be the paramount considerations. These considerations and additional factors set out in Kansas case law and K.S.A. 60-1610(b)(2) are normally considered when determining if maintenance is awarded, and if it is awarded that it be in an amount that is fair, just and equitable under all the circumstances.

The Kansas Supreme Court has enumerated a wide range of factors that may be considered in arriving at the amount of maintenance to be paid by one spouse to the other.

These factors, as set forth in Williams v. Williams, 219 Kan. 303, 548 P.2d 794 (1976) - as

to factors (A) through (I), and Martin v. Martin, 5 Kan. App. 2d 670, 623 P.2d 527 (1981) -

adding factor (J), are:

(A) Fault (severely restricted as a factor by In re Marriage of Sommers, 246 Kan.

652 [1990]; See also In re Marriage of Cohee, 26 Kan. App. 2d 756 [1999]);

(B) Ages of the parties;

(C) Present and prospective earning capacities of the parties;

(D) Property owned by the parties;

(E) Length of the marriage;

(F) Parties' needs;

(G) Time, source, and manner of acquisition of the property;

(H) Family ties and obligations;

(I) Parties' overall financial situation;

(J) Contribution or sacrifice by one party to aid other party's education or career.

Additional factors to consider in appropriate situations include the dissipation of assets, retraining or educational needs of the parties, the number of years a party has been absent from the job market, and the parties� skills and ability to re-enter the job market.