Legal Question in Family Law in Utah

Alimony is not limited; it is determined . . .

Each state has laws for divorce. Generally there are a series of factors a court takes into consideration when determining whether alimony should be awarded and if it should be, how much it should be. In Mass, all the factors are considered regardless of the length of the marriage. However . . . if the marriage is of short duration (up to 7 years)and childless, greater emphasis is put on the need of a spouse for alimony and the contribution to the marriage. The style of life to which the spouse became accustomed isone of the factors. You haven't revealed enough to make comment on whether your pocketbook is vulnerable or not.

Notwithstanding all of the above, maybe I can best respond by playing devil's advocate . . i.e., pretend to be your wife's lawyer. Your Honor, he knew both her educational and skills when he married Mrs. X.Mrs. X used much of her settlement money to support the couple when her husband had a bout of unemployment / or was studying to be a doctor. She contributed to his graduate education at the expense of her own further education.Mrs. X has been very generous to him: as he said, she took only minimal furniture and left him the house. She has also enrolled in a school where she can gain further training. Your Honor, it is only appropriate that Mr. X. give her sufficient money {$X) -- rehabilitation money, Your Honor, to attend this school. He's quite lucky not to have a wife who is a couch potato.If Mrs. X receives rehabilitative alimony as well as enough to support her while she is attending school, it will work to their mutual long-term advantages.

Your Honor, Mrs. X is also entitled to have considered as her contribution to the marriage tHE VALUE OF HER SERVICES during the marriage . . . .

Get it. None of the things you laid out are terribly persuasive. Remember, the men and women who sit on the bench and have been receiving steady salaries for years, have, for the most part, forgotten their humble starving-tudent days -- if they ever had them /-- and do not like it when someone comes before them who appears "cheap" and who's looking for every conceivable way out.

I suggest that you get a local lawyer quickly. He/she will be able to tell you law in your state and plan a stratgy with you.Good luck!

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